BFCM doesn't start on Black Friday. It starts several weeks in advance, when prospective customers begin their research phase: identifying the products they want, adding them to wishlists, and waiting for the deepest discounts to drop. They're doing the homework now so they can buy fast when your sale goes live.
Customers making high-stakes holiday purchases are more likely to read reviews than ever. They're buying for others, navigating rising costs, and feeling the pressure to make the right choice. A customer scrolling through products in October looking for Black Friday deals is actively seeking social proof to guide their decision.
Most brands see this pre-BFCM window as dead time—a period between now and the actual sale. They're wrong. This is your opportunity to build the trust infrastructure that converts BFCM traffic into sales when it arrives.
Here are three strategic ways to capitalize on your existing reviews before Black Friday even lands.
Your brand likely already has hundreds or thousands of reviews sitting on product pages. Most brands never strategically highlight them—they just exist passively, waiting for customers to find them.
Before BFCM, audit your review library and identify your strongest social proof. Which products have the highest volume of reviews? Which have the best ratings? Which reviews contain specific details, visuals, or compelling stories that actually influence purchase decisions?
Once you've identified your review assets, create a pre-BFCM marketing campaign that leads with social proof rather than discounts or promotions.
Launch email campaigns featuring your most-reviewed products. Send a series highlighting bestsellers backed by review data. A subject line like "Why 500+ Customers Love This [Product]" or "See What Everyone's Buying This Season" taps into herd mentality and gives customers the purchasing confidence they need before they even see a discount code. People want to buy what other people love.
Feature reviews prominently on your homepage and category pages. Don't bury your social proof on individual product pages. Create homepage banners highlighting "Most-Loved" or "Best-Reviewed" products with customer photos and star ratings. When customers land on your site in October looking for gift inspiration, they should immediately see what your community actually thinks, not just marketing copy.
Leverage review data in paid advertising now. Run ads in October highlighting products with the most reviews and highest ratings. You're building awareness and credibility before the sale traffic spike hits. By the time BFCM arrives, customers already have your brand and your existing social proof at the forefront of their minds.
The brands that win during BFCM are the ones customers already trust because they've done the research and seen extensive positive feedback.
Not all products deserve equal BFCM promotion. But most brands make promotions based on gut feel or historical performance rather than what customers actually think.
Your reviews are a goldmine of customer preference data. Before BFCM, use review insights to identify which products have the most enthusiastic customer followings—not necessarily the highest volume of reviews, but the ones with the most compelling, detailed, passionate feedback.
Look for patterns in your review content. Which products have customers saying "I bought this as a gift for my mom and she loved it"? Which ones have detailed photos and videos? Which ones have customers mentioning they bought multiple units? These are your true best-sellers according to your actual customer base, not your sales forecast.
Create a "Customer Favorites" collection before BFCM launches. Build a curated collection of products with the strongest review backing and market this heavily in October. When BFCM traffic arrives, customers see a pre-vetted list of genuinely beloved products. This reduces decision fatigue during high-pressure holiday shopping and increases conversion rates because customers are guided toward products that real people actually love.
Prioritize these products in your email campaigns, ads, and homepage real estate. Give review-backed bestsellers premium visibility before and during BFCM. When a customer can't decide between five similar products, the one with 200 detailed reviews and customer photos wins.
Use review content in your BFCM creative. Before you write BFCM ad copy, pull actual review quotes that highlight product benefits, use cases, and emotional satisfaction. Customer voices are more persuasive than your marketing team ever will be. A review quote like "This saved me hours during holiday meal prep" is more compelling than generic benefit messaging.
By leaning on authentic customer feedback to inform your BFCM strategy, you're running a sale backed by a chorus of satisfied customers.
October is when customers start thinking about holiday shopping. It's also when skepticism sets in. They're wondering: Is this brand trustworthy? Are their products worth the price? Will they ship in time for the holidays?
Your reviews answer all these questions before you even have to. But you need to strategically position them as trust signals before BFCM.
Create "Why Customers Choose Us" content built entirely from reviews. Write blog posts, create social content, and build email sequences that highlight themes pulled from your review library. Common themes might be "Fast shipping that arrives before Christmas," "Better quality than the alternatives," "Perfect gift for people who have everything," etc. These themes come from real customer feedback, making them authentic and persuasive.
Highlight your review response rate and brand transparency. If your team responds to reviews regularly and thoughtfully, make that visible. Feature responses to negative reviews that show how you handle problems. Customers are more likely to trust a brand that engages with criticism than one that ignores it. This pre-BFCM transparency builds confidence that you'll stand behind your products and customer service even during the chaos of the holiday rush.
Showcase your review volume and credibility markers. Display statistics like "Over 5,000 customer reviews," "Average rating of 4.7 stars," or "98% recommend this product." These credibility markers matter especially for first-time buyers who are still evaluating your brand. Use this messaging in email pre-BFCM campaigns and on your homepage to establish authority before traffic spikes.
Use reviews to address common pre-purchase objections. If your reviews consistently mention shipping speed, feature that. If customers rave about durability and quality, highlight that. If gift-givers mention packaging or presentation, make that prominent. You're using your review library to proactively answer the questions customers have before they even ask.
The biggest mistake brands make is viewing the weeks before BFCM as waiting time. They're not. They're prime real estate for building the trust infrastructure that converts the incoming BFCM flood.
By strategically surfacing your reviews, highlighting your best-sellers, and weaving customer feedback into your pre-BFCM narrative, you're setting yourself up to convert significantly more of the traffic that arrives in November.
Smart brands know that BFCM success is built in the weeks leading up to it. And it starts with reviews.
Most brands are sitting on review goldmines without the tools to strategically deploy them. Reviews scattered across product pages, no clear way to identify your best performers, no integrated system for surfacing social proof across email, ads, and your website.
That's where Stamped comes in. Our platform puts your reviews to work before BFCM arrives. Identify your most-reviewed and highest-converting products. Build review-backed collections and campaigns. Leverage customer feedback in your pre-BFCM marketing. Create the trust infrastructure that converts traffic into sales when it matters most.
Limited-time offer for new customers:
Reviews or Loyalty → just $299/mo
Lifecycle → $499/mo
Bundle any products together → $499/mo total
Book a demo today to see how Stamped can help you maximize your reviews before BFCM and turn the holiday rush into your biggest revenue event of the year.