BFCM Marketing Trends and Statistics: What to Fix (And How)

The Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy continues to grow in size each year. This became even more evident in 2024, when the BFCM shopping statistics shot through the roof, shattering records on its way up.   

Naturally, 2025 is shaping up to be no different, and we can expect the sound of shopping records being shattered, both online and offline. Here, we will focus on online shopping predictions, statistics, and BFCM marketing trends.        

We will also talk about the CRM-first strategies that e-commerce businesses can use. With these strategies, they can turn the shopping frenzy into a delicious revenue boost for themselves.

Quick Snapshot of BFCM Marketing Trends and Statistics 2024 

• The five-day period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday registered a whopping $315 billion in online global sales (which was a 6% increase from 2023). 
• During BFCM 2024, Shopify merchants reported sales of $11.5 billion over the BFCM weekend. 
• Meanwhile, Adobe reported Cyber Monday numbers alone touching $13.3 billion. 
• As has been the case in recent years, Mobile continued to dominate BFCM 2024 numbers, as well. Mobile shopping traffic and sales accounted for 60% to 70% of all sales and traffic across the BFCM weekend. 
• Brands that integrated SMS into their BFCM Marketing strategy also registered a substantial spike in sales (reaching up to 20% in some instances).  

Based on these major BFCM marketing trends and statistics, we can come to a few conclusions leading up to BFCM 2025. 

These include: 

• The online sales statistics are expected to rise again, setting new records (meaning, new opportunities for brands to capitalize). 
• Mobile shopping has continued to dominate the global online sales, thanks to the convenience it provides to today’s internet shoppers. 
• SMS and Email marketing can’t be ignored and are useful additions to your BFCM marketing strategy.   

What do these BFCM Marketing trends mean for your holiday plan? 

Looking at the statistics from last year and the predictions for them to continue in 2025, here are certain things that brands can learn from. 

Start Early and Experiment

The excitement for peak shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday starts way before the actual event arrives. Shoppers begin browsing for deals and upcoming offers beforehand. 

• So, remember to test your creatives, emails, offers, and customer segmentation to find out what is working for your brand (and what isn’t).  
• Moreover, data from recent years also shows that brands that start promotions early take home a larger portion of the revenue on offer during the festive frenzy.

Make ‘Mobile First’ Your Priority

It is an established fact now that the majority of revenue during any festive frenzy comes from mobile shopping. What does that mean for brands? 

• Every landing page, email, checkout workflow, and creative must be optimized for mobile usage. 
• Why? Because the tiniest friction in the mobile shopping experience during the season will instantly result in lost revenue. 
• This can be achieved by optimizing forms, reducing steps and uncomplicating the shopping process, and enabling mobile wallets and BNPL. 

Leverage AI for Boosting Conversions

Any BFCM Marketing strategy in 2025 is incomplete without proper usage of artificial intelligence. Backed by AI, chat assistants and product search personalizers make the path to purchase a convenient process.  

• Brands must deploy on-site chat assistants, site search, and AI-backed subject line generation for their emails in their CRM workflows to boost personalization.   
• Moreover, brands that leverage AI report a measurable boost in ROI in their festive campaigns. 

Utilize All Conversation Channels

Emails remain the most critical conversational channel as far as the BFCM marketing trends are concerned. However, brands must also look to add: 

• SMS and WhatsApp alerts to send out time-sensitive alerts to generate a sense of urgency among potential customers. 
• Flash sales notifications, cart recovery messages, and personalised one-time codes work well in nudging customers towards making a purchase.

Keep Discounts Smaller AND Smarter 

Contrary to popular belief, brands that win during the BFCM weekend do so by offering smarter mid-range discounts rather than blanket deals like FLAT 50% off. 

• Offer tiered and personalized coupons instead of opting for the one-size-fits-all approach. 
• Do not blindly follow competitors when it comes to discounts and test different personalized and time-bound offers before you finalized one and stick with it.

Offer Flexible Checkout and Payment Options 

There’s nothing that a customer hates more than a complicated checkout and payment process. For this, here are some factors that brands need to consider. These factors are based on the consistent BFCM marketing trends over the years. 

• Ensure availability of flexible and convenient payment options, including mobile wallets, localized payment options, and BNPL. 
• In fact, the ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ is particularly enticing for shoppers during the festive period. It can come in super-handy in converting hesitant buyers to click on ‘shop now’.

Check Out FormPay for Seamless Payments

Ensure Optimum Post-Purchase Support  

To boost repeat purchases during the BFCM weekend and beyond, brands must also focus on post-purchase engagement and support. 

• Reduce the load on your support teams with automated post-purchase workflows for shipping updates, a robust knowledge base, and relevant FAQs. 
• Apart from helping in customer retention, these workflows also assist in return and refund handling, reducing the load on your support teams. 

CRM-first and Actionable BFCM Playbook by MakeWebBetter

• Centralize data in your CRM: Sync orders, coupons, email, chat, and ads into HubSpot (or your CRM of choice) so segments, journeys, and reporting are single-source-of-truth. 
• Prioritize ‘Mobile First’: Build automation templates: early-bird VIP access, cart recovery with BNPL reminders, timed countdown flows (hourly/daily), and post-purchase cross-sell/up-sell sequences. Pre-load creative variations and swap in winners quickly.
• Build Pre-configured BFCM workflows:  Use responsive templates, lazy-loading images, and single-click checkout options. Test CTAs and countdown timers in advance; use A/B test winners during peak hours.
• Leverage AI to boost conversion rate: Add AI chat for product discovery, personalized product recommendations in emails, and automated subject-line testing. Track AI-driven conversions in CRM attribution to justify scale.
• Go ‘omnichannel’ with your messaging: Map customer preferences and send promotions on the highest-performing channel per segment: SMS for urgent flash deals, email for content-rich promos, and WhatsApp for high-intent regional audiences. Schedule timing to avoid overlap and fatigue.
• Opt for smart and segmented coupon marketing: Generate dynamic, segmented coupons (VIP-only, cart-value thresholds, returning-customer incentives) and manage distribution through automated CRM workflows. Track coupon ROI inside HubSpot to prune ineffective offers.
• Don’t sleep on post-purchase support: Automate shipping notifications, FAQs, returns workflows, and post-purchase cross-sell sequences. Use knowledge base articles and AI search to deflect support tickets and keep CSAT high during the surge.

Ready to tap into the BFCM Marketing trends?

BFCM is no longer a single weekend, it’s a season that rewards preparation, fast experimentation, and deep personalization. MakeWebBetter’s HubSpot-first approach (centralized CRM, automated coupons, and workflow templates) directly addresses the top BFCM marketing trends, such as mobile dominance, AI-driven discovery, conversational channels, and smarter promotions.

Use the stats above to prioritize where to invest. The facets include mobile UX and payment flexibility, AI for discovery, and CRM automation for scale.