Key Takeaways
- Focus your biggest offers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Prioritize mobile-first design for every touchpoint.
- Use bundles, gifts, and exclusives, not just discounts, to drive sales.
- Update automations and segment smartly for VIP and at-risk audiences.
- Keep messaging consistent across email, SMS, and ads for one unified brand experience.
When hundreds of founders and marketers filled the Denver Art Museum for Smart Marketer Live 2025, one session stood out. Rytis Lauris, co-founder and CEO of Omnisend, took the stage to share insights drawn from billions of emails and SMS messages sent during last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
With data from more than 150,000 brands and 24 billion emails sent in 2024, Rytis’ talk wasn’t based on trends or hunches, it was a deep dive into what actually worked and how marketers can prepare now for the most profitable weekend of the year.
Timing Is Everything
The biggest question Rytis hears every fall is when to start running offers. His advice: don’t rush it.
Omnisend and Adobe data show that most sales still happen during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, not weeks before. Customers wait for those dates because they’ve been conditioned to expect the best deals then. While early communication builds awareness, launching discounts too soon just wastes your best offers before people are ready to buy.
Even events like Amazon Prime Day barely dent the momentum of Cyber Ten (the Thursday–Monday window that includes both holidays). The message is clear: prepare early and offer deals but save going big for when it counts.
Another key insight from last year: mobile dominated once again. Over 60% of BFCM purchases came from smartphones.
Every email, landing page, and popup form needs to be mobile-first and seamless, or you risk losing more than half your traffic.
When and How to Discount
Category timing matters. Omnisend found that electronics brands tend to offer the steepest discounts on Cyber Monday, while fashion and home goods peak on Black Friday. Understanding your vertical helps you plan the right cadence for your campaigns.
But Rytis also dispelled one of the biggest myths of the season: you don’t have to discount to win.
Last year, roughly half of high-performing BFCM emails contained no discount. Instead, those brands drove conversions with creative offers like product bundles, gifts with purchase, early access perks, and VIP presales.
For those that did discount, 10–25% off proved to be the sweet spot, big enough to drive urgency without crushing margins.
Smart Segmentation for Real Results
Segmentation can feel complex, but Rytis simplified it into two must-have audiences:
- Your best customers: The top spenders and most loyal buyers who deserve VIP treatment. Give them early access and special messaging that makes them feel recognized.
- At-risk customers: Shoppers who haven’t purchased or engaged in the last 6–12 months. BFCM is your last, best chance to win them back.
Even if you’re not using advanced AI tools, these two segments alone can drive powerful results. And for Omnisend users, AI-assisted segmentation can now build these groups automatically with plain-language prompts, saving hours of manual setup.
What the Best-Performing Emails Have in Common
Omnisend’s analysis of more than one billion BFCM emails revealed clear patterns among top performers:
- Keep subject lines short. Fewer than 40 characters and seven words get the best open rates.
- Say “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday.” It sounds obvious, but clarity beats cleverness during peak shopping.
- Stay concise. Limit body copy to under 480 words and two or three strong calls to action.
- Show fewer products. Three to six featured items outperform crowded grids.
- Create FOMO. Urgency phrases like “ends at midnight” or “offer expires in 3 hours” drive clicks and conversions.
Rytis also reminded attendees that customers aren’t reading during this weekend, they’re scanning. Simplicity, consistency, and visual clarity are what get people to click “buy.”
But don’t let email completely overshadow text communication. SMS open rates skyrocket during Black Friday weekend, and when paired with email, they create a one-two punch of visibility and immediacy.
Update Your Automations
Most brands set their automations and forget them, but Rytis urged attendees to update every major flow before the holidays.
Here are 3 easy changes you can make right now to each of your 3 most profitable flows (welcome series, cart abandon and browse abandon):
Welcome Series
- Highlight Top-Rated Products and Gifting: Position bestsellers upfront with gift framing to guide new subscribers to proven winners.
- Promote All Value-Adds: Make shipping, returns, and product quality part of the pitch, not an afterthought.
- Streamline Your Flow: Don’t save the best for last. Cover the essentials (products + value points) as early as your first message.
Product Abandonment
- Optimize Timing: Message 1 at 1 hour, Message 2 twelve hours later, and Message 3 another twelve hours after.
- Leverage Testimonials: Social proof builds trust and can push hesitant customers over the line. Bonus points for holiday-themed testimonials.
- Help them Build a Winning Cart: Suggest top-rated products or alternatives by price point to keep interest high.
Cart Abandonment
- Increase the Pace: Message 1 at 30 minutes, Message 2 at 90 minutes, Message 3 twelve hours later, and Message 4 another twelve hours later.
- Incorporate Incentives: Layer small additional discounts or gifts from Message 2 onward to nudge them over the finish line.
- Upgrade Subject Lines: Avoid “Oops, you left something…”; instead, highlight urgency and value (e.g., Your cart items won’t last long)
And for all flows, add SMS follow-ups wherever possible to make your automations multichannel. Consistent messaging across every touchpoint gives your customers confidence and keeps your brand top of mind.
Lessons from a Billion Messages
Even with perfect preparation, mistakes happen. Rytis pointed out that “oops” emails (those lighthearted messages brands send after a small error) often see the highest conversion rates of any campaign. They work because they feel human.
His larger message was that the brands who thrive during BFCM aren’t the ones who hustle hardest at the last minute. They’re the ones who plan early, test thoroughly, and align every channel to deliver a seamless customer experience.
As he put it, “If you’re prepared, Black Friday doesn’t have to be stressful. It can be your most profitable and most exciting weekend of the year.”
This year, success won’t come from new tricks or trends. It will come from mastering the fundamentals and executing them with precision.
