Insights
How to use Black Friday SMS marketing to build trust and engagement
Insights
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most competitive shopping seasons yet – and this year, consumers are calling the shots. According to our 2025 BFCM Consumer Survey, 71.7% of shoppers want brands to communicate across more than one channel, down from 78.5% in 2024. Whereas in previous years brands may have thought they needed to be everywhere, this year it’s clear that it’s more important to show up where it matters.
And when it comes to where that is, mobile messaging leads the way. Nearly half of global shoppers (46.5%) want to hear from brands through at least one messaging channel, with SMS among the top choices. Speed, visibility, and reliability are what make SMS essential for BFCM, with 93% of consumers saying transactional messages are important during the holidays, and 75.8% expecting order confirmations within five minutes of purchase.
In short, SMS marketing remains one of the most immediate ways to connect with shoppers – but a brand’s success depends on how they’re using it. To help you get it right, we’ve compiled best practices and insights from Sébastien Icardi, VP of Customer Success for Europe and the U.K. at Insider, a platform that helps enterprise marketers build individualized, cross-channel experiences.
Let’s dive into how to make SMS your most effective Black Friday channel in 2025.
Here are a few key tips and best practices for retailers to use SMS marketing around Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
For your campaign to really shine, you need to make sure you have a quality SMS subscriber list. This means that your customers should have explicitly consented to receive your texts.
It’s important to proactively seek opt-in before sending people text messages. Keep in mind that while some customers may eagerly anticipate updates about their orders (i.e., transactional messages), you don’t automatically have permission to send them advertisements (i.e., promotional text messages).
And according to our 2025 State of customer communications survey of over 2,800 global consumers, 58% want to choose their preferred channels when they opt in to receive brand messages, emphasizing that consent and channel choice go hand-in-hand. This means brands must be transparent about what types of SMS customers are signing up for and make it easy to change preferences later.
To help you get consent, Sébastien says to try using opt-in forms, running promotions, or even asking for sign-ups in-store. You can always offer discounts or early access to deals to encourage people to join your list as well.
And, of course, remember that it’s crucial to comply with local regulations for each country you’re sending SMS messages to, and make it easy for people to unsubscribe from your messages.
Pro tip: If you’re looking for any help on your approach, Insider has a free SMS template library you can browse as you get started.
Planning early is more important than ever. Our 2025 BFCM Consumer Survey found that 37% of shoppers expect promotions to start by October 28, and 18.6% want them even earlier. This means waiting until Cyber Week is too late – shoppers have made up their minds.
Early preparation ensures smoother execution and greater impact. It also allows time to test your audience segments and timing windows – something increasingly critical as consumers become more selective about which brands they want to hear from.
“You need to start thinking about your Black Friday SMS campaign at least two or three months before. That’s a good time to start defining what you want to do, what type of messages you want to send, your segmentation plan, and so on.”
Early preparation will help execution on the day of the campaign be much smoother and help you make sure it has impact. You may also need to plan for additional investments in segmenting your user base effectively.
“Keep all SMS short and clear, focusing on the most critical information. Incorporate a strong CTA, and personalize each message based on your audience segmentation.”
Personalization still matters – but shoppers are more cautious about it this year. Our 2025 BFCM survey found that 72.7% of consumers value personalized offers, yet 16.9% find personalization invasive, up from 2024. In 2025, your customers want messages that feel helpful and not hyper-targeted.
Whatever the case, it’s up to you to show that you know and understand your audience to truly build a great customer experience.
“Personalizing your content based on user data – like their first name, last name, or other details – can make a big difference. With many retailers sending SMS, adding a personal touch helps you stand out from the crowd and shows your customers that you genuinely “get” them.”
This also goes beyond basic personalization – for instance, you could recognize that different holidays have different significance for people. Whether you’re offering “Christmas” or “holiday” promotions, always take a moment to consider the diverse backgrounds and beliefs of your audience. This shows a genuine respect for your customers and will help them form a deeper connection to your brand.
of consumers value personalized offers in 2025
of consumers find personalization invasive in 2025
Finding the right message frequency around Black Friday is key to keeping customers happy and keeping your “unsubscribe” list down – in fact, 26% of people we surveyed in 2025 said receiving communications too frequently made them less likely to buy from a brand, and another 25% said irrelevant content is an instant turn-off. These figures reinforce that even with high-performing channels like SMS, less is often more.
If you’re ever in doubt about whether or not to send an SMS, put yourself in your audience’s shoes and answer these questions:
If you answered, “yes,” to both questions, craft your message by considering what would grab your attention and enhance your overall brand experience.
“SMS is a highly visible channel that commands the immediate attention of the customer who received it. To use it strategically, reserve SMS for your most critical notifications, exclusive discounts, important updates, etc., or your customers will unsubscribe, and you’ll lose the ability to communicate with them so easily.”
There are key transactional messages that need to be sent from e-commerce retailers during Black Friday, like order confirmations, inventory alerts, payment confirmations, and post-purchase feedback requests. And in 2025, automation has become essential for these messages to meet rising consumer expectations, especially with 52.1% of consumers preferring brands that deliver updates across multiple channels (like SMS combined with email and WhatsApp).
SMS is a powerful tool for these purposes because of its reliability and immediateness – and automating these messages (rather than relying on manual triggers) will save time and ensure that your customers receive the right information when they need it.
“SMS is great for improving overall user experience with your brand – so for things like instant order confirmations or shipping updates, it can help ensure customers are always informed.”
SMS is incredibly effective for certain types of Black Friday marketing campaigns, like flash sales, limited-time deals, and exclusive promotions. Retailers that get ahead are the ones who are expanding their reach from just one messaging channel to multiple. But in 2025, success isn’t necessarily about using every channel – it’s about using the right ones. Customers want brands to meet them where it makes sense.
Rich messaging channels like Rich Communication Services (RCS) and WhatsApp allow for rich, interactive content like images, videos, or GIFs so you can stand out from the crowd and boost conversion rates. Younger generations are also embracing these channels, with over 60% of Gen Zs and millennials say they’d engage with this type of interactive message. At the same time, email marketing can help you provide product previews, forms, and more. And of course, when the situation requires it, people want to talk to people, which makes voice services more relevant than ever.
“Each channel has its strengths: Email provides detailed information and is excellent for post-purchase communication, social media offers engagement, and SMS offers immediacy. Together, they create an effective omnichannel strategy that ensures the right message reaches customers at the right time.”
Leading up to and around Black Friday, providers like Insider and Sinch play a key role in enabling effective communication. When you’re searching for a messaging partner, it’s critical to find one who offers a few essentials to meet your specific Black Friday needs, and even better, it’s great to find one that can support you beyond just the busiest shopping week of the year.
Black Friday necessitates timely, efficient communications. That’s why businesses need to look for a messaging provider offering exceptional message deliverability and guaranteed throughput.
To avoid unexpected issues during peak sending times, enterprises should look for a provider with a strong history of successfully managing high-volume message sends, smart routing capabilities, and direct connections to mobile operators worldwide.
Sébastien recommends checking analyst reports like Gartner and user reviews on portals like G2 to help you choose the right provider.
At Sinch, our 600+ direct relationships to global network operators are at the core of our business, ensuring there’s no middleman aggregating traffic. We know how important Black Friday is for businesses, so we focus on eliminating unnecessary layers in the process to offer brands the unmatched quality, pricing, and stability they need throughout the year.
For a retail enterprise, having a customizable SMS API in place is one of the most beneficial steps to take to get ready for Black Friday. It means that businesses can tailor their messaging campaigns to the unique demands of the day, offering a level of flexibility and control that’s crucial in the frenzy.
An SMS API also allows a business to send thousands of SMS messages automatically. It helps a business work smarter and ensures time-sensitive communications at the right time, every single time.
Enterprises should look for an SMS provider with comprehensive APIs, including REST and SMPP. These providers should also offer fully developed documentation and personalized support to assist you during set-up and through any technical hiccups that might occur in the lead up to Black Friday.
This developer-first mentality is key for technical teams in the lead up to the holiday season. Partnering with a provider like Sinch helps ensure your campaigns are correctly synced with other communication efforts, optimizing overall campaign effectiveness and guaranteeing maximum reliability for your critical sends.
Want to learn more? You can try Sinch SMS API for free here – in just a few quick steps, you’ll be ready to start sending large volumes of messages automatically. You can also check out Sinch Engage for a more self-service solution.
When we talk about service optimization for SMS and other messaging channels, we’re referring to the configuring and managing of connections and routing in a network. This process is critical to ensure the infrastructure can handle the volume and demands of increased message traffic.
As you prepare for Black Friday and other high-demand events, you should be looking for SMS infrastructure equipped to handle your anticipated message volume. Look for a provider that adheres to industry best practices, which includes avoiding grey routes or SIM farms. Doing so contributes to a cleaner messaging ecosystem while defending your business against SMS fraud.
At Sinch, our standard for direct links to operators globally means we’re constantly providing a messaging service that meets and exceeds industry standards.
Black Friday is a time when businesses interact with an influx of customers, making it essential to prioritize customer data security. You need to make sure that your SMS messages are being sent securely to protect customer data and ensure legal compliance with GDPR and CCPA. Security and compliance are non-negotiable, as any mishandling of customer data or failure to comply with regulations can lead to severe legal consequences and reputational damage.
Equally important is the trust of your customers. Our 2025 BFCM survey data shows that 43.6% of consumers cite privacy and data use as their top concern when engaging with brands that use AI or automation, showing just how closely privacy and trust are linked. Brands that clearly communicate how data is used and protected are far more likely to earn long-term loyalty.
That’s why you need to look for a partner who prioritizes compliance with local laws and regulations, maintains a network of data centers in various locations, and upholds GDPR and CCPA standards. Their distinct certifications will not only enhance data security but instill confidence in your customers, reinforcing your commitment to protecting their sensitive information.
With Black Friday and Cyber Week right around the corner, the partnership between messaging providers and enterprises will take center stage to truly unlock a new era of customer engagement. Together, we’re positioned to create experiences that will resonate with customers worldwide, building stronger connections and trust between businesses and their customers.
To learn more about how Sinch can help your business drive Black Friday success, check out our guide on how to choose the right SMS provider. Or, if you’re ready to speak all things messaging, let’s chat. We’re ready to help you deliver Black Friday messaging that drives results!
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