7 Best Black Friday Email Campaigns Examples for 2026

Written by:

Leah Tran|Last updated: October 8, 2026

Black friday email campaigns without background

Black Friday isn’t just about massive discounts, it’s also about how you announce them. With thousands of brands flooding inboxes during this high-stakes shopping season, a well-designed email campaign can make or break your sales.

If you’re looking for inspiration, here are 7 of the best Black Friday email campaigns that stood out for their creativity, clarity, and conversion power, plus actionable tips to help you craft your own.

Quick Recap:

The Black Friday email journey has three parts: teaser emails before the event, day-of campaigns, and post-event extensions. Each designed with a unique goal and audience in mind.
A good black friday email campaign should be designed based on purchase history, browsing behavior, or customer value.

In this blog:

1. Pre-Black Friday Email Examples
2. Black Friday Day-Of Email Campaigns
3. Post-Black Friday Extension Campaigns
4. 4 Killer Tips for Black Friday Email Marketing
5. Measure True Marketing Impact on Black Friday
6. Black Friday Email Campaigns FAQs

Pre-Black Friday Email Examples

Warming up your audience early builds excitement before the sales begin. Pre-Black Friday emails tease upcoming deals, reward loyal subscribers, and make sure your brand is top-of-mind once the shopping deal hits.

1. TANIT Black Friday VIP Access

TANIT Botanics, the clean beauty brand, rolled out a VIP early-access email campaign to reward its most loyal shoppers. Through the program, existing customers could unlock exclusive Black Friday deals before the public sale opened.

By prioritizing their best customers first, TANIT gained multiple wins at once.

They drove the good traffic before the peak Black Friday. These visitors usually come from the highest-intent, high-LTV segment, so conversion rates were naturally higher than average.

They also increased engagement among the highest-value customers, subscribers opened emails at higher rates, clicked through to exclusive product pages or even joined waitlists for new releases before the public sale. By getting this group active early, TANIT warmed them up before the biggest sales day, because they already trust Tanit products and are most likely to spend more per order.

2. Backcountry Daily Deals Campaign

Backcountry, the well-known outdoor gear and clothing brand, launched a “Daily Deals” campaign that started 10 days before Black Friday. Each day, the brand revealed a new limited-time offer, for example, Day 1: Hoodies & Fleece starting at $25, and teased shoppers with the promise of more surprises to come.

The campaign opened with a simple message:

By consistently releasing deals at the same time each day, Backcountry kept customers revisit the website daily leading up to the official event. So their audience will be at peak intent and ready to convert when the biggest Black Friday discounts finally go live.

Black Friday Day-Of Email Campaigns

When the big day arrives, clarity and urgency are key. The goal here: make it easy for customers to act fast.

3. Thrive Market Free Gift Email

According to Research Journal, customers prefer BOGO promotion over the discounted ones, which means the "Free gift" campaign can perform better than the "20% off" flash sale although the total saving can be the same. It feels a simple trick, yet not many brands can cook it well the way Thrive Market did during Black Friday.

Thrive Market, an organic grocery subscription brand, offered new customers a free bestselling product with their first order.

Thrive Market could easily offer free gifts to everyone, but they chose to reserve this deal exclusively for first-time buyers. Here’s why that decision is critical to their success: As a subscription-based business, Thrive Market uses Black Friday to acquire new customers. Each gift was low-cost but carried a high-perceived value, helping the brand attract new members without cutting into profit margins.

4. Pepper’s Simple Sale Reminder Email

Pepper, a lingerie brand designed for small-chested women, ran a Black Friday reminder email with the straightforward subject line: “Up to 40% off 😱”

The email’s goal is to remind shoppers that Pepper’s sitewide Black Friday sale was live and ready to shop.

Their campaign is very clear on how much customers could save, when the offer was available, and a clear “Shop Now” button to drive immediate action. At first, we thought it’s boring. But during Black Friday weekend when inboxes are flooded with promotional emails, the clarity is what performs best.

It helped capture high-intent shoppers who may have seen earlier promotions but hadn’t yet purchased, and sometimes it’s just because they got buried with a lot of deals.

4. Revision Skincare’s Final Hours Countdown

Trying to make the most of Black Friday’s last hours? Revision Skincare shows how it’s done. This premium skincare brand launched a countdown email campaign to close out its Black Friday promotions.

The message was that customers had only a few hours left to claim a limited-time, high-value gift with purchase. They also encouraged shoppers to reach specific spending thresholds to receive luxury gifts, either a travel-size D·E·J Face Cream or D·E·J Daily Boosting Serum, both highlighted as exclusive, high-end rewards.

It’s effective in several ways: The ticking countdown sparks urgency and FOMO, pushing shoppers to act fast. Meanwhile, the tiered gifting structure motivates higher average order values (AOV) without undermining the brand’s luxury positioning.

Post-Black Friday Extension Campaigns

Missed buyers are still valuable. Post-Black Friday campaigns help you capture latecomers who hesitated, or extend momentum into Cyber Monday.

5. Nordic Oils’ “Missed Out?” Campaign

Nordic Oil, a wellness and CBD brand, executed a post-Black Friday email campaign aimed at capturing customers who missed the initial sale. The campaign offered a substantial 35% discount for a limited 16-hour window, combining a deep discount with a tight deadline.

Even though Black Friday generates some of the highest shopping volumes of the year, remember that many consumers still wait for better deals or last-minute promotions. By positioning this as a “Missed Out” offer, Nordic Oil created a sense of urgency and exclusivity, motivating hesitant shoppers to act quickly rather than postpone their purchase.

6. CRUA Outdoors’ Extended Black Friday Campaign

If you want to extend your sale without coming off as pushy, look at how Crua Outdoors handled it. They sent a friendly follow-up email announcing their Black Friday and Cyber Monday extension, with discounts reaching 60%, framing it as a helpful heads-up.

CRUA Outdoors Black Friday email announcing extended Cyber Monday savings of up to 60% off until December 8th

The campaign targets three types of customers: shoppers who missed the initial sale, those needing extra time to consider the products, and those wanting to add to a previous selection.

By doing so, they can re-engaging those uncertain shoppers and give the brand an additional chance to capture revenue from them.

4 Killer Tips for Black Friday Email Marketing

1. Send Teasers Early to Warm Customer Up

When audiences receive teaser emails at least a week before Black Friday, they are better equipped to plan their shopping and prioritize your offers over competitors’. Teasers can hint at exclusive deals, early access, or limited products, sparking curiosity and priming them to act when the main event begins.

2. Make Emails Easy to Scan

During the Black Friday rush, audiences skim emails quickly, so your messages benefit greatly when they are easy to scan. The best emails are the ones that have clear CTA and the bold headline, making sure customers know exactly what’s the deal and how to get it.

3. Customize Offers to Different Customers

Your audience responds best when the offers they receive feel tailored to their interests and needs. Loyal customers may respond to bundles or related items they’ve considered before, while first-time buyers are drawn in by special welcome deals. This level of personalization increases the likelihood of clicks and purchases.

4. Design Mobile-First Email

Over 70% of Black Friday emails are opened on mobile devices, so responsive design is essential. A mobile-first layout guarantees a smooth experience and prevents usability issues that could cost you sales during the busiest shopping season.

Measure True Marketing Impact on Black Friday

During Black Friday or any high-volume sales period, the ultimate goal is generating profit per each order. In other words, your focus should be on net profit after all costs are accounted for to make that sale.

Every marketing tactic, whether it’s an email campaign, testing new coupon codes, or offering bundled products with free gifts, without profit tracking, sellers rarely know its true contribution to the bottom line.

This is where TrueProfitcame in. As the #1 Shopify net profit analytics tool, TrueProfit helps track net profit by calculating every expense, from COGS and ad spend to shipping and fulfillment, revealing the most accurate view of your store’s profitability.

With TrueProfit, merchants can:

Monitor key financial metrics, net profit, profit margin, total expenses, LTV and more, in real time during the busiest season.
Compare performance day by day or week by week using P&L reports to identify peak sales.
Identify your most profitable products instantly, scaling the ones that deliver the highest ROI during peak campaigns.
Measure ad performance across all channels, based on their true contribution to net profit.

By tracking your real profit and loss throughout Black Friday, you make faster, smarter decisions that keep your store truly profitable, ensuring that every email campaign and other tactics contributes positively to your bottom line.

Black Friday Email Campaigns FAQs

How to write a Black Friday email?

Start with a catchy subject line, add a clear offer, use engaging visuals, and end with one strong CTA.

What are the top 3 selling items on Black Friday?

Electronics, fashion, and beauty products consistently dominate sales.

What is the Black Friday campaign?

It’s a promotional campaign designed to drive sales through discounts, bundles, and time-limited offers around the Black Friday period.

How to run a Black Friday campaign?

Plan early, segment your audience, design clear offers, and automate reminders for pre-, during-, and post-sale phases.

How to announce Black Friday deals?

Send teaser emails, use countdowns, and post on social media to build anticipation before launch day.

What is the slogan for Black Friday shopping?

Examples include “Big Deals, Bigger Savings” or “Shop the Madness.” Keep it short, bold, and memorable.

How to sell more on Black Friday?

Combine urgency with incentives, use time limits, free gifts, or tiered discounts to encourage bigger carts.

What is Black Friday famous for?

It’s known for massive storewide discounts and being the busiest shopping day of the year.

Who are the biggest spenders on Black Friday?

Millennials and Gen Z shoppers lead in online purchases, especially through mobile.

Why is it called Black Friday deals?

The term “Black Friday” originated because retailers’ profits often went from “in the red” (loss) to “in the black” (profit) after the holiday surge.

Leah Tran

Content Executive at TrueProfit & eCommerce Content Specialist

Leah Tran

Content Executive at TrueProfit & eCommerce Content Specialist

Leah Tran is a Content Specialist at TrueProfit, where she crafts SEO-driven and data-backed content to help eCommerce merchants understand their true profitability. With a strong background in content writing, research, and editorial content, she focuses on making complex financial and business concepts clear, engaging, and actionable for Shopify merchants.

Let's Collaborate