Black Friday and holiday emails for independent gift shops
A gift shop sells the answer to one question: what do I get for this person? Your holiday emails should answer it by recipient and price, so a shopper can finish their list in a few minutes.
Organize everything by person and price
Nobody shops a gift store by product category. They shop by “mom,” “coworker,” “under $25.” Build every email around those groups and your emails stop looking like a sale flyer and start looking like a helpful shopping list.
The five emails
- Early access to the gift guide (the week before Black Friday). Your guide by recipient and price. Subscribers who shop early are your best customers; reward them with first look.
- Black Friday: one doorbuster plus gift sets. Pick one popular item as the doorbuster, state the quantity, and offer ready-made sets or free gift wrap on larger orders.
- Small Business Saturday: the “shop local” email. Your story, your favorite local makers, and a small thank-you for people who come in. Examples.
- The gift guide, round two (early December). Stocking stuffers, host gifts, secret Santa under $20, and “for the person who has everything.”
- Last day to ship and last-minute pickup. Last-day-to-ship in the subject, then gift cards, wrapping and pickup for the last-minute rush. Template.
What to put in a gift shop’s emails
- Price on every item. Shoppers filter by budget first.
- Gift-wrap and note options in plain sight.
- Local and handmade labels where true: they are why people choose you over a big online shop.
- Holiday hours and pickup details.
A short template: the gift guide
Gift guide
Subject lines to try: Your whole gift list, sorted (our picks) · The [Shop Name] gift guide: by person and by price · Stuck on a gift? Start here
Hi [First Name], Gift season is here. We sorted our favorites by who you're shopping for. For her [Product], [price]: [one line why] [Product], [price]: [one line why] For him [Product], [price]: [one line why] [Product], [price]: [one line why] For the host, the teacher, the coworker [Product], [price]: [one line why] Stocking stuffers under $20: [link] [See the whole gift guide -> link] We wrap for free. Order by [date] to get it before Christmas, or come by the shop and we'll help you choose. [Your name], [Shop Name]
The sample emails show how finished campaigns look.
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.