How to win Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024

For consumers, spring may have just kicked off, but for ecommerce and retail marketers, holiday planning is in full swing.

After celebrating the triumphs of 2023’s record-breaking Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) period, savvy marketers are already turning their attention to 2024’s critical holiday shopping season. In our BFCM playbook, we reveal data-driven predictions for the upcoming season, highlight crucial dates to mark on your calendar, and share proactive strategies you can implement today to ensure you’re in prime position by the time the autumn leaves start to fall. Read on for three tactics to consider or download the ebook here.

Be cognizant of cart abandonment behavior

Cart abandonment behavior will spike during the holiday shopping season as consumers enter an unmatched “consideration” stage. Plenty of shoppers will be browsing, researching competitors and abandoning carts. Without being able to identify who they are down to an email or phone number, you won’t be able to retarget them with deeply personalized messages. The good news is that consumers are much more open to opting into future brand communications, like sales alerts, ahead of BFCM. In 2024, optimize your holiday strategy to reach and nurture consumers with your owned channels while they’re willing to connect with you. Abandonment modules and triggered texts and emails play a critical role in getting consumers back to your website for purchase. 

Key stats to keep in mind:

•  20-30% lift in marketing opt-in rates ahead of BFCM.
• 19% of shoppers abandoned their carts to find a better deal elsewhere.
• 14.9% of shoppers abandoned their carts to see if a product would go on sale.

Optimize for mobile, then desktop, then tablet

Optimizing for mobile should be the top priority, followed by desktop, and then tablet. For years, mobile accounted for more revenue during BFCM with each passing year. But don’t forget about desktop browsing, as many consumers still prefer to make purchases on their computers. 

Some important mobile vs desktop stats from Cyber Week 2023:

• 76.6% of website visits were on mobile.  
• 66% of conversions happened on mobile.
• 23.4% of website visits were on desktop.
• 34% of conversions took place on desktop.

Timing is everything

Shoot to have most of your BFCM sales happen earlier in the week. Deals typically do not improve as the week goes on and consumer purchasing declines in the later days. Pull your BFCM revenue forward by creating urgency around day-over-day deals and shipping deadlines. Data shows surges around midnight each day of BFCM week as consumers worry about expiring deals.

At the same time, prepare for last-minute shoppers who love the adrenaline rush of waiting until the very end to buy. Have messaging ready to tap into that mindset, using urgency as a motivator. Leverage reminders about closing deals toward the end of BFCM weekend.

Get your BFCM guide 

Want to dive deeper into preparing your identification, automation and personalization strategies to maximize BFCM success? Download our best practice guide for BFCM to get even more tips and tactics. Get your copy now to ensure you’re fully equipped to win this holiday season.