Black Friday Isn’t Just a Sale—It’s a Retention Opportunity

Most Brands Treat Black Friday Like a One-Night Stand

Big promo. Big traffic. Big spike. Then… nothing.

If your post-BFCM numbers have ever looked like a cliff drop, you already know what’s missing: a plan to keep the customers you just paid to acquire.

The Sticky Digital Black Friday Retention Playbook was built to solve that exact problem. It’s your guide to converting seasonal buyers into year-round loyalists—and turning short-term revenue into long-term customer value.

What Is the Black Friday Retention Playbook?

This toolkit is a free downloadable PDF designed to help DTC brands on Shopify execute a retention-first BFCM strategy.

Download the Black Friday Customer Retention Playbook (PDF)

Inside, you’ll find:

  • Pre-BFCM retention prep checklist
  • First-purchase flow templates for holiday buyers
  • Segment ideas for high- vs. low-intent traffic
  • Post-sale win-back and review request strategy
  • Loyalty activation triggers and timing

Who It’s For

This playbook was created for:

  • Shopify retention marketers preparing Q4 campaigns
  • Lifecycle teams managing welcome, post-purchase, and win-back flows
  • DTC operators who don’t want to lose 70% of new customers post-sale
  • Anyone who has said “Black Friday brings volume, but not value”

What Makes This Playbook Different

This playbook is retention-focused. It’s designed to help you:

  • Increase second purchase rate
  • Boost customer lifetime value
  • Build loyalty without increasing spend
  • Turn flash-sale buyers into long-term subscribers

Every recommendation is built to be implemented by a lean internal team or an agency partner like Sticky Digital.

How to Use the Playbook (Step-by-Step)

1. Fill In the Pre-BFCM Prep Section

Use the first 2 pages to audit your Q4 setup: welcome flows, deliverability strategy, segmentation, and loyalty filters. Not sure where to start? Book a retention audit.

2. Choose a Post-Sale Path by Buyer Type

Tailor your post-purchase experience for discount-only shoppers, subscribers, loyal customers, and gift buyers. The playbook gives exact flow templates and timing rules.

3. Build a 30-Day Post-Purchase Sequence

  • Day 3: Thank-you email
  • Day 7: Product education
  • Day 14: Cross-sell or review prompt
  • Day 30: Loyalty or referral incentive

Use Klaviyo filters to automate the sequence by behavior and purchase type.

4. Segment and Tag Holiday Buyers

Apply tags like source = BFCM2025 or customer_type = holiday_first_time to enable targeting later. For help, check our Customer Segmentation Strategy Guide.

5. Use the Post-BFCM Checklist

Monitor:

  • Flow conversion rates
  • Refund vs. reorder volume
  • Loyalty redemptions
  • Unsubscribe spikes

This tells you if your BFCM cohort is loyal—or just promotional.

Why This Matters

Black Friday is a retention test. Not a one-time event. Your Q4 acquisition strategy needs to be followed by smart retention execution. That’s what this playbook is built for.

Download the Playbook

Get the Black Friday Retention Playbook (PDF)

Need help implementing it? Work with Sticky Digital to make sure your post-sale flows convert short-term buyers into long-term revenue.

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