Inboxes will be flooded during Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM). These four personalization strategies will help your brand stand out and drive revenue.

This year’s BFCM feels especially high-pressure. Economic uncertainty has shoppers scrutinizing every dollar and marketers rethinking their strategies. Inbox competition is fiercer than ever. With 81% of consumers ignoring irrelevant messages, generic outreach won’t cut it.

That’s where personalized email and SMS become a major revenue lever. Not just basic tactics that give a 1% bump, but strategies that meaningfully increase customer engagement, conversions, and loyalty.

Movable Ink and Attentive have partnered to make strategic personalization possible at scale. Together, we help brands create experiences that feel timely, contextual, and tailored—helping you connect with customers during the busiest shopping season of the year.

We’ve put together four of the most impactful personalization tactics brands can use this BFCM to maximize revenue and build lasting customer relationships.

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1. Match each customer with the most relevant products using dynamic recommendations

During BFCM, customers make decisions fast, so showing them relevant products can determine whether they buy or bounce.

Dynamic recommendations use real-time customer data—browsing behavior, purchase history, and preferences—to surface the exact products each shopper wants to see. This personalization cuts through the noise of generic product grids, reduces decision fatigue, and accelerates the path to purchase when every second counts.

Surface products in BFCM campaigns based on behavioral signals

Serve each customer the best products for them in your BFCM campaigns by prioritizing recent browsing and shopping behavior first, then turning to trending or bestselling items that match their category affinity or past purchases.

In these campaigns, layer in live pricing, product ratings, inventory levels, and social proof to drive action.

Recommend complementary products in abandonment journeys

In addition to showing shoppers the items they left behind in abandonment journeys, add complementary products that complete the picture—helping a shopper visualize a full outfit or the accessories that make a product fully functional. When customers see how products work together, that can re-ignite their excitement while increasing order value.

To further boost abandonment journey performance, add real-time inventory status to urge shoppers to finish their purchases.

Suggest relevant add-ons post-purchase

Follow up big-ticket purchases with accessories or add-ons that enhance the customer’s investment—suggesting items in post-purchase campaigns that complement what they just bought.

This approach helps customers maximize the value of their purchase, and they’re especially receptive to these recommendations when the excitement from the main purchase is still fresh.

Feature location-specific products in geo-targeting campaigns

Leverage geographic data to promote products and items that match the local climate and preferences. For example, surfacing rain boots for Seattle shoppers and western-style boots for those in El Paso, Texas.

As it gets closer to December holidays, add location-based shipping cutoff reminders to help customers get their orders on time.

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2. Tap into loyalty data to compel shoppers to buy

Shoppers are motivated by discounts during BFCM, but they’re even more motivated by value. Weaving loyalty program data into your campaigns lets you create tailored offers and communicates what each shopper stands to gain by continuing to shop with your brand.

Imagine receiving a BFCM text that doesn’t just announce a 30% off sale, but also tells you:

• You have “X”  points available to redeem
• This purchase will move you to gold tier
• You’ll unlock early access to our next holiday drop if you shop now

These personalized, exclusive offers give shoppers a reason to buy with your brand instead of the dozens of others filling their inboxes.

By reminding customers of the rewards, points, and perks already waiting for them, brands can tap into sunk-cost psychology and strengthen loyalty during a season when shoppers are especially prone to switching.

Layering loyalty data into any message—from BFCM sale announcements to cart reminders—turns generic promotions into compelling, personalized nudges.

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3. Segment shoppers by preferences and behavior to personalize offers

Not all shoppers are motivated by the same factors—so why treat them like they are? Leveraging both first-party behavioral data (like past purchases, browsing history, and cart activity) and zero-party data (preferences customers share directly, such as favorite categories or product types) is one of the highest-impact ways to boost BFCM revenue.

Segmentation doesn’t have to be complex. By combining these data types, marketers can create campaigns that feel individually crafted for each customer:

• Do they prefer certain categories? Specific styles, colors, or subcategories—like running gear vs. yoga wear or skincare vs. makeup—can be surfaced based on past purchases and browsing behavior.
• What are they motivated by? Historical engagement and stated preferences can determine whether to highlight markdowns, limited edition products, or early-access.
• Who are they shopping for? Zero-party data like “gift recipient” intent can help tailor product recommendations to mom, dad, partner, or self.
• What channels do they engage with most? Recognize which subscribers interact with campaigns on SMS vs. email to prioritize the channel(s) they’re most likely to engage on.

By activating key signals from first-party and zero-party data, brands can design campaigns that resonate with each shopper’s intent. For example:

• The Bargain Hunter: Receives a curated list of the steepest markdowns, highlighting deals based on past engagement with discounts and relevant browsing behavior.
• The Gift Giver: Appreciates gift guides and product recommendations for the loved ones on their list.
• The Selective Shopper: Always shops their go-to product categories and gets exclusive offers on the product styles they can’t resist.

When you combine behavioral insights with self-reported preferences, the result is twofold: customers feel understood and brands see higher conversions. You’re moving beyond one-size-fits-all messaging to align with purchase intent, so every BFCM message feels like it was created just for them.

Learn more about BFCM segmentation strategies.

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4. Retarget smarter across email and SMS

Under the weight of endless browsing and comparison shopping, abandonment spikes during BFCM. Retargeting helps you reclaim lost revenue by reminding shoppers about what they showed interest in.

The brands that recover the most revenue go beyond basic “you left something behind” messages with strategic enhancements that turn abandoned sessions into completed purchases:

Add real-time details to cart reminders

Pair abandoned products with real-time pricing and inventory status to encourage shoppers to complete their purchase. These dynamic details give shoppers a real reason to act now.

Bring browse abandoners back with social proof

When someone views a product but doesn’t add it to their cart, remind them about what they were interested in while adding new context—customer ratings, new promotions, or social proof, like “23 people bought this today”. These details address hesitations they might have had during their initial browse.

Re-engage early site visitors with session abandonment messages

Send session abandonment flows to target visitors who leave the site without visiting a product page. Feature your current bestsellers or items based on their past purchase behavior or any zero-party data you’ve collected.

During BFCM, highlight doorbusters or limited-time offers to give them a reason to return and explore.

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Drive real BFCM results: Advanced personalization at scale is possible 

These personalization strategies rely on technology that can process customer data in real time and adapt messaging automatically.

That’s where solutions like Movable Ink and Attentive create a competitive advantage. Together, these platforms enable marketers to launch email and SMS campaigns that adjust automatically based on product and customer data.

The result: highly individualized campaigns that scale effortlessly. 

BFCM is the biggest revenue opportunity of the year, but also the most competitive. While your promotional strategy may already be set, execution determines whether you stand out or get lost in the inbox. With Attentive and Movable Ink powering personalized, cross-channel experiences behind the scenes, you can deliver the relevance that maximizes conversions and drives meaningful revenue.