Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are two of the year's biggest shopping events, and they keep getting bigger. With online shopping growing exponentially, brands are no longer competing on just discounts, they’re competing on timing, user experience, and strategy. Success doesn’t come from a last-minute promotion blast, it comes from starting early, testing smarter, and executing with data-backed precision. 

Starting Early to Succeed 

Shoppers are starting earlier every year, with some even beginning their search for deals in October. Early planning is a competitive advantage. When you start your strategizing early, you buy yourself time to think strategically, test thoughtfully, and execute flawlessly. 

Audit Last Year’s Performance 

Before building anything new, look back on what worked last year and what didn’t. Analyze email open rates, conversion rates, product performance, cart abandonment, etc., and use these insights to decide how you will approach this year’s campaign. 

Outline Your Promotional Calendar 

Map out key dates now. Decide when you will start teasing offers, when early access will begin, what dates you’ll launch your main deals, and if you will extend into Cyber Week or offer post-BFCM deals. This clarity will guide your content, ad scheduling, and email campaigns. 

Begin List Building Today 

Start growing your email and SMS subscriber lists now. You can offer early access to BFCM deals as an incentive. Add pop-ups, slide-ins, or embedded forms to your site that promote this early access. The larger your list by November, the more direct revenue you can generate without relying solely on ads. 

Plan and Prep Content in Advance 

From email to social posts, get your assets ready now to reduce chaos and ensure everything aligns across channels. Schedule out your content calendar so you can focus on real-time optimization rather than scrambling for assets when Black Friday comes. 

Align Inventory and Fulfillment 

Inventory mishaps can have significant impacts on BFCM success. Use early planning to forecast demand, stock up on high-performing products, and get your logistics partners aligned. This also gives you time to adjust shipping thresholds or offer free shipping strategically based on what you can realistically support. 

Build Your Strategy Around Data, Not Assumptions 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t the time to rely on gut feelings or creative hunches. With a massive spike in traffic and a limited window to convert, every element of your site should be backed by real, performance-driven insights. A/B testing is essential for success when it comes to BFCM. When margins are tight and your window for impact is small, guessing can cost you thousands in missed conversions. Build your BFCM strategy on data you can trust. 

Why A/B Testing Should Start Early 

Running tests in advance gives you the time and flexibility to: 

• Identify what resonates with your audience before the rush. 

• Make changes based on statistically significant results.

• Avoid tech issues or delays caused by last-minute updates. 

• Enter BFCM with confidence, knowing your site is optimized for performance. 

What to Test and Why 

With Compose, you can easily test key elements across your site while only paying for the users you test. A few high-impact areas to start your experimenting on are: 

• Headlines and product page copy: Do customers respond better to benefit-driven headlines or technical specs? Try a few different angles to see what converts. 

• Promo banners and countdown timers: Does a “limited-time offer” drive more urgency than “early access?” Test messaging, design, and placement. 

• Add-to-cart button colors and CTAs: A small change in color or wording can have a significant impact on click-through rates. 

• In-cart offers and incentives: Test what motivates customers to complete checkout. Free shipping thresholds, free gifts with purchases, or cross-selling complementary products may increase average order value. 

• Trust badges and review placements: Does putting social proof directly below the CTA increase conversion? What happens if you display star ratings higher on the page? 

Compose makes testing easy, fast, and intuitive with no developer knowledge required. You can launch tests quickly, view real-time insights, and update your site based on actual user behavior. By testing before the surge in BFCM traffic, you can learn what works without the pressure, so when Black Friday hits, you have your highest-performing site live, optimized, and ready to scale. 

Treat BFCM As a Campaign, Not Just a Sale 

Your BFCM strategy should be more than just discounts. To maximize success, you must strategically build momentum and turn high-intent shoppers into loyal customers. If you’re only focused on discounts, you are missing out on many sales opportunities. 

To maximize results, treat BFCM as a full-funnel campaign, not just a sale. Nurture your audience well before the weekend, drive urgency at the right moments, and continuously optimize throughout the entire event. 

Warm Up Your Audience with Email & SMS Flows 

Use strategic messaging early to warm up your audience with early access teasers, exclusive perks for early signups, and reminder flows. This early communication builds excitement, increases engagement, and ensures your list is ready when it’s time to convert. 

Drive Urgency with Clear Deadlines & Countdown Timers 

Urgency is one of the most powerful drivers of conversion during BFCM, but it only works when it’s clear and compelling. 

Using urgency effectively: 

• Countdown timers on landing pages and promo banners to show the exact time left for deals. 

• Limited inventory messaging

• Tiered discounts with deadlines, like “20% off today, 15% off tomorrow,” to encourage early purchases. 

Combine urgency with value, and you’ll see higher conversion rates from the traffic you’re already driving. 

Conclusion

Don’t wait for BFCM weekend to start building traffic. Use this time to ramp up your email and SMS list building, drive visitors back to your site with compelling offers and value, use on-site notifications to move users from the homepage to high-converting products, reduce cart abandonment with exit popups, and use AI-powered product recommendations to personalize the experience and boost AOV. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer about offering the biggest discounts, they’re about delivering the smartest, most seamless shopping experience from start to finish. By starting early, building campaigns around real data, and optimizing every touchpoint with A/B testing, you position your brand to compete effectively during the most anticipated shopping event of the year.