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- Your BFCM Buyer’s Journey Has Just Begun
Your BFCM Buyer’s Journey Has Just Begun
Turning newly acquired customers into rock-solid repeat buyers.
Pietro Saccomani
December 04, 2025
BFCM brought in a wave of new customers. Now what?
Some will be first-timers, people who only found out about you through your sale. Some will be long-time lurkers who finally pulled the trigger.
What you’ve got to understand is, acquisition is only the beginning.
What you do next is crucial.
Don’t assume that now someone bought from you, they’re yours. The customer relationship is just starting.
Your job now is to nurture the relationship and build it to a point where they become a loyal, regular customer — not just another person who got sucked in over Black Friday.
Here are a few ways to move the relationship forward now that the dust has settled.
Send a thoughtful ‘welcome’ note
This is your moment to set the tone.
Not a receipt. Not a “your order is confirmed.” A welcome.
Keep it warm and human. A simple “Glad you’re here” goes further than a 500-word brand manifesto.
Reinforce that they made a good choice — share what people love about the product they just bought, or the story behind why it exists.
Don’t overcomplicate it. A single line like “Thanks for being part of our journey” hits harder than a corporate paragraph.
Small shortcut: imagine writing to one specific customer you genuinely like. That’s the voice.
Follow up with content that helps them use what they bought
Most retention problems are really onboarding problems.
If someone buys something and doesn’t know how to get value from it, they won’t come back — no matter how many discounts you send.
Show them how to win with your product: setup, care, routines, pairings, best practices.
Share bite-sized content — short videos, quick tips, “3 things most people don’t know about this product.”
Sprinkle in light social proof so they feel confident: real customers, real results, real stories.
Keep the focus on them, not you.
The goal right now isn’t to upsell. It’s to make their first experience a slam dunk.
If the customer succeeds, and loves what they bought from you, retention takes care of itself.
Sow the seeds for sale #2
The second purchase is where a casual buyer becomes a real customer.
You don’t need a hard pitch. Just gentle nudges that help them see what’s next.
“Most people who buy X also end up loving Y.”
“Here’s how people build a simple routine around what you just bought.”
“If you’re curious what pairs well with your product, here are a few ideas.”
Stay soft.
Tone matters here — it should feel like a friend making a helpful suggestion, not a brand hovering over the checkout button.
The mission is to introduce the idea of returning before you actually ask them to return.
Pitch more (stronger) touchpoints
Touchpoints = memory.
And right after BFCM, the goal is simple: don’t let them forget you exist.
If it fits your brand, now’s the time to open the door to deeper channels — framed as value for them.
Your Mobile App: highlight convenience (easy reorders, faster checkout, new drops first).
Loyalty programs: show what they unlock, not what you collect.
SMS: keep the pitch utility-first — delivery updates, low-stock alerts, early access — not “get 10 texts a week from us.”
Your messaging should make the customer feel like they’re gaining something by downloading your app, or signing up for texts, not just signing themselves up to be sold to at a higher clip.
Make a move at the right time
Every category has a “return window.”
For some it’s 7 days. For others it’s 30. The mistake is either pushing too early… or waiting until they’ve forgotten your name.
Think of it like dating:
Too soon feels desperate.
Too late feels like you weren’t really interested.
Aim for the sweet spot: when they’ve had time to use the product, feel good about it, and naturally wonder what else you offer.
That’s when you drop something personal and helpful. A soft offer, a “thought you might like this,” even a small thank-you code for round two.
Just don’t disappear
Silence is the biggest retention killer after BFCM.
You don’t need a complex lifecycle strategy to stay present — just consistency.
Show up weekly with something useful, entertaining, or educational.
Share quick tips, customer stories, or behind-the-scenes peeks.
Keep the energy warm and human, not “corporate newsletter mode.”
Even one good touch a week keeps the connection alive.
Disappearing breaks the spell.
Peep the numbers: a record-breaking BFCM
The numbers are in on BFCM 2025.
We’re going to have a deeper breakdown on the data, and what it means for you, most likely next week. But here are the highlights:
Shopify brands did $14.6 billion in sales over BFCM weekend (27% increase vs 2024).
Per Adobe, total spend from Nov 1 - Dec 1 was $137.4 billion (up 7.1% YoY).
More than half came on mobile - $73.7 billion total (up 7.2% YoY).
US online sales hit $11.8 billion on Black Friday (up from $10.8 billion last year), and $14.25 billion on Cyber Monday (up from $13.3 billion last year).
According to Salesforce, the average discount peaked at 27% off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday - and on December 1st, 67% of orders included a promotion.
The key takeaway: despite everything happening in 2025 (tariffs, inflation, AI, etc etc), people still flock to BFCM sales. And though the ecom industry doesn’t feel like it’s in a period of explosive growth, there’s still a huge amount of money being spent online.
Meet your customers where they are
US shoppers spent over $73 billion on mobile devices in November.
That’s more than half of all online sales. And it’s rising every year.
In 2026, you need to meet your customers where they are — their phones.
And the best way to do that is by launching your own mobile app.
It’s a direct connection to your best customer. And finally lets you own the relationship (no middlemen controlling your reach — no more being forgotten).
MobiLoud turns your existing site into an app, with no rebuilding, nearly no work to maintain, and full feature parity with your website.
Quick Hits
BFCM Winners & BFCM Losers
Retail Dive breaks down the winners and losers of BFCM this year.
Among those on top — AI, and stores that went out of the box to offer something different to the standard 25% off.
The “Fake Apology” Epidemic
If you’re on social media, if you subscribe to any email lists, you’ve probably seen this.
It’s the “We’re sorry” trend — posts or emails dressed up as a heartfelt apology letter, but is really a bait and switch.
“We’re sorry… our Black Friday deals are just too good!!!”
This strategy is starting to get attention, and not always in a good way.
They are certainly attention-grabbing; if you’re looking for a scroll-stopper, these ads work. But while they catch eyes, many marketers are asking if this strategy is already played out.
It also carries the potential of losing your customer’s trust. People don’t like being tricked.
Worse is the similar, yet more concerning trend of fake “fraud alert” emails.
The fake apologies are unoriginal, potentially frustrating, but ultimately harmless.
These emails are another story. And like many commenters suggest, may even be illegal.
My advice? Focus on trust over clickbait and engagement hacks. The long-term return is much better.
Master List — DTC Ecommerce Sales
This is a crazy good resource. Alexa Kilroy shared a spreadsheet of over 500 BFCM deals across DTC & legacy ecommerce brands. Great way to get an idea of what other brands in your industry were doing, and inspiration for next year’s promos (it’s never too early to start planning).
That’s all for now.
I’ll be back in touch next week, with more on how successful brands are doing CX and retention right.
If there’s anything you’d like us to dig into — in the newsletter or on the podcast — just shoot me a message.
Until next time,
Pietro and The Retention Edge Team
PS: want to boost retention, revenue and profitability? If so, launching your own app could be the best move you make for 2026.
See how: go to our website to get a preview of your app for free, or shoot me a DM on LinkedIn to talk about it.