Black Friday is Dead 🪦 (But the Deals Keep Scrolling) + A New Era for Tech Stacks

Hey ASOM Fam,

Let’s face it—BFCM isn’t what it used to be. Gone are the days of 3 a.m. lines and fistfights over $99 TVs. Now it’s just scrolling in your PJs, wondering if 10% off is worth it (spoiler: it’s not). But don’t worry, we’re here to spice things up with some hard truths, hilarious takes, and a side of nostalgia.

This week, we’re serving up:

Jimmy’s ode to dead mall culture: Cinnabon smells, mall Santa, and why today’s BFCM lacks soul (and maybe a parking lot brawl or two).

Bryan’s BFCM roast: Stop discounting like it’s a frat party and start loving your real fans. Also, pineapple on pizza. Just...no.

John’s war on tech bloat: BattlBox is ditching its tech carb load for a sleek, stack-free diet. It’s Weight Watchers meets SaaS.

Amer’s eCom optimism: The Prince of Bosnia thinks this Holiday season is about to slap harder than Mariah’s high notes. Bring on the revenue rebound.

Whether you’re mourning the loss of Black Friday chaos or plotting your hot-girl-tech-stack-summer, we’ve got you covered. Keep scrolling, and let’s make this BFCM season anything but basic.

The Secret to Successful Founder Marketing: Strategies, Challenges, Success Tips - EP24

In this episode of the ASOM Pod, we’re diving headfirst into the vibrant world of founder-led marketing—unpacking its power to shape brands like MailChimp, Barstool Sports, and Tesla while exploring the highs, lows, and everything in between. From the magic (and occasional chaos) of personal branding to the trend of building in public, we break down how founders like Elon Musk and Dave Portnoy influence their companies’ reputations, for better or worse. Grab your headphones and check out the episode here.

Black Friday Died in 2015.

The good old days of videos of people fighting for $99 videos for early bird sales are dead. 

The good old days of waiting in line at 3am to get the latest video game system or newest shoes..dead. 

10% off.. 20% off.. Yea, it’s the same sales. 

And creativity is dead.

Sales started this month in the beginning of Nov and i’ve been unimpressed by most sales. 

The internet may have “streamlined” the experience, but the experience was never about the sale. 

The joy of walking the mall, listening to Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas playing in the background faintly, while walking around the long line of kids waiting to get pics with Santa…

The smell of Cinnabon, the food court, the Christmas peppermint.. 

That was the experience.

That was the customer experience.

It’s when got you to spend more, to go out and eat, fight the battles of the parking lot.. 

But now.. we lay in our beds, endless scrolling, just looking for something “good enough” for gifts. 

And we even order it pre-wrapped with a bow. 

Black Friday was about the kick off of the holiday season. It was about Christmas and family.

Now it’s just another commercial day.. And it kinda sucks. 

Long live 5am early bird door buster deals at Macy’s. 

The kids will never know.

#thegrinch 

Black Friday: The Death of 99% of Brands

Ah, Black Friday Cyber Monday, the gladiator pit of e-commerce, where brands duke it out for pennies on the dollar, hoping to snag customers who’ll probably ghost them after that sweet 75%-off deal. But let’s be real here folks, unless you’re Nike, Walmart, or some other juggernaut with infinite ad spend and a century long customer base, BFCM protocol is not for you. Seriously. Stop. Step away from the discount-hype machine.

Here’s the cold, hard truth: For 99% of brands, Black Friday Cyber Monday is a toxic ex. It looks good in theory, but it’s going to break your heart (and your profit margins). Rising acquisition costs, high churn rates, and razor-thin margins? That’s not “scaling,” that’s lighting your wallet on fire. Have you ever lit your wallet on fire before? I did the last few weeks after betting on the Chicago Bears. Anyways…

A Better BFCM Strategy: New, Shiny, and Exclusive

Instead of throwing discounts at new customers like you’re at a frat party handing out free beer, focus on the people who already love you: your current customers. They’re the ones who actually want more from you. Give them new products, exclusive bundles, better subscriptions; essentially, more of the good stuff. You know, the stuff that makes them want to keep hitting “buy now” without a second thought.

Why chase new customers who’ll abandon you the moment the sale ends when you could wow your loyal base instead? Better margins, better retention, and less of the desperation vibes.

Let’s Talk About Timing

If brands spent as much time strategizing outside of the holidays as they do prepping for BFCM, they wouldn’t have to sweat this one weekend like it’s the Hunger Games. Build loyalty and value year-round, and your customers will show up for you without a Black Friday sale as bait.

But Hey, It’s Your Funeral

If you absolutely must dive headfirst into BFCM chaos, just know the odds aren’t in your favor. Sure, you might acquire a few new customers, but most of them will bounce faster than your Facebook ads on a bad day. So ask yourself: do you really want to play this game?

Because for me, BFCM in its current form? It’s like pineapple on pizza: I get why people love it, but I still hate it.

TL;DR: Skip the discount death spiral. Create cool new offerings. Reward your loyal fans. And for the love of all things e-commerce, stop treating BFCM like the be-all-end-all of sales strategies. The other 51 weeks of the year matter, too.

Now go forth and be the brand that thrives, not just survives.

We are going to see retail and eCommerce bounce back this Holiday season more than most think

Brands, merchants, and retailers have been anxious about what will happen this holiday season. It is understandable – we see some brands rake in more than 50% of their revenue in Q4. 

This week, the National Retail Federation (NRF) stated that it expects year-over-year (YoY) growth to range between 2.5% and 3.5%. 

I am going to be bullish, way more bullish - I think we will see growth of 4% or even higher…here is why:

• According to Census.gov, 2024 Q3 e-commerce sales have increased by over 7% YoY. Why does this matter? It is a great signal, especially going into Q4, that consumer confidence is rebounding.
  

• Earlier sales are driving earlier shopping. With this, a great indicator of more bullish retailers and shoppers is echoed by Amazon’s Prime Days, which increased orders by 15% YoY.
  

• Inflation x Disposable Income x Consumer Holdbacks

  • Inflation has been fizzling out for months, and it has worked its way down to 3.2% YoY, still significant but way better than where we were.

  • Overall, personal disposable income is up over 5% – this is a great sign into the purchasing power of the consumer.

  • Lastly, this year we had a slowdown YoY in Q1 and Q2 of this year, mainly driven by inflation, when it comes to consumer spending. This is a signal that most merchants have been cautious with spending but also holding back for larger purchases for Q4. This holiday season, we will close that gap.

I think this is the comeback season for eCommerce and retail. NRF has a lot more data than I do, and they might be right, but I have all the confidence in the creativity of brands, consumers, and the patterns we have seen. 

Let’s head back to the eCommerce moon – or Mars. 

- The Prince of Bosnia  

Tech Bloat

BattlBox turns 10 years old in February. In D2C brand years that is OLD AS F*CK.

Just like all of those Little Debbie Zebra Cakes I have been casually ingesting through the years, BattlBox has slowly been adding software to our tech stack.

The result of both of these actions has caused bloat.

Personally, I weigh more than I should.

Professionally, BattlBox weighs more than it should.

Tech Bloat is a thing and 2025 is the year of us getting ready for our version of Hotgirl Summer.

We are gonna get rid of those extra carbs, because we don’t need them all.

The reality is there are too many tools out there and nobody wants to be bloated.

Moving forward, if the team wants to add something to the stack, you gotta remove something.

We are counting our Weight Watchers Points baby!

In addition to NO NET NEW technology, we are going to be taking a hard look at our current tech stack and reevaluating everything. 

I can count on one hand (maybe both hands) what is safe for sure, it's shredding szn.

And that’s a wrap on this week’s unfiltered takes! If you’re hooked on our no-BS rants (or just love the chaos), be sure to hit that Subscribe button and let us keep your inbox spicy. 🌶️

And of course, don’t be selfish—share with your friends, coworkers, or anyone who needs a wake-up call from their boring newsletters.

Cheers to a successful BFCM. ✌️