How to Create High-Converting Black Friday Email Marketing Campaigns in 2025

Every November I see the same challenge repeat itself for mid-size e-commerce brands: the inbox turns into a battlefield. Dozens of retailers are fighting for a single open, and yet the brands that prepare with the right Black Friday email marketing strategy consistently win more revenue, stronger customer relationships, and higher lifetime value.

As the founder of an email marketing agency, I’ve helped brands across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries scale their holiday sales using email as the primary driver.

In this guide, I’ll share how we approach Black Friday email marketing in 2025: what’s changed, what still works, and the exact playbook we use for our clients. Whether you’re using Klaviyo or another platform, my goal is to show you how to build an email campaign that cuts through the noise and converts.

Let’s get started!

The Stakes and a Snapshot of 2025 Trends

In 2024, brands that treated Black Friday email marketing as just another sale missed out on the biggest opportunity of the year. According to Shopify, Black Friday 2024 generated $4.2 billion in sales from Shopify merchants alone, a 22% increase from the previous year. And Klaviyo reported that email remained the #1 owned channel for driving those conversions, with peak sending hours between 9–10 AM EST on Black Friday.

But what’s even more important is how customer behavior shifted. A report showed that holiday shopping now starts earlier: 31% of U.S. shoppers said they began their holiday purchasing before November even started. That means brands waiting until Black Friday weekend to hit “send” are already late.

Here’s a quick comparison of Black Friday performance metrics year-over-year (industry averages, based on Klaviyo benchmarks and Shopify reporting):

“The brands that saw the biggest lift weren’t the ones with the loudest discounts, but the ones that delivered timely, relevant, and segmented messages to the right people.” — Klaviyo BFCM Insights Report 2024

The takeaway?

Black Friday email marketing in 2025 isn’t just about blasting discounts — it’s about personalization, timing, and orchestration across the entire customer journey.

What’s Changed for Black Friday Email Marketing in 2025

Here are the biggest shifts I see shaping strategies this year:

1. AI-Driven Personalization
   With AI built directly into platforms like Klaviyo, brands can create dynamic product blocks, predictive segmentation, and real-time content adjustments.

See more information on quality personalization in a related article.

1. Zero-Party Data Takes Center Stage
   Consumers are more protective of their inbox and data. Collecting preferences via quizzes, pop-ups, and loyalty programs gives you better personalization without relying on third-party cookies.
2. Omnichannel Strategies
   Email alone isn’t enough. Coordinating Klaviyo flows with SMS, push notifications, and onsite pop-ups ensures your message is consistent and well-timed.

From experience, it’s much better to have an all-in-one platform. Why? Find out here.

1. Earlier Shopping Windows
   Shoppers aren’t waiting until Thanksgiving weekend. Smart brands are running “pre-Black Friday” email campaigns in early November.

My 8-Step Black Friday Email Marketing Playbook

Step 1 — Clean Your List

Start with deliverability. Suppress unengaged profiles, confirm SPF/DKIM/DMARC are aligned, and segment active vs dormant users.

Pro Tip: A clean list improves open rates by 10–15% during high-volume seasons.

Step 2 — Build Margin-Proof Offers

Discounts aren’t the only lever. Use bundles, free gifts, or tiered offers (e.g., “Spend $100, get 20% off; spend $200, get 30% off”).

Step 3 — Segment and Prioritize VIPs

Give your top 10–20% of customers early access. Klaviyo makes it easy to build “VIP-only” segments based on purchase frequency or AOV.

Explore the full power of email marketing segmentation in one of our articles.

Step 4 — Plan Your Cadence (with a schedule)

You can follow this example, or create your own, based on your niche’s peculiarities.

Pro Tip: Klaviyo’s benchmarks show that emails sent between 9–10 AM ET on Black Friday have the highest conversion volume.

Step 5 — Craft Subject Lines That Cut Through

Examples:

• “Your VIP Access Starts Now”
• “Black Friday Came Early — Open Fast”
• “Don’t Refresh, This Deal Ends at Midnight”

Step 6 — Execute in Klaviyo

Use conditional splits (e.g., VIP vs general list), dynamic product recommendations, and countdown timers. Klaviyo’s predictive analytics help determine who is most likely to purchase again.

Are you interested in migrating to Klaviyo or setting up a basic account? Contact our team for support! The migration from other platforms to Klaviyo is free!

Step 7 — Safeguard Deliverability

Warm up sending domains, avoid over-sending to cold segments, and monitor spam complaint rates closely.

Step 8 — Measure and Debrief

Track Revenue per Recipient, conversion rates, and list growth. Use Klaviyo’s reporting dashboards to benchmark against industry averages.

Example Campaign Themes for 2025

• “Early Access VIP Sale” — reward loyal customers before the rush.
  

  Reference: Shopify

• “Beat the Clock” — hourly flash deals via triggered Klaviyo flows.
  

  Reference: Moosend

• “Bundle & Save” — product bundles that increase AOV.
  

  Reference: Moosend

• “Cyber Monday Reset” — fresh offers positioned as “one last chance.”
  

  Reference: Brevo

• “Buy Now, Gift Later” — campaigns highlighting gift cards and flexible delivery.
  

  Reference: Reallygoodemails

Case Study: How a Mid-Size Business got 28% Revenue Lift YoY

In 2024, Klaviyo reported that its merchant base saw 1.3 million orders placed in the peak Black Friday hour alone (9–10 AM EST). Brands that leaned on segmented, high-frequency campaigns saw up to 2.5x higher Revenue per Recipient compared to batch-and-blast strategies.

One mid-size fashion brand we worked with followed this approach:

• Segmentation: VIP early access on Nov 14.
• Cadence: 6-email sequence from Nov 14–Nov 29.
• Result: 2.1x higher conversion rate and a 28% revenue lift YoY.

Aggressive vs Conservative Cadence (Comparison Table)

But what if you don’t want to be pushy and aggressive with your email campaigns during BFCM? We worked with brands (a lot of them, honestly) that are not ready to increase their sending volumes a lot because of brand reputation, product they sell, or other reasons.

Of course, you can go another way, here’s an example (remember, always personalize!):

Final Thoughts

Black Friday isn’t about shouting the loudest — it’s about showing up smarter. Black Friday email marketing in 2025 requires personalization, timing, and a disciplined cadence. If you’re still relying on one-size-fits-all blasts, you’re leaving revenue on the table.

At IMPRO Email Agency, we help mid-size brands unlock the full potential of Klaviyo and build campaigns that convert without burning out your list.

If you’d like a free audit of your Black Friday email marketing strategy, reach out — I’d be happy to walk you through what’s working in your account and how to scale it for 2025.