Inside OpenStore’s Biggest BFCM Yet

Seijin Jung

Dec 15, 2023

BFCM (Black Friday Cyber Monday) is arguably the most important time of the year for us and other e-commerce companies. 

So this year, we approached BFCM with a rallying cry: “Go big or go home.” During the 16 days of holiday deals we ran, our team brought in almost as much profit for our portfolio as they did during the entire fourth quarter of 2022. Our team achieved this by preparing months in advance and developing technology to run efficient campaigns at scale across paid social, e-mail, and SMS. 

A record-breaking BFCM

This year, we increased our contribution profit by 180% with a sales increase of 28% year-over-year. Black Friday itself was the most successful day of the campaign, setting OpenStore records in daily net sales, contribution profit, and return on ad spend (ROAS). 

On the brand level, our menswear brand Jack Archer had an impressive November, producing its strongest month by net sales to date. After acquiring Jack Archer in May 2022, we scaled the brand’s revenue from $1 million to over $10 million in only nine months. Our team also helped break records for KNKG, the maker of popular gym bags, and an OpenStore Drive brand we started managing in October. KNKG had its best month of net sales and contribution profit ever. 

The top three products sold by volume were: 

• Jack Archer’s Jetsetter pants in Charcoal Gray

• Jack Archer’s Jetsetter pants in Deep Blue

• And Sensory Joy’s Reversible Cuddle Swing 

EXO Drones received the biggest order of BFCM, with one customer in Utah spending more than $4,800.

It’s never too early to prepare for BFCM

Our merchandising team started planning our BFCM promotions over three months in advance. We do offer testing throughout the year, so that we can use historical data to create compelling and profitable offers. This year’s BFCM deals included a 20% discount sitewide for KNKG, 15% off of everything at kids’ toy brand Sensory Joy, up to $400 off select EXO Drones, and more.

During the BFCM sales, our team of e-commerce experts leveraged channels such as paid social, e-mail, and SMS marketing. CRM was an especially critical part of our BFCM strategy. While we relied on a CRM agency during BFCM 2022, we were able to bring a majority of our CRM efforts in-house for our 2023 campaigns. Revenue generated via SMS marketing doubled year-over-year.

Using tech to automate promotions & SMS campaigns 

Our tech stack enabled us to execute our BFCM strategy efficiently. Our in-house CRM platform allowed us to bulk-schedule dozens of campaigns. We also integrated artificial intelligence to assist in copy creation. 

The team spent the weeks leading up to BFCM optimizing the customer journey for our top brands to make it seamless for shoppers. We created dedicated landing pages to drive urgency and increase conversion rates. Throughout the user journey, the merchandising team surfaced compatible products to shoppers to help increase average order value (AOV). The promotion automation tool that we built in house made it possible to schedule discount activation and storefront refreshes ahead of time.

Take BFCM off next year

This BFCM was our most successful to date, due to close collaboration across teams and our ability to implement effective strategies across our brands. A successful holiday shopping season starts with high-quality tech and operations all year, and before you know it, BFCM will be here again. 

Our team of e-commerce experts operates nearly 50 Shopify-powered brands, more than any other company on the market. If you’re looking to level up your BFCM, without all the hustle, check out our different offerings: 

• Sell your store. If you’re ready to sell your business and move on to something new, see if you qualify for an acquisition offer. If we make an offer to buy your store, you can get paid and move on to your next adventure in as little as two weeks.

• OpenStore Drive: Turn your business into a source of passive income. Get guaranteed monthly payments and time back to relax or start something new while we run your business for you.

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