Proven Black Friday Strategies for Fashion Brands

Three things to notice. Nobody sends one email — every brand here sent a sequence. The save-the-date does the heavy lifting, because it books attention before the inbox floods. And the brands with a mechanic beyond a percentage got to send more emails without repeating themselves 😉

Have different discount tiers and a gift with purchase

A consumer looking for great deals will find it enticing to see many discount choices up for grabs.

Take a look at this promotional email below from Blush Mark, sent on the actual Black Friday date. The brand offers three discount promotions, depending on how much a shopper buys. The bigger the total purchase, the higher the discount.

You can use this idea to upsell and motivate higher spending, without resorting to pushy tactics. Once a consumer sees how much they can save, it would feel like a no-brainer to make the wise choice.

Black Friday is Now Live!, sent by Blush Mark

It doesn't end there however.

A few hours after Blush Mark's first email, they send another one with a promo of free gifts and free shipping with no minimum spend, on top of the current promotions they were running.

If you want to encourage your customers to purchase more, you can incentivize every purchase with a gift and free shipping.

Take notes from the email below.

Black Friday Savings Are Going Fast!, sent by Blush Mark

Send a save-the-date before Black Friday

Announcing your Black Friday sale early gives you sufficient time to generate buzz for your fashion brand. You can start by creating an early email reminder to your newsletter subscribers and encouraging your audience to share the news and follow your social media for updates. 

This email example was sent by Ben Sherman about 1 month before the actual Black Friday event.

The lesson: It’s never too early to promote your deals so go schedule your Black Friday emails early. This way, your subscribers will have you on top of their minds when the sale approaches.

Black Friday Is Around The Corner – Don’t Miss Out 📅, sent by Ben Sherman

Have a pre-Black Friday sale

Aside from giving Black Friday reminders early, some fashion brands have a pre-Black Friday shopping promo before the actual date (as early as a week before Black Friday).

The discounts are on selected items only. 

Take a look at the email example below from Outdoor Voices, sent 7 days before Black Friday. They called it the Pre-Black Friday and they offered a 50% discount online and in-store for select styles.

50% Off Pre-Black Friday, sent by Outdoor Voices

Use urgency near the end of promotions

Retailers routinely extend Black Friday sales beyond Thanksgiving weekend and into Cyber Monday. You can start giving deals through advertising in late October and early November, then nurture through email and social media campaigns to drive sales.

But don’t forget to use urgency to boost sales in the tail end of the Black Friday sale period.

Let's look at the example below from Happy Socks. 

Black Friday is ending soon! ⌛, sent by Happy Socks

Add excitement through a treasure hunt

You can create more exciting and fun promotional campaigns around Black Friday like what Gymshark did with their Black Friday “Treasure Hunt”.

The concept is simple. They hid discount codes across their site, ranging from 10 to 70 percent off the regular price. Plus, they limit the time shoppers can look for these hidden discounts (only 2 hours starting from 11 AM PST).

This works well because of two reasons. One, people love the thrill of a hunt, especially for a good deal. They don't know what discount code they'll find, adding to the novelty.

Secondly, by looking around the website, they are bound to discover a product they weren't intending on buying but want to add to their cart, whether discounted or not. The treasure hunt game can be an exploration tool that leads to a bigger purchase value.

Black Friday Treasure Hunt 🔎, sent by Gymshark

Still up? Let’s get moving with some more campaign ideas below.

Launch a new product

Product drops give customers a strong sense of anticipation. 

As an example, take this email from Frankies Bikinis. On top of their sitewide sale, Frankies Bikinis' Black Friday campaign showcased brand new styles, with one released every day for 5 consecutive days.

These new products were offered at a 20% discount, sitewide.

And since there was an exclusive drop every day for 5 days, it drives customers to constantly check their website so they won’t miss out. Sitewide sale plus new drops every day: a genius combination!

BLACK FRIDAY IS ON! 💫 20% Off EVERYTHING & A NEW Drop, sent by Frankies Bikinis

Host a contest for loyal customers 

Holding a contest is a low-effort way to stand out during Black Friday. It boosts brand awareness and stirs engagement, especially for your existing customers or fanbase.

There is no limit to the creativity that you can integrate into these contests. As long as it can boost brand awareness and can help you reach potential customers, you can give it a try.

You’ll see in the email example below that Blush Mark conducted a contest in line with their Black Friday campaign. The banner text “Select our Brand Tagline” has appeal since people naturally want to win to try their luck at competitions, especially when the reward is a great discount.

Plus, this tagline competition is easy to take part in as it entails picking a tagline out of the choices. If someone picks the tagline that wins, they get a $50 shopping credit. Plus, they have an added raffle promo for customers who take part in the tagline contest.

This type of competition is incredibly appealing and is a good way to generate leads because the winners need to register an account with them.

It also capitalizes on the customers’ desire for free stuff, in this case, $50 credit or if they’re luckier, they can get their orders for free. 

WIN HUGE REWARDS THIS BLACK FRIDAY💥, sent by Blush Mark

Donate part of your sales to charity

Consider offering charity donations instead of discounting items this Black Friday. This can touch upon the personal values of your customers and build a stronger brand reputation.

Here’s an example from the brand Finisterre, who "swapped discounts for donations" in a campaign called Turning Black Friday Blue. Basically, for every order they receive on Black Friday, they will match it with a donation of a wetsuit to people in need.

People like donating for a cause and if their spending actually does some good for others, they'll be enthusiastic about supporting your brand.

Turning Black Friday Blue, Sent by Finisterre

Create FAQs dedicated to the event

Black Friday, though exciting, is a confusing time for shoppers as well. Deals and discounts can be complicated. People also have different payment methods they want to use or want to get the most out of the sale.

The more they understand the offers you're giving, the more they are likely to participate. The best way to address buyer questions and concerns is through an FAQ section.

You might think creating an FAQ just for Black Friday is too much but as the email below shows, consumers will thank you for assisting them.

Here’s a sweet marketing move from the brand Gymshark where they created a special FAQ page to address all the questions their customers might have about their Black Friday deals. 

FAQs provide convenience to buyers and it pushes them one step closer to actually purchasing your items.

Black Friday Qs, sent by Gymshark

Offer bundles

What's better than a big discount on something you're eyeing? A big discount on multiple products! This is where bundles are so effective. People see them and are instantly drawn to more savings for more pieces.

It also takes the guesswork out of shopping because you're recommending pieces that go well together.

This email from Hatch includes curated bundles depending on the stage of pregnancy a woman is at up until their postpartum stage. The clothes are arranged in an appealing flatlay that highlights how they complement each other.

Note that the discount of 25% is highlighted in this email and that the discount applies to all bundles, driving home how good of a bargain the brand's offer is.

The Mother of All Sales Just Got Better, Sent by HATCH

Make this Black Friday deal feel rare, because it is

People don't want to miss out on a once-in-a-blue-moon, rare unicorn shopping deal so if you have infrequent sales or are marking down products that usually don't get discounted, make sure your marketing emphasizes this.

Take a look at this email from Allbirds. They have a 50% ribbon going across the top of the email. They also have a clever title for their Black Friday promotion: The Never-On-Sale Sale.

For added punch, the copy below the headline invites the consumer to shop now while supplies last, a great FOMO tactic.

Never-On-Sale Sale, Sent by Allbirds

Pepper also pulls off the scarcity tactic well. This time, they put the percentage of the discount front and center.

Then, a short line states that this deal only happens once a year. Then below, they have a one-day-only offer on a bestselling product.

Here, they show the discount price before the Black Friday sale (20%) and the new discount (50%) to make this promotion more appealing.

The Black Friday Sale, Sent by Pepper

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Highlight your Black Friday bestsellers

Speaking of bestsellers, why not feature your bestsellers of Black Friday for an added dose of social proof? Take a look at the email below from Lululemon about their "Best of Black Friday" picks.

These products are already selling like hotcakes so shoppers will be more interested in considering them. People like to follow the wisdom of the crowd, after all.

To top it off, show each piece's regular price next to its Black Friday price. Then, watch those carts fill up.

The MVPs of Black Friday, Sent by Lululemon

Treat your VIPs

Don't forget your VIP customers on Black Friday. New customers are all well and good but you have to take care of your existing customers, too.

Cupshe does this by giving their VIPs early access and an extra 15 percent discount on top of their Black Friday sale. Plus, there's no minimum spend for VIPs. Now they've got no reason left to close the tab.

Exclusive Black Friday Early Access, Sent by Cupshe

Ace your Black Friday promotions

That ends our Black Friday marketing ‍idea roundup! We hope you go beyond just price reductions for the most-awaited sale of the year. 

There’s a wealth of offers and tactics to choose from like multiple discount tiers, pre-sale announcements, urgent copy, and new product drops. 

By trying one or two strategies from this article, you are on your way to giving your Black Friday sales a big boost! 

Want more ideas and inspiration? Check out our email swipe file with over 100 newsletter ideas you can use for your next campaign.

FAQs

When should fashion brands start promoting their Black Friday deals? 

Brands can start as early as a month before Black Friday, sending "save-the-date" reminders and creating buzz.

What are some ways to create excitement beyond simple discounts? 

Brands can implement treasure hunts with hidden discount codes, launch new product drops daily, or host contests for their loyal customers.

How can brands cater to their VIP customers during Black Friday? 

Brands can offer VIPs early access to sales, additional discounts, and even remove minimum spend requirements to reward their loyalty.

What day should fashion brands send their Black Friday emails?

Send a sequence, not a day. The save-the-date goes out two to four weeks ahead, the opening email lands Thursday evening or early Friday, and the urgency emails run Sunday and Cyber Monday. Brands in this article that sent one email on Friday got one shot. Brands that sent four had four.

How deep should a fashion brand's Black Friday discount be?

Tier it instead of picking one number. The campaigns here run from 20% sitewide up to 70% on selected items, and the ones that worked hardest paired a modest sitewide cut with a deeper cut on a small selection — so the headline stays credible and the deep discount still pulls people in. A gift with purchase does the same job without cutting price at all.