How to do Black Friday without discounting
If your prices are already tight, or your customers come for craft and not for a bargain, you can skip the markdowns and still have a strong weekend on November 27. This is how, and what to write.
Why some shops skip the discount
A discount trains customers to wait for the next one, cuts into a margin that a small shop cannot spare, and puts you in a price contest with retailers who can always go lower. Plenty of independent shops decide that their weekend should be about something else: a better gift, a better experience, a thank-you. The key is to say so clearly, because customers who expect a sale will otherwise assume you forgot.
Seven things to offer instead
1. A free gift with purchase
A small, well-chosen extra such as a sample, a print or an ornament. You spend a few dollars, and the customer gets something they cannot find elsewhere.
2. Free gift wrap and a handwritten note
For a gift shop, this is the offer. It saves your customer an evening, and it is almost impossible for a big retailer to match.
3. Early access to new arrivals
Give your best customers first pick of the new holiday items on Thursday or Friday morning. Scarcity of the right kind comes from the product, not from a price.
4. A limited holiday edition
One scent, flavor, color or print that is only made for the season and sold at full price. Tell the story of how it was made.
5. A gift guide that does the thinking
“Gifts for the person who has everything, under $50.” A well-organized guide is a service. See our gift guide email template.
6. A shipping guarantee
“Order by December 14 and it arrives for Christmas.” Only promise what your carrier’s published cutoffs and your own packing schedule support, and say what happens if something is late.
7. Give back, visibly
Donate a stated share of the weekend’s sales to a named local cause, report the total afterward, and keep the receipt. Do not announce a donation you have not decided on.
The email to send
Here is a short example that explains the choice without apologizing for it. Edit the details to match your shop.
Hi {first name},
We are not discounting this Black Friday. We would rather keep our prices fair for you all year and spend the weekend making your gifts easier to give.
From Friday, November 27 through Monday, November 30: free gift wrap on every order, a handwritten note if you want one, and a small gift from us with orders over $60 while they last.
Order by December 14 for delivery before Christmas.
Thank you for shopping with a small shop.
{shop name}
Subject line alternatives: “We’re skipping the sale (here’s why)”, “Free gift wrap all weekend”, “Fair prices, all year, and a gift from us”.
What to avoid
- Pretending to have a sale. If you raised a price in October to cut it in November, customers can tell, and in many places it is against the rules on price claims.
- Saying nothing. A quiet shop on Black Friday looks closed. Send at least the announcement and one reminder.
- Promising what you cannot do. Gift wrap, notes and shipping dates must hold up when 60 orders arrive in a day.
Related reading
Compare these with the discount-based options in twelve Black Friday sale ideas, plan your sends with the 2026 email schedule, and browse the full guide list for a plan written for your type of shop.
Want to see this built from your own products?
Paste your store’s address into our free mockup tool and get a Black Friday email made from your real products. No card needed.
Prefer to skip the writing? We write and design the whole run for your shop, ready to import into Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend or Shopify Email, in 72 hours.