Black Friday A/B Testing Playbook: 5 Critical Tests to Run Now
Black Friday is almost here, and if you haven’t started testing your marketing funnel, you’re already behind. The good news? October is the perfect window to experiment, gather insights, and lock in your winning playbook before the holiday traffic floodgates open.
After supporting hundreds of ecommerce brands through BFCM, we’ve seen one thing clearly: testing early and often leads to better performance when the stakes are highest. Below, we’re sharing five tests we consider non-negotiable for maximizing holiday performance.
1. Test Your Ad Creative to Drive More Black Friday Traffic
Goal: Increase traffic and lower cost per acquisition
Benchmark: Paid social CTR of 1.5–2.5%, Google Ads CTR of 3–5%
Your ads are the front door to your holiday sales. Small creative shifts can lead to big jumps in click-through rates and ROAS.
Where to start:
Ad creative: Compare product shots vs. lifestyle imagery, static vs. video
Ad copy: Try urgency, value-driven, or benefit-led headlines
Placements: Test channels and formats, your best performer might surprise you
The biggest mistake we see? Assuming what worked in Q3 will work for Black Friday. Let your audience tell you what actually drives the click.
2. Optimize Opt-In Forms to Grow Your List Before BFCM
Goal: Build a bigger, higher-quality list now
Benchmark: ~3% submit rate
Your email and SMS list is your number one sales driver during BFCM. The more engaged subscribers you have going into November, the more leverage you’ll have when it’s time to launch promotions.
Test this:
Email vs. SMS first: See which field order drives the highest form completion
Form design: Experiment with copy, button language, or fewer fields
Even a small lift in opt-in rate can add thousands of dollars in revenue when it’s multiplied by holiday traffic.
3. Test Subject Lines & Send Times to Cut Through the Holiday Inbox Clutter
Goal: Lift email open rates
Benchmark: ~47% open rate (varies by list quality)
Those campaigns you’ve spent weeks developing can’t convert if they aren’t getting opened, and during Black Friday, inbox competition is fierce.
What to test:
Urgency: “24 Hours Only” vs. “Don’t Miss Out”
Curiosity: “You won’t believe this deal”
Personalization: First name or product-specific
Send times: Morning vs. evening, weekday vs. weekend
Run these tests in October so you know what your audience actually responds to before your highest-stakes emails go out.
4. Test CTA Buttons to Maximize Click Rates
Goal: Increase click rates and get shoppers to your website
Benchmark: ~0.7% click rate
Once you’ve tackled open rates, you can focus on the real purpose of your email campaigns: to drive clicks. Emails should entice people to go to your site to learn more. Include just enough information to make them curious - but hold something back so there’s a reason for readers to click.
Test in your emails:
Button placement (top vs. bottom, single vs. multiple)
Button copy (“Shop Now” vs. “Get My Discount”)
Button color and size (sometimes breaking brand guidelines wins big)
5. Test Your Checkout Flow to Reduce Cart Abandonment
Goal: Remove friction and capture more completed orders
Benchmark: Target cart abandonment rate under 70% (industry average is 70–75%)
Nothing hurts more than a full cart left behind. High-traffic events like BFCM magnify any friction in your checkout flow.
Test and refine:
One-page vs. multi-step checkout
Guest checkout vs. required accounts
Payment options order (credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Shop Pay, etc.)
Progress bars and trust signals
Every extra step is a chance to lose the sale. Teams that streamline checkout in October see fewer abandoned carts in November.
A Few Testing Best Practices
A/B testing only works if you run it right. Keep these rules in mind:
Start early, now is the window to test, analyze, and implement
Test one variable at a time to get clean insights
Wait for statistical significance before calling winners
Re-run winning tests to confirm results
The Bottom Line
Black Friday sales don’t happen by chance, they’re built on systems. By running these five A/B tests now, you’ll head into November with the confidence that your funnel is ready to convert at the highest possible rate.
The brands that succeed this Black Friday will be the ones that prepared with intention. Start testing today, and your future self (and your Q4 revenue numbers) will thank you.