What Top Shopify Brands Actually Do for BFCM

A strong Black Friday strategy is planned months ahead and runs as a season around the weekend. True Classic chains its promotions with no dead gaps, from a pre-sale through BFCM, gifting and a year-end sale. KARL LAGERFELD and Margaux test changes before BFCM, not during it, and Ardene stress-tests its site with flash sales in July or August. Kimonix adds one catch: around 75% of collection-page clicks go to the first 10 to 20 products, so if those spots go to the wrong products, none of it works.

Brands that run a pre-sale plan it as part of one calendar. True Classic opens with a pre-sale or warehouse sale and chains it into BFCM, gifting and a year-end sale, with no gaps. Triple Whale's data shows how much demand comes early: the four days before Black Friday brought in revenue equal to about 60% of the weekend itself. Their advice is to front-load your clearest offer and hero products on Black Friday itself.

It depends on the brand and what its customers expect. Margaux discounts the whole site at one flat percentage, which is easy for customers to understand. KARL LAGERFELD runs two phases: a mix of offers on a curated selection of previous collections, then an extra site-wide reduction on already-marked-down products, with new collections and best-sellers kept out. Ardene's rule is to match the deal to the brand: for luxury, 20% off or a gift with purchase may be a better fit. Shopify's BFCM guidance for its merchants is to lead with VIP early access, a descending discount model and non-price levers, because discipline beats depth. Whichever you choose, Kimonix's advice is to pick what to promote by margin after discount, days to sell through and sizes in stock, not by stock level alone.

Protect full price for the rest of the year. Ardene keeps fewer promotions and stronger everyday pricing, which makes its BFCM offer more impactful. True Classic is working to raise its average selling price so it doesn't depend on deep, reactive discounts. KARL LAGERFELD also keeps new collections, best-sellers and carryover colors out of the sale. Kimonix's warning is that brands that save dead stock for deep BFCM discounts teach shoppers to wait for those big seasons too.

It can be one of the strongest days of the sale. Margaux's early access for SMS subscribers and top customers has historically been the strongest day of its year. Their tip is to use early access to do two things at once: reward the customers who already subscribe, and give everyone else a reason to sign up before the sale starts. Shopify's BFCM guidance also makes VIP early access part of the main launch offer.

Start well before BFCM. Kimonix's advice is to liquidate throughout the year: if you spot a slow mover early, start with a 10% discount, keep it there if it sells, and raise it step by step if it doesn't. Before discounting, check what kind of stock it is: a product that converts on the few views it gets needs better exposure next to best sellers and new arrivals, and a product with plenty of views and no sales is the one to discount. Keep broken size runs off prime collection spots, and use personalization to show them to shoppers who wear those sizes. During the sale, Shopify's guidance is to track sell-through against plan every day and, if it falls behind, switch to a pre-approved deeper or targeted markdown.