Black Friday checklist 2024 – How to prepare for BFCM

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With the year drawing to a close, every ecommerce business is wondering how to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM).

Falling the day after Thanksgiving, this four-day mammoth sale is the perfect opportunity to maximize profit in the run-up to Christmas.

Consumers spend record-breaking amounts on Black Friday most years. Understandably, demand is only growing as shoppers become more discerning and hungrier for better deals.

The earlier businesses prepare for BFCM, the better. Having the right procedures in place will help you withstand the mania of the promotional season.

Not sure where to start? The following Black Friday checklist explains everything you need to know.

Key takeaways on how to prepare for Black Friday

• The key to Black Friday success is preparation — attract early shoppers by getting everything ready at least two months in advance
• Set clear goals to help your marketing campaigns meet their full potential
• Analyze last year’s data to determine what worked and what didn’t — and monitor campaign performance during and after BFCM to resolve customer pain points
• Optimize your website so it can handle the sudden influx of traffic
• Pay attention to your mobile experience — the mobile cart abandonment rate is the highest of all devices, suggesting there’s plenty of room for improvement
• Create irresistible Black Friday deals using gamification, countdown timers, and loyalty programs
• Plaster BFCM deals across your homepage and social channels (more really is more)
• Use audience segmentation to personalize marketing campaigns
• Implement well-timed popups to capture leads
• Streamline the checkout process and remove barriers to purchase, such as broken links, product pages, and discount codes
• Upsell and cross-sell using product suggestions and follow-up emails
• Introduce a chatbot to alleviate pressure from overstretched customer service teams
• Check your inventory and set your shipping strategy — ensure you have the resources to send and receive orders promptly

25 tips on how to prepare for Black Friday

The following Black Friday checklist covers the entire process from start to finish. We provide plenty of practical tips for customer engagement and back-end operations, giving you the most comprehensive overview possible. Ready to begin? Here’s what’s coming up:

1. Start planning early for BFCM
2. Set clear goals for your Black Friday campaign
3. Analyze last year’s data
4. Optimize your website for speed
5. Create an irresistible BFCM offer
6. Plan and launch email marketing campaigns early
7. Check your inventory
8. Set your shipping strategy
9. Segment your email list
10. Create a BFCM-specific email series
11. Optimize for mobile shoppers
12. Simplify the checkout process
13. Launch social media ads
14. Use popups for email captures
15. Update your homepage with BFCM deals
16. Ensure your customer support is ready
17. Upsell and cross-sell during checkout
18. Extend offers beyond Black Friday
19. Test BFCM campaign elements
20. Reward loyal customers
21. Use retargeting ads
22. Prepare for returns
23. Monitor campaigns in real-time
24. Have a post-Black Friday follow-up plan
25. Track and evaluate Black Friday performance

1. Start planning early for BFCM

One of the biggest problems we see time and time again is ecommerce businesses leaving BFCM campaigns until the very last minute.

So, when exactly should you start preparing for Black Friday?

We suggest forming your Black Friday marketing and operational strategies at least two months beforehand, around mid-to-late September.

Ideally, you’ll have everything ready by October, when almost half of US consumers begin their Christmas shopping. This will allow you to test Shopify Black Friday deals and other marketing campaigns on receptive customers.

As the saying goes: by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Planning ahead helps you avoid last-minute chaos and keep morale high during what can often be a quite stressful time.

We don’t want to scare you, but this is really your last chance to prepare for Black Friday. If you’re falling behind, take advantage of our ready-made email marketing templates and high-converting subject lines today.

2. Set clear goals for your Black Friday campaign

No Black Friday checklist would be complete without clear objectives. Marketing campaigns never reach their full potential unless shaped by specific, measurable goals.

Of course, these goals will depend on your unique offering. Perhaps you dream of increasing email signups or generating interest in a brand-new product or service.

Most companies want to boost sales — but can you elaborate on how?

Here are a few objectives that guide BFCM campaigns:

• Increase brand awareness and interest
• Boost website traffic
• Acquire new customers
• Improve customer loyalty and retention
• Confirm industry authority

3. Analyze last year’s data

Analyzing previous Black Friday data is an essential next step. By examining past successes and challenges, you can gain valuable insights to shape and enhance this year’s campaign.

Did you notice increased engagement with a particular subject line? Perhaps some deals generated more conversions than others.

Our top advice is simple — do more of what worked and less of what didn’t.

At Omnisend, we take data analysis seriously.

We investigated email, SMS, and push message trends for BFCM 2023 and the findings may surprise you. For instance, automated emails generated 29.3% of all orders but only accounted for 1.75% of sends — a strong indication that more brands need to harness the power of automation.

4. Optimize your website for speed

Nowadays, we expect exactly what we want and fast. Our tolerance for waiting in line is practically non-existent, and online shopping is no exception.

Research consistently shows that slow load times hemorrhage conversions and dissuade consumers from making repeat purchases.

The first step is to check your website’s speed with a tool like PageSpeed Insights or the Pingdom Website Speed Test. Next, optimize load times by:

• Compressing images 
• Reducing HTTP requests
• Enabling caching
• Reducing and/or updating plugins
• Minifying CSS and JavaScript files

5. Create an irresistible BFCM offer

Thousands of brands compete for consumers’ limited attention, so your deals must stand out.

Need some ideas? Check out the tried-and-tested methods below:

• Tease shoppers with sneak peeks
• Use a countdown timer to create a sense of urgency
• Gamify your campaigns with wheels, quizzes, and calendars
• Offer VIP discounts for early birds
• Give away free gifts with every purchase
• Create referral discounts
• Partner with social media influencers
• Design irresistible Shopify Black Friday Deals

6. Plan and launch email marketing campaigns early

We’ve already touched on the importance of preparation to hook early shoppers and get ahead of the competition (remember, you should be getting everything ready at least two months in advance).

However, it’s worth exploring in more detail.

Alongside content creation, we suggest teasing early access to deals through email and social media campaigns. The ultimate goal is to build anticipation — you want a crowd of excited customers ready to make a purchase before the big weekend.

Confused about how to do this?

Simply use Omnisend’s powerful email marketing tools. We have plenty of BFCM templates that are completely customizable and compatible with the top ecommerce platforms. You could also use our AI email generator to help you populate text.

7. Check your inventory

We’ve spoken extensively about campaign creation, but BFCM success also relies on organized backend operations, including inventory control.

Check your stock before the launch weekend. Otherwise, you’ll end up with tons of orders and no way of fulfilling them.

Equally, you don’t want to overorder and then struggle to shift pallets of unwanted products. There’s a sweet spot where you’ll see the most returns on investment. 

Identify this number by scrutinizing previous Black Friday data. As a rule, order more stock than last year to account for the year-on-year increase in BFCM sales across the board — unless there’s a business-specific reason not to.

8. Set your shipping strategy

Setting an effective BFCM shipping strategy requires a multi-faceted approach.

First, ensure you have the manpower to handle the sudden influx of orders. This might include hiring additional warehouse operatives, revisiting your order fulfillment processes, and diversifying your shipping partners. 

Next, manage expectations. Be honest about lead times and delays, and don’t make promises you can’t keep. We recommend providing consumers with real-time order tracking information to alleviate the burden on customer service departments.

Looking for a low-hanging fruit strategy that yields impressive results? Sweeten Black Friday deals with free or reduced shipping.

9. Segment your email list

Email segmentation divides email lists into groups based on certain characteristics, such as preferences, online activity, and income. From here, sending customers the most relevant offers is easier, ultimately increasing conversions.

Omnisend simplifies the process with advanced filter and automation functionality. You’ll also find AI-assisted customer lifecycle segmentation — a dynamic, real-time snapshot of audience behavior.

There are hundreds of email marketing tools out there, but Omnisend stands out for its easy navigation, cost-effectiveness, and excellent customer service.

10. Create a BFCM-specific email series

It’s simply not enough to create one email for Black Friday and hope for the best — you’ll need a comprehensive email series that guides consumers through the whole shopping journey.

What exactly do we mean by this?

In the weeks leading up to Black Friday, send countdown emails to build anticipation. Over the four-day shopping spree, launch several deals to keep consumers returning for more.

It’s also a good idea to set reminders for cart abandonment.

We know all of this sounds quite complicated, but don’t worry. We’ve curated some of the best Black Friday examples and templates to kick-start your inspiration.

11. Optimize for mobile shoppers

Nailing the user experience for mobile shoppers is business-critical, especially during BFCM and other promotional events.

A staggering 45% of consumers use their phones to shop at least once daily, and shopping apps are growing faster than any other type.

On top of this, the mobile cart abandonment rate is the highest of all devices at around 85%, which suggests businesses aren’t paying enough attention to the mobile experience.

Luckily, the solution is straightforward.

Start by simplifying shopping processes. For example, introduce predictive search keywords and live chat software to help customers find what they want. Next, tidy up the backend via caching, minimizing code, and compressing images.

12. Simplify the checkout process

When people wonder how to prepare for Black Friday, they usually think of eye-catching deals and email campaigns.

Of course, these are huge components. However, the most profitable brands dig deeper and assess their fundamental processes.

The checkout process is one of the most important — if it’s clunky and complicated with too many steps, consumers will click off before completing a purchase. On the other hand, frictionless journeys facilitate sales.

Here are a few ideas for seamless checkouts:

• Allow guest checkouts
• Provide multiple payment options
• Minimize form fields and pre-populate information
• Use progress indicators
• Make sure CTAs are easy to find and read

13. Launch social media ads

Social media advertising can be lucrative when done correctly. To drive traffic and promote BFCM deals that actually convert, you must use first-party data to prospect and target captive audiences.

A word of warning: PPC costs during the BFCM period are higher than usual. To avoid running expensive ads that nobody clicks on, we suggest A/B testing design elements to assess their effectiveness before the price hikes.

14. Use popups for email captures

Well-timed popups are effective tools for capturing email addresses if the incentive is good enough.

After all, you’re asking people to part with their personal information — not easy in a world of growing consumer distrust.

Our top advice? Make people an offer they can’t refuse. For example, give away early access or special discounts in exchange for contact details.

Other valuable strategies for building email lists include gamifying signup forms, sharing lead magnets, and using referral programs.

Creating popups isn’t rocket science, especially when you work from pre-made BFCM templates. Our library features a collection of professional designs, each crafted to spur results and engage your audience effectively.

15. Update your homepage with BFCM deals

There’s no point creating incredible BFCM deals that nobody knows about. That’s why you should promote them wherever you can, especially on your homepage, which is the first thing users see when visiting your website.

Improve visibility with banners, videos, and images.

Even better, embed a countdown timer to spark excitement in the run-up to the big BFCM weekend. In this case, more really is more — drop as many references as possible without overcrowding the design.

Take the Omnisend website as an example. We’ve incorporated Black Friday imagery throughout the homepage and a link to the comprehensive BFCM learning hub. 

16. Ensure your customer support is ready

Want to know how to prepare your business for Black Friday?

Ensure your customer service team is ready for the burst of inquiries. So many brands forget about this step, but knowledgeable and patient support agents are the backbone to success.

Customer service teams manage expectations, resolve issues promptly to avoid negative feedback, and communicate pain points to management so they can be addressed.

If hiring additional human power is outside your budget, consider using chatbots. While most consumers prefer to speak to a person, AI-powered assistants filter out the most easily fixed issues to save time.

17. Upsell and cross-sell during checkout

Upselling and cross-selling are some of the best tools on this Black Friday checklist, yet surprisingly, 37% of businesses don’t employ these tactics, presumably because they can come across as pushy.

However, upselling and cross-selling shouldn’t feel aggressive. There are plenty of ways to naturally weave them into the shopping journey, especially at checkout when consumers are already primed to make a purchase.

Some of the most effective strategies include:

• Suggest recommended products or bundle deals at checkout
• Send a follow-up “you might also like” email
• Offer discounts over certain order values
• Introduce time-limited deals
• Display product comparisons

18. Extend offers beyond black Friday

This one is pretty self-explanatory — extend offers beyond Black Friday to capture more sales. Most businesses already do this, as the BFCM period typically lasts four days.

This doesn’t mean you should keep rehashing the same few deals for a longer period.

For maximum impact, create multiple hero promotions and mini-offers to push at different times to keep consumers on their toes.

Above all else, give people plenty of notice before offers end via email reminders, countdown timers, and last-chance banners. This creates a sense of urgency that should tip undecided shoppers over the edge.

19. Test BFCM campaign elements

Nothing kills a Black Friday campaign like broken links, discount codes, and product pages.

Remember, consumers have little tolerance for delays, and BFCM competition is fierce.

With that in mind, double-check that campaign elements are working correctly before launch, including each step of the checkout process. Yes, it’s time-consuming, but you can’t risk weaknesses in the sales funnel.

Here are a few common issues to review:

• Internal and external links
• Page responsiveness across devices
• Browser compatibility
• Font style, color, and size — is it legible?
• Forms — can you input text?

20. Reward loyal customers

Businesses should never sacrifice their loyal customers for brand-new ones, but it happens frequently. For example, some companies only offer discounts for initial purchases. It’s unfortunate because loyal customers are a lucrative and willing revenue source.

While you don’t want to bombard them with invasive offers, well-timed deals can feel more like a well-deserved reward. These include exclusive early access to BFCM content, extra discounts, and special gifts.

Sephora’s Beauty Insider Program is a fantastic example of how to show consumers you care, offering seasonal savings and points when you spend over a certain amount:

21. Use retargeting ads

Retargeting ads are a clever way to reel back users who visited your website but left without making a purchase. 

These ads work by using cookies to track a person’s online activities. If someone has interacted with your content, retargeting technology ensures that relevant ads follow them across various websites and platforms, keeping your brand top-of-mind.

Like popups, you don’t want this to feel intrusive.

We suggest personalizing product suggestions, leading with special offers, and designing eye-catching graphics to minimize the risk of brand fatigue (the exhaustion and distaste a consumer feels when overexposed to a company’s marketing materials).

22. Prepare for returns

Building on the importance of shipping, returns can make or break a BFCM campaign. 

To start, you need the infrastructure to handle them, as post-holiday refunds and exchanges are common. You also need to be able to alleviate pressure from your customer service and warehouse departments by making the returns policy simple to implement and understand.

Here are a few questions to answer when outlining your BFCM terms and conditions:

• What items can be returned?
• Can customers exchange items?
• What’s the time limit for returns?
• How do customers initiate the returns process?
• When will refunds be processed?

23. Monitor campaigns in real-time

Your job doesn’t stop when you press live — it’s only just beginning.

Your Black Friday checklist must include real-time campaign monitoring so you can stay ahead of potential issues and adjust marketing strategies.

With Omnisend, businesses can analyze data using aggregated performance metrics and advanced reporting dashboards. All the information you need will be stored in one easy-to-find place, so you don’t have to flit between different apps and platforms.

24. Have a post-Black Friday follow-up plan

Email marketing isn’t just a powerful tool for pushing Black Friday promotions but also an effective aftercare strategy.

There are various ways to follow up with customers, including post-sale deals or loyalty rewards to encourage repeat purchases. Besides profit, these approaches also clear out leftover stock that would otherwise go to waste.

Need help with your post-holiday sales campaign? Read our comprehensive guide detailing effective email marketing strategies for ecommerce businesses.

25. Track and evaluate Black Friday performance

Last but not least, businesses must track and evaluate Black Friday performance to inform next year’s campaign. Performance metrics and customer feedback will help you identify weaknesses that need to be addressed next time.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What campaign elements worked?
• What campaign elements didn’t work?
• Did backend operations run smoothly?
• How did we measure against our competitors?
• Did the BCFM campaign meet the goals set out at the beginning of the process?

Conclusion

Now that you know how to prepare for Black Friday, you should feel more confident approaching the promotional season.

There’s no need to worry if you thoroughly prepare a few months in advance and follow the tips and tricks in this Black Friday checklist.

To make things even easier, join Omnisend today. We offer a free plan that grants access to all features, so there’s nothing to lose. Choose the perfect BFCM email template, populate the text, segment your audience, and hit send — it’s as simple as that.

Plus, the technology seamlessly integrates with the biggest ecommerce platforms, including WooCommerce, Wix, and Shopify.

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