5 tips for optimizing your Black Friday & Cyber Monday promotion in 2026

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) remain two of the most important events of the year for eCommerce businesses. However, succeeding during this peak shopping period is no longer just about offering deep discounts or having flawless logistics. Today's shoppers are exposed to hundreds of promotions and expect personalized, seamless, and consistent shopping experiences across every channel.

To learn more about why planning ahead is essential, read our article "How to Prepare Early for a Successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday."

The retailers that consistently outperform their competitors are those that build their strategy around customer data, integrate artificial intelligence into the customer journey, and leverage a unified commerce approach to deliver personalized experiences and orchestrate relevant campaigns across every touchpoint.

At the same time, consumer interest in using AI throughout the online shopping journey continues to grow rapidly. According to the 2026 eCommerce Trends Report, 63% of Canadians say they are willing to use AI-powered tools to assist with their online purchases—an increase of 13 percentage points compared to 2025. To learn more, explore our report created in collaboration with Léger: "AI & eCommerce: What Canadians Are Really Adopting in 2026."

This shift reflects a significant change in consumer behavior. While AI was still considered an emerging trend in 2025, it has reached mainstream adoption in 2026. For retailers, the question is no longer whether to experiment with AI, but how to adapt customer journeys for shoppers who are increasingly assisted by intelligent technologies.

With these trends in mind, here are five recommendations to help you prepare a high-performing BFCM strategy for 2026 and maximize the results of your next peak season.

1. Extend the duration of your promotion

To reduce logistical pressure and provide a better customer experience, many companies now extend their promotions over several days or even weeks. In 2026, a unified commerce approach enables you to synchronize your offers across all your sales channels (website, marketplaces, physical stores) to deliver a consistent, optimized experience for your customers.

Here are a few examples of promotions that go beyond BFCM:

• Launch a “Cyber Week”: Rather than concentrating promotions on a single weekend, extend them over an entire week (or even a month!), with offers that evolve each day. For example, start the Monday before Black Friday with moderate discounts, then gradually increase the reductions until you reach the best offers for Cyber Monday. This helps to manage traffic and stagger orders to avoid overloads.
• Early access to offers for subscribers: Give your VIP newsletter lists and loyal customers exclusive access to promotions 48 hours before everyone else. For example, “Pre-BFCM: access our best offers from Wednesday for members of our loyalty program”. This approach creates a sense of exclusivity and encourages sign-ups to your loyalty program or newsletter, while allowing orders to be distributed over several days.
• Extend promotions beyond Cyber Monday: Extend promotions beyond the weekend with an “Extended Cyber Weekend”. For example, offer additional discounts for latecomers or those who missed out on the main offers. This can include free delivery or a gift with purchase for purchases made between Tuesday and Friday following Cyber Monday, keeping customers interested while spreading out order management.

For a better orchestration of your campaigns during BFCM, read How to prepare your communications for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday.

In brief, extending the duration of your promotions enables you to better manage your logistics flows and optimize the customer experience at all your points of contact.

2. Propose creative and different offers

Faced with increasing competition, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd with original promotions. From exclusive offers to progressive discounts, originality is the key to attracting consumers’ attention. In 2026, unified commerce makes it possible to personalize these offers according to your customers’ buying habits, whether online or in-store.

Here are some ideas for promotions that might inspire you:

• Progressive discounts: Offer discounts that increase with the amount spent. For example, “20% off for $100, 30% off for $150 and 40% off for $250 or more”. This encourages customers to spend more and feel rewarded.
• Exclusive BFCM bundles: Create bundles of products only available during BFCM. These bundles can include best-sellers combined with less popular products, helping you to clear stock while creating a unique offer.
• Use Customer Data to Personalize Your Promotions: Personalized promotions based on customer profiles, purchasing behavior, and communication channels consistently improve conversion rates while maximizing the profitability of Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaigns.
• Mystery offer: Offer your customers a surprise when they make a purchase. For example, “Receive a mystery gift for any purchase over $50”. This approach creates excitement and a sense of rarity around the promotion.
• Discounts for first buyers: Offer special discounts for the first buyers of the day. For example, “The first 100 customers of the day receive 50% off”. This creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity for buyers.
• Contest with every purchase: Turn the purchasing process into a fun experience by organizing a contest during BFCM. For example, for every purchase made, the customer has a chance to win an exclusive prize, such as a free product, a voucher or an additional discount on their next order. You can use a wheel of fortune or instant draw system, accessible directly on your site, creating an element of surprise and engagement.

For more inspiring campaign ideas, especially for events like Giving Tuesday, read our article “Giving Tuesday campaign ideas”.

What’s important to remember is that creative promotion, aligned with your customers’ expectations and behaviors across different channels, increases their satisfaction and your sales.

3. Exploit cross-sell and upsell

BFCM is an ideal time to maximize the value of every transaction. Offer cross-sells and encourage your customers to opt for premium versions of their products (upsells). With unified commerce tools, you can offer real-time, personalized recommendations based on data collected across all your channels.

Here are a few upsell and cross-sell strategies that may be of interest during BFCM:

• Complementary product recommendations: Suggest complementary items directly on the product page or in the shopping cart. For example, if a customer is buying a phone, you can suggest accessories such as a protective case or headphones. Use tools like “Frequently Bought Together” to automate this strategy.
• Premium upgrade offer: When your customers select a product, offer them an upgraded version at a reduced price. For example, if a customer chooses a basic subscription to a service, offer an upgrade to a premium package at a 20% discount. This also works well with items such as electronics or clothing.
• Exclusive product bundles: Create bundles by combining products that complement each other well. These bundles are presented as a BFCM special offer, encouraging customers to buy more while saving money.
• Discounts on additional purchases: Offer a discount on one item when the customer buys another. For example, “Buy one pair of shoes and get 30% off a second pair”. This approach stimulates multiple purchases and encourages customers to explore different product categories.
• Additional service offers: For certain products, offer an additional upsell service, such as an extended warranty or personalization service. This works well for more expensive items such as appliances, jewelry or furniture. It’s also a good opportunity to encourage customers to visit you in store. 

If you’d like to better understand how to leverage your customer data in this key period, read our article “Understand your data and seize opportunities in Q4”.

4. Reward your loyal customers

During BFCM, the cost of acquiring new customers (CPA) generally increases. It therefore becomes essential to capitalize on your loyal customers. Offering an exclusive promotion to regular or VIP buyers reinforces their commitment and loyalty. In 2026, unified commerce enables you to reward these customers seamlessly, whether they buy online or in-store.

Here are some ideas for rewarding your best customers:

• Exclusive VIP offers: Reward your most loyal customers with additional discounts or free products, available only to them during BFCM. For example, “VIP members receive an extra 10% discount on all our promotions”.
• Boosted loyalty program: Double loyalty points for every purchase made during the BFCM period, keeping your loyal customers coming back for more. “Earn 2x more loyalty points on all your purchases from Black Friday to Cyber Monday”.
• Exclusive event for loyal shoppers: Organize a special online event just for your loyal shoppers, where they can preview your new collections and benefit from exclusive discounts. For example, “Join our live VIP event on the Thursday evening before Black Friday, with special offers reserved for our best customers”.

To better understand how to improve your performance during this period, discover our tips in the article “5 ways to improve your eCommerce performance during high season”.

5. Rely on gift cards

Gift cards are often underestimated, but they represent a powerful lever for loyalty and cash generation. In 2026, make sure your gift cards are easily accessible and usable both online and in-store. Unified gift card management allows you to offer your customers maximum flexibility while optimizing your cash flow. They also enable you to postpone certain purchases you would have made during the busy season, and put them off until the quieter season.

How do you use gift cards? Here are two examples:

• Enhanced gift cards: Offer added value on your gift cards during BFCM. For example, “For every $100 gift card, receive $120 to spend. This strategy encourages customers to buy immediately, while guaranteeing that they’ll come back later to use up their balance.
• Complementary gift card: Use gift cards as a loyalty tool by adding them to your sales. For example, include a $20 gift card in every order of $100 or more. This increases the value of the average basket and ensures that your customers will come back to enjoy their gift.

To find out more, read our article “How to adapt your eCommerce marketing strategy to seasonal trends”.

The KPIs That Matter Most During BFCM

Sales volume remains an important metric, but it is no longer enough to measure the true success of a BFCM campaign. In 2026, leading retailers also track performance indicators that provide insight into profitability, marketing efficiency, and customer retention.

Some of the most valuable BFCM KPIs include:

• Average Order Value (AOV)
• Conversion Rate
• Revenue per Visitor (RPV)
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC/CPA)
• Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
• Percentage of Revenue Generated by Existing Customers
• Post-Holiday Gift Card Redemption Rate

Beyond overall sales, these metrics provide a more accurate picture of promotional profitability and help guide future business decisions. The weeks following Black Friday and Cyber Monday should be used to analyze campaign performance, identify your most profitable customer segments, evaluate promotional effectiveness, optimize marketing automations, and prepare your holiday campaigns. The insights gathered during this process will help build an even stronger BFCM strategy for the following year.

As customer expectations continue to evolve and artificial intelligence reshapes the online shopping experience, the most successful retailers are those that embrace continuous improvement, leveraging customer data, experimentation, and ongoing optimization to stay ahead of the competition.

At Novatize, we help businesses plan, execute, and optimize their eCommerce strategies to maximize performance during peak shopping seasons. Whether you're preparing for your next Black Friday and Cyber Monday campaign, enhancing your unified commerce strategy, or integrating AI into your customer experience, our team is ready to help you achieve your goals.

Looking for a specialist to support you during BFCM?

Pierre-Olivier Brassard

Vice President - Products and Technology, Partner

contact@novatize.com+1 844 932-6682

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