Black Friday and Cyber Monday are high-stakes events for retailers. Billions of dollars in revenue are on the line, and brands often invest heavily in paid media to capture shopper attention. But the reality is sobering: no matter how compelling your ads are, if your landing pages and offers aren’t optimized, you’re pouring budget into a leaky funnel.
For eCommerce Managers, CRO Leads, and Performance Marketers, success during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is about conversion optimization. Shoppers come ready to buy — but they won’t tolerate friction, unclear value, or uninspired offers.
Consumers arrive with credit cards in hand. But they’re also juggling dozens of tabs, comparing deals across retailers. If your page doesn’t load instantly or communicate value in the first few seconds, they’ll bounce. Critical information and action-directive listed ATF (Above-The-Fold) will help to guide users down your conversion funnel and keep them engaged on your site longer.
Shoppers know deals will be everywhere. Differentiation matters more than discount percentages. Your brand doesn't need to have the highest discount offer, but to win, you will have to communicate the highest value proposition for your offer. What else can you offer alongside your discount? Extended return/warranty windows for BF/CM shoppers will go a long way in reducing any aversions they may have to immediate purchase. Sell your brand, not your product.
The majority of Black Friday and Cyber Monday traffic comes from mobile. Retailers who design desktop-first experiences leave money on the table. The number of touchpoints to conversion decreases during this period as buyers are ready to convert. If your site is not mobile-optimized, you could lose a large chunk that won't be browsing on desktop in the future.
Remove unnecessary navigation and links that distract from the offer.
Use sticky CTAs, especially on mobile, to make add to cart and checkout frictionless.
Keep checkout flows short: ideally three steps or fewer.
Lead with your strongest offer in the hero section. Ensure that's the first thing that users will see on every page of your site through global promo banners. Make that banner clickable so that users know what action you want them to take. Instead of "BF Save Up to 40%," use "BF Save Up to 40% - SHOP NOW" and land them on a page with all of the products/categories on sale.
Repeat it above and below the fold to reinforce urgency. Continue the offer communication at all stages (Collections, PDP, Cart, Checkout, etc). Use countdown timers and inventory indicators for urgency boost from your prospective buyers.
Prioritize thumb-friendly CTAs and streamlined navigation.
Optimize hero images for fast load times using compressed WebP formats.
Test designs under slower mobile connections to mimic real user conditions.
Place reviews, testimonials, and trust badges near CTAs.
Highlight guarantees like free returns or shipping insurance at every step of the funnel. Users during BF/CM want to buy, don't give them any reason to hesitate.
Use recognizable payment icons (PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay). For higher AOV items, ensure your store offers payment options through Shop Pay Installments/Affirm so that users on the fence because of price still have viable options.
For more full tips & tricks on optimizing landing pages, read more here.
Encourage higher order values with spend-based incentives:
$10 off $50
$25 off $100
$50 off $200
The goal here is to gamify spending more. Instead of spend-based incentives, you can also leverage tiers such as Free Shipping at $50, 20% discount at $100, Free Gift at $200.
Combine complementary items into gift sets or family packs. This not only boosts AOV but also helps move slower inventory.
Offer VIP deals to email or SMS subscribers before sales go public. This builds loyalty and grows owned channels.
Add a free item to purchases over a threshold. Small perceived bonuses often outperform larger discounts.
Brands that succeed during BFCM test early and often. Run experiments in October to identify winning page elements. Focus tests on:
Headline framing (discount-first vs. benefit-first)
CTA copy (“Buy Now” vs. “Get 40% Off Today”)
Offer structures (percentage vs. dollar discount vs. bundle)
Page layouts (product grid vs. guided flow)
Blue Apron’s holiday performance demonstrates how CRO-led adjustments to offers and landing pages can transform results. Working with (un)Common Logic, the brand tested page layouts, benefit framing, and value propositions. The outcome: a 187% increase in conversions and an 86% lift in conversion rate.
This underscores the lesson that creative offers combined with optimized page structures drive exponential returns.
Landing page clarity is as important as ad copy during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Mobile-first design is non-negotiable if you sell anything online.
Tiered discounts and bundles drive AOV while standing out from flat discounts.
Trust signals and urgency tools reduce hesitation.
Early testing ensures only winning strategies go live during peak traffic.
Retailers who treat Black Friday and Cyber Mondayas a conversion challenge, not just an advertising one, will win disproportionate market share.
At (un)Common Logic, we specialize in CRO strategies that help brands maximize holiday traffic. See our CRO services to learn more about our proven tactics that deliver results.
At least two weeks before the event. This allows time for indexing, testing, and list building. Each year shoppers start earlier and earlier, ideally you'd have tested all of your offers/discounts for maximizing profitability before the rush hits. Don't wait.
Both. Use dedicated landing pages for campaigns, while reinforcing deals across the site with banners.
Long enough to communicate the offer and build trust — often two to four mobile scrolls. Remove anything that distracts.
Yes. Reuse URLs annually to retain SEO equity, updating design and content for each season.
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