15 Simple Black Friday Ideas to Boost ROI

Henry Burr

Commerce Strategy Consultant

Updated: February 23, 2023
7 min read

Make your holiday sales campaign irresistible to your customers with our Black Friday ideas to boost your return on investment (ROI).

Black Friday and Cyber Monday segue into the holiday shopping season, the busiest and hopefully most profitable time for ecommerce companies. Did you know that almost 60% of Black Friday purchases last year were impulse buys?

In fact, Black Friday online shopping sales hit $886.7 billion worldwide in 2021. The lucrative holiday sales season can bring in as much as 25% of your annual revenue, if not more!

We’ve composed a list of Black Friday ideas you can use to attract customers and increase your ROI. Don’t miss out on potential sales this holiday season—make sure you take advantage of our tips!

15 Simple ROI-Boosting Black Friday Ideas
Conclusion

15 Simple ROI-Boosting Black Friday Ideas

1. Update Your Homepage

If you don’t have time to craft an entirely new landing page for this year’s holiday season, make sure to add some keywords to your homepage (up to 60 words). Include information on the date and time of your sale, promo codes, and restrictions. Start making your audience aware of your upcoming sale.

Here are some other things you can do on your website:

Add a pop-up that alerts customers to your upcoming sale for an easy way to spread awareness
Implement a countdown timer to amplify the sense of urgency and excitement

2. Provide Early-Bird, VIP Access to Loyal Customers

Allow your loyal shoppers to sign up for early access to your sales to let them have the first pick of the goods. This does several things:

Gives the customers a sense of urgency to purchase the “best” sales products before they become available to the public and stock runs out
Makes the shopping experience seem exclusive and special

3. Stretch Your Sale from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, and Beyond

Cyber Monday became a thing in the mid-2000s as a way to incentivize consumers to shop online. Now, Cyber Monday has become an integral part of the Black Friday sales bonanza. Hop on the extended sales bandwagon and extend your sale from Black Friday to Cyber Monday—and beyond!

Many retailers and brands now mobilize “Black Friday week” sales or draw out Cyber Monday offers beyond the initial date to increase the opportunities for revenue and to increase their site performance by spreading out traffic. This brings us to our next two tips:

4. Use Black Friday to Promote Cyber Monday

This may sound like a no-brainer, but combine the two shopping days by adding information on the upcoming Cyber Monday on your emails, social posts, and homepage.

5. Spread Out Offers to Attract Customers and Help Your Website

Spreading out specific offers draws customers to your webshop over several different days, making them more likely to make impulse purchases. It also keeps traffic volumes more manageable for your website

And it keeps order volumes more manageable for your staff.

Amp up the feeling of scarcity even more by holding hourly specials to keep customers on your site longer, or coming back for more!

6. Gamify Your Black Friday Sales

Draw customers to your virtual sales by offering a shot at winning prices, coupons, and discounts. Make it a fun, positive experience for your customers and keep them coming back for more. Here are a few ideas:

Use a virtual wheel
Have your social media influencers choose winners in Instagram reels or TikTok videos and announce them
Create marketeers out of your customers by asking them to tag three friends to participate in the campaign

7. Make a Black Friday Carousel Ad for Facebook

Showcase your exclusive sales products on a carousel ad for Facebook. Make sure you understand your target audience before launching your ads; here are a few ideas of who to target with your Facebook ads:

Email list
Prospective shoppers who added products to their cart
Customers who have shopped with you in the past
People who have engaged with your social media accounts, ads, or videos in the past
Customers who purchased from your site during your last Black Friday sale

8. Give Free Gifts with Purchases

Everyone loves free stuff, and Black Friday shoppers are no different. Give a free gift with every purchase, or provide a free gift when shoppers spend over a certain threshold.

Feature your freebies on your homepage to boost visibility, and as always, spread the word on social media! Free gifts are a great way to persuade potential customers to make purchases they would not have committed to otherwise.

9. Launch a Sales Sneak Peek

Keep customers guessing and intrigued by showing a sneak peek of your sales products, services, or deals. Use images, videos, or GIFs to draw interest. Make sure to correlate the deals with your Black Friday sales event, and highlight the special deals (Once a Year Only!)

Here are a few ways to endorse your sneak peek:

Include it in an email or newsletter campaign
Spread the word on social media, while considering your audience
Enlist the help of social media influencers and provide them with a promo code they can share with their followers (more on that later!)
Publish ads where relevant: podcasts, radio, television, and even billboards
Use Search and Display ads to increase visibility

Offer special promotions to your brand advocates or partner up with social media influencers. Depending on your audience, look for a relevant social media avenue (TikTok for Gen Z, Instagram for Millenials, Facebook for Gen X and Boomers) and pick an influencer that aligns with your brand.

Give them a promo code or even prizes they can give out to their followers.

Related Reading: Brand Ambassadors vs. Influencers in Ecommerce

11. Send a Countdown Email

If you haven’t had a chance to build a teaser campaign in the run-up to Black Friday, send a countdown email to your audience. This will help to build awareness and drive more traffic to your site–and increase sales!

12. Offer Coupons

Provide Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers with coupons or deals-on-top-of-deals, like a buy one, get one 50% off. Use this upselling tactic to encourage more spending while shoppers are already purchasing on your site.

Spice it up by offering different deals on the day, hour, or time of day, such as offering 20% off of everything one day, and a buy one, get one 50% the next.

Announce your discounts on social media, and use relevant hashtags such as #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday. Check Google Trends for recommended keywords and long tail keywords here. Make sure you filter it by your country.

Have a look at the rising keywords as well as the ones on top. This goes without saying, but make sure you are engaging your audience with your social posts: create videos for Facebook and share your top picks via your social channels.

Related Reading: What is Social Commerce? Strategy & Tactics in 2022

14. Create Value for Shoppers

Don’t make Black Friday all about the money—give back and let your customers participate! For example, Patagonia donates 1% of all sales (not just Black Friday sales) to the preservation and restoration of our natural environment.

Depending on your brand values and those of your shoppers, this is a great chance to spread a positive message, give back, and make a difference!

15. Create Bundle Offers

Create bundle offers to sell more products and encourage shoppers to spend more. Think your products or services don’t work in bundles? Think again! Even service-based industries, like a spa or an auto repair shop, can offer special deals that include several services.

You can also use this tactic to sell your lower-priced items or get rid of products that aren’t selling well.

Conclusion

The sales season is a once-a-year chance to boost your annual ROI. You might end up even bringing in a large chunk of your yearly sales during Black Friday!

Stir interest and hype in your potential customers with our Black Friday ideas. And for strategic guidance and technical support, our team of over 400 ecommerce experts are here to help you be tactically ready and capable of executing these ideas.

Want to drive sales all year round? Helly Hansen, our client for over 8 years, saw a 45% year-on-year increase in revenue last year. And BAUHAUS Sweden, who celebrated their 10th year with Vaimo, are seeing a consistent 30% growth across revenue, transaction, and visitors. Talk to our ecommerce experts today!

15 Simple Black Friday Ideas to Boost ROI

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