Top 12 Fresh Shopify Black Friday Cyber Monday Ideas to Boost Sales

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a double-edged sword for marketers and store owners. On the one side, it’s a chance to take advantage of increased consumer interest; on the other hand, you need new marketing approaches, which could be time-consuming to establish.

To help you with the latter, we’ve compiled some fresh, unconventional Black Friday ecommerce tips and ideas tailored specifically for online stores, going beyond the usual approaches, such as regular discounts, free shipping, and promotional coupons. These proven tactics are great to leverage on Shopify for Black Friday 2024; however, you might wish for something special to stand out – some pre-Christmas magic brought to life through gamification and interactivity.

1. VIP digital shopping lounge

Let’s start our list of Black Friday ideas for ecommerce with a VIP lounge for your most loyal customers. Send out exclusive invites to a password-protected page with premium deals, or even offer a brief Q&A with the brand's founder. You also can offer tiered discounts based on customer shopping history. For example, those who made more than three purchases from you in the past six months could get a 50% discount, while other groups get smaller discounts based on their loyalty.

• Benefits: The exclusivity can make loyal customers feel valued and entice them to shop early.

Real-world case: Alo Yoga launched a VIP sale exclusively for their loyalty members, where subscribers could shop special BFCM deals before anyone else. This approach rewarded their loyal customers and increased early traffic, driving sales even before BFCM officially started.

• Implementation: Multiscount helps create custom discounts for different tiers that work for your business. You also can contact a Shopify Partner to implement custom functionality for your Black Friday sales without apps.

2. Early access with a countdown timer

As part of your Black Friday marketing strategy, let your customers unlock early access to deals, reserving time for the exclusive shopping experience. You can do this by locking access to the entire website or specific pages for a particular period. This way, all of your visitors can participate in the pre-sale and feel the uniqueness of the offer.

• Benefits: You create suspense through a countdown, rapidly growing your email list, and nudging regular visitors to join your community.

Real-world case: During one Black Friday, the Pursue Fitness sportswear brand locked their website, displaying a signup form and a countdown timer. At 5 PM, those who signed up received a password to unlock access and enjoyed one hour of shopping with exclusive deals.

• Implementation: Locksmith allows you to create password-protected areas on your site for exclusive offers.

3. Time-release product drops with SMS/Push alerts

Set up hourly or daily drops for new products, discounts, or hidden pages within your store. Let customers sign up for SMS or Push alerts, notifying them whenever a new item goes live. This will keep your store top-of-mind and increase urgency to shop.

• Benefits: You establish additional communication channels and keep customers engaged during the sale.

Real-world case: Kith, a streetwear brand, used SMS alerts to notify customers about hourly limited-edition releases during Black Friday. This time-release strategy kept customers returning to the site throughout the weekend, creating a sense of urgency and scarcity around the products.

• Implementation: The PushOwl + Brevo app helps you set up all kinds of notifications, including SMS and web push alerts, and combine them with scheduled product availability to inform customers of new drops.

4. Daily deals through email promotion

Build anticipation for generous discounts on trending products through targeted email campaigns. Once the main Black Friday sale in your Shopify store kicks off, offer daily deals highlighting product features. Stand out with sparkling creativity in your email promotions, maintaining a festive spirit of upcoming holidays.

• Benefits: You boost customer loyalty by providing value through emails and keep them checking their email boxes for more.

Real-world case: Chubbies ran an email creative campaign where they featured a new BFCM deal every day. This campaign kept customers checking back for fresh offers, leveraging email communication capabilities.

• Implementation: Klaviyo lets you nurture leads through emails, preparing them for the main stage of sales.It offers tools for segmenting your base and personalizing messages to deliver the deals that matter most to your customers.

5. Build-your-own discount interactive feature

Another Shopify Black Friday tip is to give customers a way to “unlock” bigger discounts based on their activity—such as by sharing the sale on social media or referring a friend. This adds a gamified element to the shopping experience, encouraging social sharing and driving engagement with your site.

• Benefits: Your customers are encouraged to become brand advocates, helping you reach and attract new leads through social media.

Real-world case: Glow Recipe encouraged customers to share their purchases on social media for additional rewards, increasing engagement while offering discounts based on social shares and referrals. They used gamification to allow customers to “earn” bigger discounts through their interactions, boosting brand exposure.

• Implementation: Gameball lets you set up a gamified loyalty program where customers can earn points or discounts through specific actions, like referrals or social media shares.

6. Live deals via Instagram or YouTube

Host a live-stream event where team members or influencers reveal new deals throughout the day. Customers can tune in to catch the latest discounts or offers and feel like part of an exclusive reveal event. This can build a lot of excitement, especially if you offer flash deals during the event. You can even add a discount coupon for the next purchase.

• Benefits: Engaging influencers in this activity can draw their audience to your products. These events also give you a chance to tell your brand’s story and raise awareness, as well as boost sales.

Real-world case: Fashion Nova hosted a BFCM live stream on Instagram with real-time deal announcements. Influencers revealed surprise discounts and products during the stream, creating excitement and attracting thousands of live viewers ready to shop with exclusive, time-limited offers.

• Implementation: Socialphotos lets you embed Instagram content directly on your product pages or homepage, encouraging real-time engagement for live events.

7. Personal digital shopping assistant

Offer a free virtual shopping assistant to guide people through their purchases. They can provide personalized advice, make product recommendations, and even offer special discounts during the consultation, creating a more high-touch and memorable BFCM experience.

• Benefits: Customers can easily find what they need and proceed with the purchase. At the same time, personalized user experience improves customer satisfaction.

Real-world case: Nordstrom implemented an online assistant that provides customers with personalized style recommendations, which is especially helpful during big sales like Black Friday. The service is only available for registered users, prompting new visitors to sign up with their emails to access the feature.

• Implementation: Tidio Live Chat features can be tailored to offer personalized assistance. You could assign special offers via live chat to customers looking for help.

8. “Surprise box” with every purchase

Offer a "surprise box" of mystery items with every purchase over a certain threshold. You may include mini versions of new products, holiday-themed treats, or exclusive coupons for future purchases to make the unboxing experience even more exciting.

• Benefits: The excitement of reaching the threshold for a mystery box increases the average order value and boosts overall customer engagement.

Real-world case: Too Faced Cosmetics ran a BFCM promotion offering a “surprise box” of deluxe samples with purchases over a certain threshold. This unexpected freebie encouraged higher cart values during Black Friday activities.

• Implementation: BOGOS Free Gift Buy X Get Y automates free gift-giving when customers reach a set threshold, perfect for offering a “mystery box” during checkout.

9. Virtual showroom with 360° product views

Set up a virtual showroom to let customers view 360° images of top products or seasonal best-sellers. Adding an interactive, "in-store" feel can make online shopping more engaging and help customers envision the products in their lives.

• Benefits: A virtual showroom lets customers feel your products, helping them make purchase decisions more confidently.

Real-world case: IKEA launched a virtual showroom with 360° product views to mimic the in-store browsing experience. During BFCM, this feature helps shoppers explore key sale items, allowing customers to “walk through” products virtually. The Choice Furniture Superstore company utilizes a similar approach along with offering a 15% Black Friday discount for a signup.

• Implementation: Magic 360 creates interactive 360° product views, bringing an immersive, showroom-like experience to your store.

10. Free online course or workshop access with purchase

If your products are related to a specific skill or lifestyle, include a free online course or workshop with every BFCM purchase. For example, if you sell art supplies, offer access to a short beginner’s art class, adding educational value that could attract and retain customers.

• Benefits: Partnering with educational brands can improve brand awareness and boost reach, while free bonuses motivate customers to participate in sales.

Real-world case: Littlewoods offers guitars and accessories at significant discounts bundled with access to a six-month free online course by GigaJam. Along with free shipping and the Buy Now Pay Later option, this deal seems especially appealing to beginners.

• Implementation: Thinkific integrates with Shopify, allowing you to offer courses and workshops as digital products, which can be bundled with physical purchases.

11. Gift-matching quiz for shoppers

Offer a quick quiz to let customers identify the type of gifts their friends and family might like and suggest products based on the results. Tailored gift ideas help customers navigate your product line and save time when making purchase decisions.

• Benefits: This personalized tool makes gift-finding easier and helps boost conversion rates and average order value.

Real-world case: Best Buy offered an interactive quiz to help their customers find gifts based on the recipient’s preferences. This tool became especially popular during the BFCM sales since it guided shoppers to the best products for everyone on their list.

• Implementation: Octane AI allows you to create a product recommendation quiz, guiding customers to find the perfect gift based on answers. If you’re looking at how to prepare for Black Friday for ecommerce using AI technology, learn more about generative AI integration services.

12. "Last chance to gift" reminders

For late BFCM sales, promote a “last chance to gift” reminder, encouraging customers to purchase gifts for loved ones. This gently nudges last-minute shoppers, and offering a free gift-wrapping option adds extra appeal.

• Benefits: These simple features help increase conversions at the final stage of the BFCM sales, maintaining the pre-Christmas vibe and solving customer issues.

Real-world case: Amazon promoted “last-minute” gift options with fast shipping to appeal to late buyers. They used a countdown timer and special discounts on items available for next-day delivery, driving urgency for late shoppers.

• Implementation: Essential Countdown Timer Bar lets you add a countdown timer to your Shopify store to convey urgency with a “last chance” message. This app supports customizable timers for specific sales reminders.

Conclusions

Now you’re fully geared for Shopify BFCM 2024. Let’s quickly sum up our Black Friday ideas and ways of their implementation.

• Create a shopping environment for premium customers with discount tiers using the Multiscount Shopify app.
• Set up locked website pages for early access after signup with the Locksmith app.
• Launch time-limited product drops with SMS/Push alerts with the PushOwl + Brevo app.
• Promote daily deals through creative email campaigns with the Klaviyo email marketing app.
• Let customers earn discounts and individual points through social media activities with the Gameball app.
• Stream live deals on Instagram or YouTube and embed streams to your Shopify store with Socialphotos.
• Implement a virtual shopping assistant for personalized user experience with Tidio Live Chat.
• Offer mystery gifting boxes when customers reach a certain threshold with BOGOS Free Gift Buy X Get Y.
• Create a virtual showroom for a 360° product view with the Magic 360 app.
• Provide free online courses with every purchase, using the Thinkific app.
• Start a gift-matching quiz to tailor products to customer requests with the Octane AI app.
• Integrate a last-minute gift reminder with the Essential Countdown Timer Bar app.

Given the high load of the BFCM season, we’re ready to assist with the technical part of the preparation. If you face any issues implementing Black Friday features into your Shopify store, don’t hesitate to contact the DigitalSuits team – a reliable Shopify Partner. We have extensive expertise to deliver fast, top-notch development solutions to impress your customers.