Are Black Friday Email Campaigns Worthwhile?

What was once just a single day of shopping madness has become a week-long, and in some cases longer, retail fiesta. But it wasn’t always the case.

While the term "Black Friday" is now largely associated with consumerism, the origins of the term was originally planted in the 1950s as police jargon used in Philadelphia to describe chaotic traffic congestion that was brought about by the influx of shoppers the day after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is now synonymous with consumerism, transcending its American roots. These days, a huge number of countries celebrate across the world. Beyond the UK and the US, these include Australia, Canada and the entirety of the European Continent.

A goldmine for retailers, the amount of money spent during this period runs into the billions of pounds, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday becoming a crucial driver and lifeline for many businesses across a multitude of industries. Millions of consumers eagerly await the start of the sales, both online and in-store; and email marketing has become one of the cornerstones that retailers use to make consumers aware of the deluge of offers open to them.

In 2023 alone, there were an estimated 45 billion emails sent during the build up to, and across the Black Friday - Cyber Monday weekend; a 15% increase on the number of emails sent through the same time period in 2022.

Every brand, from small businesses to multinational corporations, is vying for a spot in consumers’ inboxes. But many retailers annually seem to ask themselves, are Black Friday email campaigns worth it?

Measuring email campaign effectiveness during Black Friday

In evaluating the effectiveness of Black Friday email campaigns, it's crucial to dive into specific metrics that shed light on their impact. With the intense competition during this retail extravaganza, understanding these key performance indicators helps determine whether the time and resources invested in these campaigns are truly worthwhile. Below are the most important metrics to consider:

Open rates

Open rates are a key metric in email marketing; and statistics suggest that open rates typically surge during Black Friday. The allure of discounts and exclusive offers entices recipients to open. However, it’s essential to contextualise these numbers.

Higher open rates are a double-edged sword, as the consumers’ anticipation of deals and the fear of missing out (FOMO) will push consumers to open more emails; but this also comes with increased competition which means standing out and driving conversions becomes increasingly challenging.

Click-through rates

While open rates are reported to soar significantly higher than the 17.1% average annual retail levels, the click-through rates are largely believed to decline, as users are more selective about how they spent their time with so many other attractive and enticing discounts and exclusive offers available to them.

Quality over quantity

It’s crucial to focus on delivering valuable content rather than simply increasing your send volume. A well-crafted email with a compelling offer is more likely to convert at a higher rate, than a generic mass email that has little personalisation or no uniqueness.

The positives of email marketing during Black Friday

While Black Friday email campaigns can be challenging to execute, the ROI is certainly worthwhile, when they’re done right. This retail phenomenon presents a unique window of opportunity for brands to not only drive immediate sales but also to build lasting customer relationships and gather valuable data. Here’s a closer look at the benefits of leveraging email marketing during Black Friday:

Key Customer Acquisition Opportunity - Black Friday is an excellent opportunity to attract new customers with compelling offers, at a time when consumers are ready and willing to spend.
Customer Retention - Black Friday is an opportunity to reward your existing customers with exclusive deals fostering a level of loyalty that will drive purchasing 12 months of the year.
Increased Sales - When done right, Black Friday can increase your annualised sales revenue by as much as 50%.
Data Collection - Black Friday campaigns provide valuable insights into your customers behaviour and their preferences, which can fuel your marketing activity for the rest of the year.

The negatives of email marketing during Black Friday

Of course, it can’t all be good. Here are some of the key downsides to consider:

High Costs - Email marketing tools, design, and staffing can be expensive; and getting a return on your investment will have a higher base cost during Black Friday than almost any other time of the year.
Inbox Competition - Standing out in a crowded inbox is incredibly difficult, and regardless of whether your email campaign converts or not, you still have to pay your platform / sending costs
Decreased ROI - If not executed with precision and perfection, Black Friday can be a money pit, where you are selling products at a significantly reduced RRP, while your customer acquisition costs may in fact be higher than the times where you are selling your product at full price.

Is it worth it?

The answer is, unfortunately, ‘it depends’. While Black Friday email campaigns can be demanding, they also present a significant opportunity for revenue. So until Black Friday loses its lustre; and the consumer engagement and volume of spending declines, it could still be worth diversifying your marketing efforts to include email marketing campaigns during this window. Just make sure that you are prepared for success, and adjust your strategy to suit market conditions.

How to prepare for Black Friday email campaigns

Here are our top 7 tips for making your Black Friday email campaigns the best possible.

Start Early - Build anticipation with a pre-Black Friday campaign. Whether that’s through hinting at your offerings or providing straightforward information about some of your deals. Getting your customers excited, and perhaps even pencilling in what they want so that they’re ready for the big day, is a great technique for success.
Personalisation - Tailor emails to specific customer segments, and make sure that the messaging and offers mirror the data you’ve collected about that customer segment throughout the year.
Mobile Optimisation - Ensure your emails are mobile-first, and mobile-friendly; as this is likely to be how most of your customers will view them.
Clear and Compelling Offers - Highlight the value proposition in a straightforward and compelling way so that the user doesn’t need to take more than 5 seconds to understand the deal.
Strong Subject Lines - Grab the attention with punchy and eye-catching headlines without straying into the realm of being misleading.
A/B Test - While Black Friday isn’t the longest window of time, there is still time to experiment with different email variations.
Post-Black Friday Follow-Ups - Nurture the relationships with abandoned cart emails, post-sale offers, and messages offering support or guidance on how to get the most from what you are selling

By carefully planning, executing and analysing your email marketing efforts, you can increase your chances of success and achieve a strong return on investment.

About the author

Christopher Wykes is a digital lead and account manager at Kaweb, a Birmingham-based digital marketing agency. With a wide range of marketing experience, Chris often contributes industry-leading information.