9 Best Black Friday Marketing Ideas Your Customers Will Love

I don’t know about you, but Black Friday feels very different this year. Shoppers are stepping into the season with tighter budgets, longer wishlists, and far less tolerance for chaotic “everything must go” energy.

That’s the mindset this guide is built around.

These ideas are shaped for the 2025 shopper: budget-conscious, selective, and far more responsive to brands that feel intentional and personal. Nothing here requires an enormous budget or a full team — just thoughtful strategy, the right tools, and a sense of what people genuinely need this season.

Let’s build a Black Friday plan that meets them where they are — and helps you convert more of them.

Get Into Your Customers’ Minds Before Black Friday

Before you even think about discounts or graphics or pop-ups, you need a feel for the headspace your customers are in this year. And honestly? It’s a different landscape from even two years ago.

When you understand that mindset, your Black Friday strategy shifts.
You stop thinking, “How do I make this louder?” and start thinking, “How do I make this easier?”

That’s the goal of the ideas in this guide — smoother experiences, clearer choices, and marketing that feels like it was built for real people trying to stretch their money further this season.

9 Best Black Friday Marketing Ideas to Boost Sales in 2025

Now that we’re grounded in how people are actually shopping this year, let’s talk strategy. Not the “throw a big discount on everything and hope for the best” type of strategy — the kind that respects your customer’s budget, attention span, and decision-making process.

I’ve pulled together the ideas that consistently perform well across industries, especially in a year where:

Some of these are quick wins. Others can anchor your entire Black Friday campaign. Use what fits your brand, your bandwidth, and your goals — no pressure to do all of them at once. The beauty of Black Friday is that even a single smart idea can outperform a messy “everything sale.”

Let’s get into the first one.

1. The Golden Rule: Create a Sense of Urgency and FOMO — and Start Early

If there’s one lesson I relearn every Black Friday, it’s this: shoppers move early. Way earlier than most businesses expect. According to the NRF, a huge portion of customers start researching weeks ahead, and they walk into Black Friday with a plan — not a whim.

That’s exactly why urgency works… but only if you start building it long before the sale goes live.

A simple countdown timer can do more work than a dozen reminder posts. When someone lands on your page and sees a deadline ticking down, it cuts through the noise instantly. They stop browsing “for later” and start thinking, “Okay, let me check this out before it disappears.”

And since most Black Friday buying now happens on mobile (Adobe Digital Economy Index 2024), that little bit of FOMO needs to show up beautifully on a small screen.

If you’re on WordPress, Thrive Ultimatum makes this painless. You get ready-made campaign templates, mobile-friendly countdowns, and timed display rules you can set and forget.

Once your timers are set, warm up your audience:

By the time your sale opens, people aren’t surprised — they’re prepared.

And that’s exactly the energy you want going into Black Friday.

2. Offer “Skip the Line” Early Access Sales for a Fee

I love this strategy because it taps into a truth we all know: people will happily pay for convenience. Especially on Black Friday, when deals move fast and stock disappears even faster.

The data backs this up — early access programs consistently outperform regular launches because they create calm. And your customers crave calm. They want to shop without the pressure, the rush, or the feeling that everything good will sell out before they even log in.

It works because it signals exclusivity and peace of mind. When you say, “Shop everything a day early and avoid the chaos,” people instantly get it.

A few ways to make this feel special instead of salesy:

If you’re running this on WordPress, it’s easy to build a private early-access page in Thrive Architect and lock it behind a password, then schedule the public version to replace it later with Thrive Ultimatum.

And please — treat these customers like the VIPs they are. Give them a clean layout, first access to your best deals, and maybe even a small “VIP-only” bonus. It’s a simple way to turn your most loyal shoppers into your highest-converting segment long before Black Friday even begins.

3. Run a Black Friday “Restock Countdown” for Sold-Out Items

If there’s one thing shoppers hate during Black Friday, it’s the feeling of missing out because something sold out five minutes before they got there. And honestly? That frustration is avoidable.

A restock countdown flips that disappointment into anticipation — and it keeps people on your site instead of sending them straight to a competitor.

When a popular item sells out, don’t just put up a grey “Out of stock” badge and walk away. Give your customers:

It sounds small, but it works because you’re giving them certainty in a weekend that’s usually pure chaos.

If you’re using WordPress, you can drop a countdown block right on your sales page page with Thrive Architect, and pair it with a minimalist opt-in form, too. I like framing it as an “exclusive restock alert” — it instantly feels more curated and less generic.

Example phrasing that works well:

It feels like a personal favor, not a sales tactic.

By the time the item returns, you have a warm segment of buyers who already committed emotionally to buying it. You’re not just recovering sales — you’re creating them.

4. Host a “Black Friday Flash Poll” for Exclusive Deals

I love this one because it feels playful, and shoppers respond to anything that gives them even a tiny bit of control. People are tired of being talked at. A quick poll flips the energy — suddenly they’re co-creating the sale with you, not just watching from the sidelines.

And honestly? It works because it taps into two things shoppers already do:

A flash poll turns that natural curiosity into traffic… and traffic into sales.

You can run these polls on:

Give people two or three tempting options. Not boring options. Tempting ones.

Something like:

Make the winning deal go live immediately or within the next hour so the momentum doesn’t fade. And yes — announce it with a little flair. People like feeling like they influenced an outcome.

If you want to run this on your site (and I always recommend that for conversion), Thrive Quiz Builder makes it ridiculously easy to drop a small mini quiz onto any landing page. Quick question, simple choices, instant engagement. No friction.

A few things that amplify this strategy:

It turns a single deal into an event. And in a season where shoppers are overwhelmed by noise, anything that feels like a moment — something shared, something slightly fun — stands out instantly.

5. Create a “Find Your Perfect Deal” Recommendation Quiz

Black Friday overwhelms people. Too many tabs open, too many options, too many “limited-time” banners blinking at once. A recommendation quiz cuts through all of that. It acts like the friendly shop assistant who says, “Okay, tell me what you actually need,” and then walks them straight to the good stuff.

Shoppers love this. Personalization isn’t a novelty anymore — it’s an expectation. And when you guide someone to the right deal based on their answers, it feels thoughtful instead of pushy.

A skincare brand might ask about skin concerns or budget.

A tech store might ask what they’ll use the device for.

A fitness brand might ask about workout style and preference.

The best part? You’re not just showing random products — you’re creating a tailored deal bundle based on their specific needs. That’s the moment shoppers shift from browsing to buying.

A few things make these quizzes shine:

If you’re on WordPress, Thrive Quiz Builder is perfect for this. It lets you build recommendation quizzes in under an hour — drag, drop, customize, done — and it feels natural on both desktop and mobile.

A quiz gives shoppers clarity, confidence, and a personalized path through your sale. And in a weekend filled with noise, clarity wins every time.

6. Offer Tiered Discounts to Encourage Higher Spending

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but flat discounts aren’t the hero people think they are — not in 2025, and definitely not in an economy where everyone is counting their coins twice before they spend them.

Tiered discounts, on the other hand? They’re magic.

They tap into a very normal human instinct: “If I’m already close… maybe I should add one more thing.” And shoppers genuinely feel good about it because they’re getting more value, not just spending more.

A strong tiered structure might look like:

A small nudge like “You’re $18 away from unlocking 20% off” is powerful — especially when it’s sitting right in the cart where the decision happens.

If you’re on WordPress, you can use Thrive Architect to build a clean, visual section on your sales page that spells out the tiers clearly. People shouldn’t have to decode your offer. Make it obvious, make it friendly, make it feel like a win.

A few extra touches that help:

Tiered discounts give your customers more control, and they protect your margins — which is a win for everyone in a year where value matters more than hype.

7. Offer a “Deal of the Hour” Throughout Black Friday

There’s something addictive about hourly deals — not the frantic, stressful kind, but the kind that make people think, “Okay, what’s next?” It turns your sale into an unfolding event instead of a one-and-done discount page.

And in 2025, when attention spans are split across ten apps and shoppers are constantly multitasking, creating these small, timed moments keeps them coming back.

A good hourly deal does three things:

This works beautifully because:

You don’t need to update your site manually every hour (please don’t do that).
Use timed pop-ups or timed content blocks to automate everything.

If you’re using WordPress:

A few tips to make this strategy shine:

And if you have an email or SMS list, send quick alerts when each new deal goes live. Short messages work best: “New deal live for the next 60 minutes — check it out.”

Hourly deals keep your audience engaged, curious, and coming back — exactly the energy you want on the biggest shopping day of the year.

8. Add Testimonial or Demo Videos to Your Sales Pages

If there’s one thing shoppers trust during Black Friday, it’s proof. Real people. Real results. Real products in real hands. A short video — even a casual, imperfect one — beats the most polished product description every single time.

And this year, trust matters more than ever. With inboxes full of AI-polished copy and endless promotional noise, shoppers pause when they see a real human talking about their experience. That pause is where conversions happen.

A few kinds of videos work especially well:

Skip the studio lighting and cinematic music. The more genuine it feels, the more believable it is.

Where to place these videos:

Shoppers move faster during Black Friday, so these videos don’t need to be long. Thirty seconds is perfect. They just need enough information to help someone feel confident clicking that button.

If you’re on WordPress, Thrive Architect makes this easy. You can drop responsive video blocks anywhere on the page without breaking your design or slowing down your site.

And if you want to collect testimonials without feeling awkward about it (trust me, we’ve all been there), here’s the approach that works:

Short, simple questions lead to authentic stories — and authentic stories sell.

If you want a tool that helps you organize and display these easily, Thrive Ovation is built for exactly this. You can store, tag, filter, and publish testimonials without digging through emails or screenshots.

Real people create real trust. And on Black Friday, trust converts.

9. Add a Chatbot for Extra Support

Black Friday is busy enough without fielding the same twelve questions every ten minutes. Shoppers are juggling deals across multiple stores, comparing prices, double-checking shipping, and making faster decisions than usual… while you’re trying to keep everything running in the background.

A chatbot steps in as your calm, always-awake customer support assistant — and during Black Friday, that’s priceless.

Shoppers need quick answers. And when they don’t get them, they bounce. Not because they’re impatient, but because there are twenty other tabs open fighting for their attention. A chatbot reduces that friction instantly.

The questions it handles best:

During Black Friday, those answers matter even more.
People want clarity. They want reassurance. They want help now.

Modern chatbots are much smarter than the old clunky ones — they can surface recommended products, flag active deals, send people to specific landing pages, and help them navigate your sale without getting overwhelmed.

A few tips for making your chatbot work beautifully:

If you’re setting this up on WordPress, it integrates cleanly with Thrive Architect-built pages. You won’t need to redesign anything — just drop in the widget and adjust its placement.

And if you want a simple step-by-step for getting the bot running before the sale hits, this guide walks you through the basics.

A chatbot won’t replace your support team, but it does take pressure off them — and it keeps shoppers moving through checkout instead of abandoning their carts in frustration.

Next Steps: Create a Few Black Friday Popups to Promote Your Best Offers

Once your deals are ready, your site needs to actually guide people to them — and popups (done well) are one of the easiest ways to do that.

I know popups get a bad reputation, but hear me out. Shoppers are scanning quickly during Black Friday, usually on mobile, and half the time they’re balancing a coffee in one hand and their phone in the other. They miss things. They skim. They forget. A good popup doesn’t interrupt them — it helps them.

The right popup does four things:

And because Black Friday traffic is overwhelmingly mobile (Adobe Digital Economy Index 2024), your popups have to be clean, lightweight, and respectful of the small-screen experience.

A few popup ideas that work beautifully this weekend:

If you’re on WordPress, Thrive Leads gives you everything you need to pull this off — precise targeting rules, timed triggers, scroll triggers, exit-intent, A/B testing, and templates that don’t look like 2016 popup spam.

Design the popups once.
Schedule them.
Let them run automatically throughout Black Friday.

This is the part that ties your entire strategy together and keeps shoppers moving through your site with fewer detours, less confusion, and more confidence.

Putting These Black Friday Marketing Ideas to Work

You don’t need to overhaul your entire business to have a strong Black Friday. You just need a plan that makes sense for your audience and your bandwidth. Pick one or two ideas that feel doable right now, get them running smoothly, and layer in the rest as you go.

The goal isn’t to create the loudest sale.
The goal is to create a sale that feels calm, clear, and genuinely useful — especially in a year where shoppers are making careful choices and paying closer attention to value.

A few reminders before you dive in:

If you want the easiest way to execute these ideas on WordPress, Thrive Suite gives you everything in one place:

You don’t have to do everything.
You just have to do the right things — and do them with intention.

Get started with Thrive Suite today.