Consumers will be receiving more marketing messages during Cyber Week than any other time of year, making it challenging for marketers to capture their attention. 

In 2025, brands are up against additional obstacles:

• 75% of shoppers are planning to adjust their end-of-year holiday spending this year by buying fewer items and searching for more deals
• 29% plan to spend less during BFCM than they did last year
• 81% of consumers ignore messages that aren’t relevant to them

The most effective approach is sending the right messages to the right customers rather than broadcasting generic campaigns that may not resonate with your entire audience.

Amidst economic uncertainty, 90% of marketers are using segmentation to drive sales. They understand that precision and relevance win over volume. And our data shows that brands that use segments see a 29% higher conversion rate on average. During BFCM, when every interaction counts, that difference compounds into substantial revenue gains.

We recommend scheduling at least one full list send on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but also plan several segmented messages to deliver targeted experiences that feel personal, timely, and valuable to each customer.

But how should you divide up your subscriber base? We’ve identified five segments that consistently drive BFCM results for our customers. In this guide, you’ll learn how to engage each one to support your biggest revenue opportunity of the year.

You’ll also discover how AI-powered tools like Audiences AI can augment your segmentation efforts by identifying high-intent subscribers for you. It automatically expands your segments with shoppers who are likely to buy and excludes shoppers unlikely to convert—so you can maximize ROI on every segmented campaign.

These are the top segmentation strategies we see from Attentive customers. If you’re new to segmentation or have limited bandwidth, prioritize the first three: VIP customers, engaged subscribers, and unengaged subscribers. This will give you a good foundation for boosting your ROI.

 1. VIP customers

Who they are: Your most valuable customers.

Why they matter: VIPs are primed and ready to shop during BFCM. They already trust your brand so they convert at higher rates, spend more per order, and are less likely to get distracted by competitors’ offers. Plus, 43% of brand loyalists say they’ll open most messages they receive from their favorite brands—giving you higher engagement rates than your average subscriber.

How to define them: Determining what makes a customer a “VIP” is up to you. It could be loyalty program members, top spenders, frequent purchasers, or some combination of criteria.

How to engage them for BFCM: VIPs respond well to special treatment, so give them the exclusive perks they crave:

• 66% of loyalists want points they can exchange for special offers
• 56% want members-only sale days
• 36% want sneak previews

"Your VIPs aren’t just high spenders—they’re also your best advocates. Activating this segment through personalized referral offers turns loyalty into a growth engine, especially during BFCM when new customer acquisition spikes."

Ana Suro, Sr Manager, Strategic Partnerships at Extole

Leading up to BFCM, give them sneak peeks or early access to deals. During sale time, reward them with exclusive bonuses like free or expedited shipping, extra loyalty points, or additional discounts.

2. Engaged subscribers

Who they are: Subscribers who have recently interacted with your brand through campaign clicks, purchases, or website visits.

Why they matter: Engaged subscribers are actively opening and clicking your campaigns, so they’re more likely to respond positively to communications and to convert. Since they’ve been paying attention to your brand, they may have been waiting for your BFCM deals.

How to define them: Your engagement threshold depends on your typical sending frequency and what works for your brand. A good rule of thumb to start with is subscribers who have clicked at least one email or text within the last two to four weeks. But test different thresholds, analyzing opt-out and conversion rates, to find your sweet spot.

You can also get more granular with different engagement levels, such as “brand enthusiasts” who clicked on a campaign in the last seven days, who you can email and text even more frequently.

How to engage them for BFCM: Since they can handle higher message frequency without increased opt-out rates, they can handle your whole BFCM promotional calendar:

• Build anticipation with sneak peeks of your upcoming deals
• Help them build their wishlists with gift guides and product recommendations
• Send your full promotional sequence when deals go live
• Follow up with reminders and last-chance messaging

"Engaged subscribers are often researching before they buy. Featuring user-generated content like reviews, photos, and Q&A in your BFCM messaging gives them the social proof they need to convert faster."

Laura Staples-Otis, Director, Product Marketing.

Pro Tip

There will be overlap between VIPs and engaged subscribers. If you’re sending similar campaigns to both, exclude VIPs from your “engaged” audience to avoid duplicate messaging.

3. Unengaged subscribers

Who they are: Subscribers who haven’t clicked on one of your messages recently.

Why they matter: While these subscribers haven’t clicked recently, it doesn’t mean you should ignore them. They opted in to receive messages, showing initial interest in your brand. We’ve found that many unengaged subscribers wait for big sales like BFCM to shop, making this the perfect time to re-engage them.

How to define them: Your unengaged segment is defined in tandem with your engaged segment. Any subscriber who’s not in your engaged segment goes here.

How to engage them for BFCM: While you may send fewer messages throughout the year to this segment to match their pace, you’ll want to use the time leading up to BFCM to warm up these relationships:

• Reintroduce them to your brand and products to remind them why they may have subscribed in the first place
• Preview your deals as it gets closer to Black Friday to get them excited
• When you launch your deals, focus on your most compelling offers—your biggest discounts or bestselling products with strong social proof

This should be a gradual build so you don’t overwhelm them.

Pro Tip

You’ll probably see more opt-outs in this segment than others, but it’s a perfect opportunity to naturally cleanse your list and free up spend on future campaigns. 75% of shoppers who unsubscribe during Cyber Week have never made a purchase. Most of the remaining 25% have only ever made one purchase—likely from the original welcome campaign.

4. Product affinity or interest-based segments

Who they are: Subscribers segmented by their specific interests, preferences, or past purchase behavior. This can include segments based on product categories they’ve bought or browsed or zero-party data you’ve collected.

Why they matter: These segments let you get more specific with your targeting during BFCM. Instead of promoting your entire sale to everyone, you can showcase the products each subscriber is most likely to want. This helps you cut through the noise and drive higher engagement and conversions.

How to define them: Use the data you’ve collected about subscriber preferences and behavior:

• Purchase or browse history: Segment by product categories they’ve bought or browsed on your site (e.g., men’s vs. women’s clothing, skincare vs. makeup, dog vs. cat supplies, etc.)
• Zero-party data: Use information you collected in sign-up units, quizzes, or two-way text conversations (e.g., skin concerns, pet type, exercise preferences, etc.)

How to engage them for BFCM: Tailor your messaging to showcase the products most relevant to each segment:

• Feature products from their preferred categories in your imagery
• Highlight deals on complementary products to other items they’ve purchased
• Use language that resonates with their specific needs or lifestyle

5. Geographic segments

Who they are: Subscribers segmented by their location—city, state, country, or region.

Why they matter: Location-based segmentation lets you create more relevant experiences during BFCM. You can promote weather-appropriate products, highlight local store events, and tailor your messaging to regional preferences or cultural events.

How to define them: It depends how you want to use this information. You could segment by:

• Climate: Separate subscribers by warmer vs. colder regions
• Store proximity: Subscribers within a certain radius of your physical stores
• Region: Different states or countries that you operate in

How to engage them for BFCM: Geographic segments open a host of opportunities to engage shoppers for Cyber Week:

• Weather-based targeting: For example, promote snow gear to customers who are likely facing cold weather while highlighting lighter layers for those in warmer climates
• Local store events: Invite nearby subscribers to in-store BFCM events, exclusive shopping hours, or curbside pickup promotions
• Regional inventory: Highlight products that are popular or available in specific markets
• Cultural relevance: Tailor messaging to regional events, local sports teams, or cultural preferences

Manual segmentation is a good foundation, but it has limitations. You could miss high-intent subscribers who don’t fit your predefined criteria, or include subscribers who aren’t actually likely to convert.

Audiences AI, part of Attentive’s AI Pro suite, uses predictive analytics to identify patterns and correlations in your customer data that would be impossible to spot manually. Then, it automatically recommends which subscribers to include and exclude from campaigns based on their likelihood to purchase—even if they don’t fit your segment definitions.

Brands that use Audiences AI see significant improvements in campaign performance:

• Philosophy has achieved a 90% surge in revenue
• Thread has increased CVR by 40%
• Little Sleepies’ AI-enhanced segment accounted for 85% of total campaign revenue when A/B tested against a full-list send

During Cyber Week, when you want to maximize revenue and ROI, Audiences AI helps you:

• Expand your segments with likely converters you might have missed
• Optimize in real-time as customer behavior changes throughout your sale

Instead of guessing which subscribers to target, AI can help you build high-performing audiences for your biggest revenue opportunity of the year.

"AI is only as smart as the data that feeds it. When you start with accurate, unified customer profiles, predictive tools can dramatically improve how you target and convert during high-stakes campaigns like BFCM."

Brian Shumsky, Sr. Director, Strategic Partnerships at Amperity

Implementing accurate segmentation during BFCM is especially critical so that you can reach the right audiences with the right messages. Keep these best practices in mind to develop an effective segmentation strategy.

Start with a high-quality data foundation

Effective segmentation requires clean, comprehensive data. Collect and activate:

• First-party data: Real-time behavioral signals including purchase history, browsing behavior, add-to-carts, and campaign engagement patterns.
• Zero-party data: Information subscribers willingly share through surveys, quizzes, and conversational SMS to help you understand their interests and motivations.

Test and optimize your segments now

The earlier you can start refining your segments, the more accurate your targeting will be for BFCM. So start launching segmented campaigns now so you can optimize your segments for maximum impact:

• Start simple: Begin with two or three basic segments (like VIP, engaged, and unengaged) before adding complexity
• A/B test segment definitions: Try different criteria for what qualifies as an “engaged” or “VIP” subscriber to see what drives the best results and track metrics like conversion rate, revenue per recipient, and opt-out rate for each segment

Avoid these common segmentation mistakes

Well-intentioned segmentation strategies can backfire if you fall into these common traps:

• Over-segmentation: Creating segments that are too small (under 1,000 subscribers) makes it difficult to draw clear insights from your targeting efforts and you’re better off optimizing a few effective ones. While there are exceptions for super targeted efforts like prize winners or loyalty groups, if you find yourself spending a ton of time managing numerous tiny segments, consider using AI tools like Audiences AI instead.
• Static segments: Set up dynamic segments that automatically update based on subscriber behavior. A subscriber who was "unengaged" last month might have made a purchase this week and should move to your "engaged" segment.
• Overlapping segments without exclusion logic: Make sure you’re not sending duplicate messages to subscribers who qualify for multiple segments as that can lead to message fatigue and higher opt-out rates.

Not testing segment performance: Track metrics like conversion rate, revenue per recipient, and opt-out rate for each segment. This data helps you refine your definitions and identify your most valuable segments.

With consumers expected to spend less and hunt for deals this year, precision targeting is essential for cutting through the Cyber Week noise.

The five segments in this guide—VIP customers, engaged subscribers, unengaged subscribers, product affinity segments, and geographic segments—give you an effective framework for reaching shoppers with relevant, timely messages that drive conversions.

Take segmentation further with Audiences AI to automatically identify high-intent subscribers you might miss manually, ensuring you maximize revenue from every campaign.

Ready to keep building your BFCM strategy? Continue refining your approach by exploring more resources below.