Summary
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday, BFCM, period consistently sees a dramatic surge in email marketing volume, reflecting its status as a critical sales channel. Major platforms and brands report sending billions of emails collectively, with significant year-over-year increases across global markets. This intensified communication strategy, marked by higher sending frequencies and aggressive promotional campaigns, aims to capture consumer attention during peak shopping days, and despite the elevated volume, engagement rates often remain strong.
Key findings
- Record-breaking Volumes: Major platforms reported sending billions of emails during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023. For instance, one provider sent 4.1 billion emails on Black Friday and 4.2 billion on Cyber Monday, peaking at 315 million emails in a single hour, a substantial increase from the previous year. Klaviyo alone sent over 700 million emails.
- Global Growth Trends: European email volumes significantly increased to 190 million from 140 million last year, and US volumes jumped from 5 million to 20 million, indicating widespread growth.
- Increased Sending Frequency: Brands generally intensify their communication, sending an average of 10-15 messages per subscriber over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, with some marketers sending 4-5 emails daily.
- Earlier Start to Promotions: An observed increase in EU email volumes the week before Black Friday suggests a trend towards an earlier start to the 'Black Week' promotional period.
- Strong Engagement Maintained: Despite the substantial increase in email volume, open rates remained strong, indicating continued consumer engagement with holiday sales emails and good returns for senders.
- Peak Sending Times: Email volume surged by approximately 35% compared to typical sending days, reaching a peak around 10 AM PST on Black Friday.
Key considerations
- Audience Segmentation: Marketers must strategically segment audiences and plan campaigns carefully to avoid overwhelming subscribers, ensuring relevance despite higher sending frequencies.
- Deliverability Challenges: The extreme surge in email volume can pose significant deliverability challenges, as Internet Service Providers, ISPs, scrutinize sending patterns more closely, making a strong sender reputation crucial.
- Balancing Frequency and Relevance: It is essential to balance increased sending frequency with relevant content to maintain subscriber engagement during this high-stakes period.
- Aggressive Competition: The intense competition during Black Friday and Cyber Monday drives up email volume, requiring businesses to adopt more aggressive email schedules and promotional campaigns to stand out.
- Strategic Planning: Businesses should anticipate and plan for a substantial increase in email sending volume and frequency to effectively capture customer attention and drive sales during these critical shopping days.
What email marketers say
15 marketer opinions
Email marketing during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) period is characterized by an extraordinary surge in sending volume, as businesses across various industries escalate their efforts to capture consumer attention and maximize holiday sales. Reports from major platforms and individual brands highlight the sheer scale, with billions of emails disseminated, reflecting both significant year-over-year growth and an intensified, more frequent communication strategy.
Key opinions
- Massive Scale of Sending: Email Service Providers and brands reported sending billions of emails during BFCM. Highlights include Klaviyo sending over 700 million, one company sending 4.1 billion on Black Friday and 4.2 billion on Cyber Monday with a 315 million peak per hour, Sendinblue delivering 135 million, and MessageGears sending 124 million on the Wednesday before Black Friday.
- Increased Frequency and Aggression: Marketers significantly increase their sending frequency during BFCM, with some companies reporting a 40% increase over usual daily volumes and individual marketers sending 4-5 emails daily to active subscribers to cut through the noise.
- Global Volume Growth and Nuances: Email volumes saw substantial year-over-year increases globally, with EU volumes rising from 140 million to 190 million and US volumes from 5 million to 20 million. Some regions, like France, are experiencing newer adoption of Black Friday, with one company noting a slight decrease in Black Friday's proportion of overall November volume compared to the previous year, despite an absolute volume increase.
- Early Start to Promotional Season: An observed increase in EU email volumes the week before Black Friday indicates a trend towards an earlier commencement of the 'Black Week' promotional period.
- Competition as a Volume Driver: The intense competition for consumer attention during BFCM is a primary driver of increased email volume, compelling businesses to adopt more aggressive promotional campaigns and higher sending frequencies.
Key considerations
- Strategic Campaign Planning: Effective BFCM email marketing necessitates comprehensive strategic planning, including audience segmentation, campaign sequencing, and anticipating a substantial increase in sending volume to capture attention during peak shopping times.
- Balancing Frequency and Relevance: To maintain subscriber engagement despite higher sending volumes, marketers must carefully balance increased email frequency with content relevance, ensuring messages provide value rather than overwhelming recipients.
- Adapting to Competitive Intensity: Businesses must be prepared for an extremely competitive email landscape during BFCM, which often requires a more aggressive and strategic email schedule to effectively stand out against numerous other brands vying for consumer sales.
- Subscriber Experience Management: Managing the subscriber experience is crucial; despite the pressure to send more, marketers should strategize campaigns to avoid overwhelming subscribers, ensuring continued positive engagement and preventing unsubscribes.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that Klaviyo sent over 700 million emails during the Black Friday period and mentions Klaviyo published some interesting related stats.
10 Sep 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares their company sent 100 million emails, a 40% increase over usual daily volumes. They clarify that last year, their Black Friday volume was 93 million, and this year it accounted for 4.582% of November's volume compared to 4.644% last year, indicating it was less strong this year. Their traffic is primarily from France, Spain, Italy, and China, with Black Friday adoption being more recent in France and facing some rejection.
5 Mar 2024 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday, BFCM, period consistently showcases an extraordinary escalation in email marketing activity, with 2023 seeing a substantial surge in message volume. Despite this heightened traffic, consumer engagement, reflected in strong open rates, remained robust, yielding positive returns for marketers. This intensified period, marked by a significant increase in messages compared to standard sending days, underscores the fierce competition and vigorous promotional efforts during the peak holiday shopping season.
Key opinions
- Significant 2023 Volume Increase: Email volume saw a substantial surge during Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023, with marketers deploying a high number of messages.
- Specific Black Friday 2023 Surge: On Black Friday 2023, email volume specifically surged by approximately 35% compared to typical sending days, reaching a peak around 10 AM PST.
- Continued Strong Engagement: Despite the significantly increased volume, open rates for BFCM 2023 emails remained robust, reinforcing sustained consumer engagement with holiday sales communications and positive outcomes for senders.
Key considerations
- Navigating High Volume: The sheer volume of emails during BFCM necessitates careful strategy to ensure messages cut through the noise and reach inboxes, especially given the approximate 35% surge observed.
- Leveraging Sustained Engagement: Marketers should recognize and capitalize on the proven consumer readiness to engage with holiday sales emails, even amidst high sending volumes, by optimizing content and offers.
- Intensified Competitive Landscape: The significant increase in email activity underscores an intensely competitive environment, requiring email marketers to adopt highly strategic and impactful campaigns to capture consumer attention effectively.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares that Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2023 saw a significant increase in email volume, with marketers sending a high number of messages. Despite the increased volume, open rates remained strong, indicating continued consumer engagement with holiday sales emails and good returns for senders.
2 Jan 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that for Black Friday 2023, email volume surged by approximately 35% compared to typical sending days, reaching a peak around 10 AM PST. This substantial increase in volume highlights the intense competition and heightened marketing activity during the holiday shopping period.
1 Dec 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Analysis of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, BFCM, email marketing data reveals a consistent and significant increase in message volume. This intensified communication strategy is a direct result of email's position as a primary promotional channel, with brands sending a remarkably higher number of messages, sometimes 10-15 per subscriber over the weekend, to maximize holiday sales. However, this high-volume environment creates an intensely competitive inbox and can lead to significant deliverability challenges, underscoring the vital importance of maintaining a strong sender reputation and executing highly strategic campaigns.
Key findings
- High Subscriber Message Count: Brands typically send 10-15 messages per subscriber over the Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, intensifying communication strategies.
- Primary Sales Channel: Email marketing is a primary channel during the holiday season, leading to a significant increase in promotional messages sent by retailers.
- Overall Volume Surge: Documentation from Litmus and Shopify confirms a massive surge in email volume during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, as businesses leverage email to drive record sales.
Key considerations
- Competitive Inbox Environment: The substantial increase in email volume creates an extremely competitive inbox environment, requiring emails to stand out effectively.
- Deliverability Challenges: The immense surge in email volume can pose significant deliverability challenges, as Internet Service Providers, ISPs, scrutinize sending patterns more closely.
- Sender Reputation Crucial: Maintaining a strong sender reputation is vital during Black Friday and Cyber Monday due to increased ISP scrutiny of sending patterns.
- Strategic Timing and Content: Given the elevated email volume, strategic timing and highly relevant content are essential for effective campaigns that capture sales.
Technical article
Documentation from Klaviyo shares that during BFCM 2023, businesses sent a high volume of emails, with brands sending, on average, 10-15 messages to their subscribers over the weekend, showcasing the intensified communication strategy.
2 Dec 2023 - Klaviyo Blog
Technical article
Documentation from Statista shows that email marketing is a primary channel during the holiday season, including BFCM, with a significant increase in promotional messages sent by retailers to capitalize on peak shopping days, leading to higher overall email volume.
12 Mar 2024 - Statista
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