November essentials: Build up to Black Friday with best practices & new insights
Welcome back
To November, that is! In e-commerce marketing, all calendars point to November and its pinnacle moment, Black Friday-Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend. Every year, without fail, November becomes a decisive month for business owners and agencies, crunch time for creative teams, and a marathon for media buyers.
Your year’s work comes to a crescendo in November: It’s time to take all the insights and leads you’ve gained, whether in October or May, and convert them into your highest revenue weekend of the year.
Sounds intense, right? The reality is, aspects of BFCM change every year, but much of it is predictable.
It’s been the biggest sale of the year, every year for a couple decades now. And here at Strategy Labs, we’ve turned practice, analysis, and a little patience over the years into a reliable BFCM playbook.
The best BFCM marketers will operate from a playbook AND consider what’s different about this year. Leveraging data-backed learnings while making educated bets on future trends is essential to seizing this moment.
We’re here to help you do both. Let’s begin.
Why follow Strategy Labs’ playbook? Year after year, we’ve increased our clients’ revenue while decreasing their ad spend. If you’re advertising in Meta, Google, or any other social channel, you may want to take a page from our book.
Last year’s results for Strategy Labs e-comm clients
Customers spent more, we spent less.
Total ad spend:
↓2.5% YoY
Total revenue:
↑15% YoY
But don’t just look at our numbers. Look at your Q4 2024 performance. What worked? What didn’t?
You don’t have to face BFCM alone
Strategy Labs can analyze your business’ historic data to help you drive higher profits.
What’s New for BFCM 2025
The thorn in advertisers’ heel last year: the election driving up CPMs. This year? Tariffs and a government shutdown fueling economic uncertainty on top of steadily climbing CPMs.
That sounds foreboding, but BFCM sales are projected to increase YoY, too. Black Friday will bring us the same holiday rush, just with a different economic landscape.
Bain & Company expects sales to increase by 11% YoY between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with 55% of U.S. consumers planning to shop on Black Friday itself.
More shoppers plan to take advantage of the big sale weekend — not despite economic concerns, but because of them. EMarketer notes that 49% of shoppers say getting a great deal is the most important factor in choosing where they’ll shop this Cyber 5.
This means it’s even more important to be prepared for BFCM this year, as the sales window will be more concentrated with deal-seeking shoppers.
Economic projections
Even higher CPMs
CPMs during Cyber 5 2024 were 39% higher than the previous year, and we expect that trend to continue this year.
Generate demand well before the holiday(s) while CPMs are lower.
Use this time to test new sales or site strategies.
2. Expand your reach
Leverage Meta, TikTok, and Google PMAX to effectively reach new customers before the sale.
Cast a wide but meaningful net by optimizing toward qualified actions like email signups, page views, or adds to cart.
3. Put your best ads forward
Highlight your bestselling products in your ads.
Tell your brand story across the user journey, so users remember and connect with your brand during the Cyber 5.
Create assets with a variety of formats and messaging angles to reach wider audiences.
Our recommendations: Leverage a full-funnel strategy for better ROI
Strategy Labs case study
A Strategy Labs e-comm client saw a 28% increase in website traffic and conversions after we ran video-driven campaigns on Meta weeks before a big sale. Once it was time to launch the promotion, our media team was able to retarget users who had recently visited the site, added an item to their cart or watched the video.
The client saw a 19% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
1. Start early, like yesterday
In September, we noted that CPMs were up 29% YTD across all our digital channels, and that has only increased as we’ve moved toward BFCM.
The fact is it’s a more aggressive marketplace in 2025. So how do you actively battle cost increases during the most important retail weekend of the year?
Imagine your brand backed by a team of performance marketers
Let’s explore how your numbers could look different with Strategy Labs.
Ready to turn your fall into BFCM success?
Now’s the time to act. The sooner you test, the stronger you’ll scale. Partner with Strategy Labs this fall, and let’s build the momentum that carries your brand into Black Friday-Cyber Monday and beyond.
Interested in seeing what Strategy Labs can do for your Q4?