Cold Weather Gear BFCM Strategy: Marketing Jackets, Boots, and Winter Equipment

As temperatures drop and holiday demand spikes, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) become a pivotal sales window for cold-weather brands. Winter jackets, snow boots, and outdoor equipment surge in popularity during Q4, but competition is intense. This means apparel and outdoor brands need a well-timed strategy that builds momentum early, maximizes visibility during the BFCM rush, and sustains sales through December. This guide breaks down the most effective tactics for promoting winter gear during the busiest shopping period of the year.

Key Takeaways

BFCM is Crucial for Winter Gear

Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the start of peak winter shopping, with many consumers intentionally waiting for November deals before purchasing big-ticket items like insulated jackets and snow boots. Online shopping data from 2024 shows Black Friday sales reaching roughly $10.8 billion and Cyber Monday hitting $12.4 billion, with apparel—especially cold-weather apparel—among the fastest-growing categories.

Start Marketing Early

Brands that begin warming up their audience in October or early November consistently outperform last-minute marketers. Early list building, teaser content, and social engagement ensure your brand is top-of-mind when shoppers begin planning their cold-weather purchases.

Offer Compelling Promotions (But Protect Margins)

BFCM shoppers expect real deals—typically 25–30% off for winter apparel. Sitewide promotions, bundles, and tiered discounts work well, but the key is balancing volume with profitability.

Omnichannel & Snippet-Friendly Content

Search-optimized landing pages, question-based headings, voice-search-ready phrasing, and social/paid media push your offers to shoppers wherever they browse. Structured FAQs help capture long-tail queries and featured snippets.

Leverage Urgency and Trust

During BFCM, consumers are flooded with offers. Clear deadlines, inventory cues (“only 5 left”), strong reviews, and expert positioning help your brand stand out in an overcrowded promotion environment.

Why is BFCM So Important for Cold Weather Gear Brands?

It's More Than One Weekend

BFCM is the unofficial launch of the winter buying season. Many customers postpone major outdoor gear purchases until late November to score the best deals, compressing demand into a narrow window. For outdoor brands, this period often dictates the trajectory of the entire holiday season. A high-performing BFCM weekend drives sustained December sales, brings in new customers, and fuels repeat purchases—especially for essentials like accessories or winter gifts. Competition also peaks, with major retailers running aggressive discounts and heavy ad spend. A well-executed strategy not only boosts short-term revenue but also helps smaller brands win customers who might otherwise default to big-box competitors.

BFCM also serves as a real-time barometer of consumer behavior. Online Black Friday sales continue to hit record levels, mobile shopping dominates, and customers now feel comfortable purchasing premium winter items—such as down coats or technical boots—entirely online. Brands unprepared for this surge risk losing visibility and market share.

How Should Outdoor Brands Prepare Before Black Friday?

Success in BFCM is determined weeks (if not months) in advance. Here are crucial steps to take before Thanksgiving weekend:

1. Build Your Email & SMS List Early

Email and SMS remain top revenue drivers during BFCM, so list building must begin in early fall. Offer early access, giveaways, or lead magnets like winter gear checklists to grow your subscriber base. The larger and more engaged your list is by November, the more impact your BFCM promotions will have.

2. Start Teasing Offers in Advance

Successful brands build anticipation by hinting at upcoming deals without revealing full details. Social teasers, “save the date” emails, countdowns, and early opt-in lists prime the audience for Black Friday announcements.

3. Optimize Product Pages & Seasonal SEO

Update product pages for jackets, boots, base layers, and outdoor gear with winter-focused keywords. Publish gift guides, buying guides, and educational content such as “How to Choose the Right Winter Jacket” to capture long-tail queries and organic traffic before BFCM hits.

4. Plan Inventory & Fulfillment Before the Rush

Demand surges rapidly during BFCM, so accurate forecasting, pre-packing best sellers, and coordinating fulfillment (including Amazon FBA if applicable) is essential. Running out of top-selling products early in the weekend leads to major lost revenue.

5. Test All Website Systems

Website outages, failed promo codes, or slow checkout experiences cost brands significant revenue. Load-test your site, streamline checkout, enable express payment options, and ensure analytics tracking is functioning before traffic spikes.

What Promotions Work Best for Jackets, Boots, and Winter Equipment?

When it comes to BFCM promotions in the outdoor apparel and gear space, simplicity and perceived value are key.

Shoppers scanning dozens of emails and ads will latch onto clear, attractive offers – especially for big-ticket items like insulated jackets or ski equipment.

Sitewide Discounts

Simple sitewide offers remain the most effective, especially for high-value apparel. Many outdoor brands find that 25–30% off delivers strong conversion without destroying margins.

Bundles & BOGO Deals

Bundling jackets with gloves, hats, or base layers increases average order value while giving shoppers a sense of high perceived value. This works especially well for winter gear where customers often need multiple items.

Tiered Discounts

“Spend more, save more” structures incentivize larger carts—ideal for brands with extensive catalogs or customers buying full winter outfits.

Limited-Time Doorbusters

Time-sensitive steep discounts on select items (e.g., first 100 jackets at 50% off) create urgency and traffic spikes when promoted in advance.

Coupons for Future Purchases

BFCM bonus coupons (“Spend $150, get $20 for December”) bring customers back after the initial surge.

Free Gifts and Free Shipping

If deep discounting isn't feasible, add-value promos—free thermal beanies, free socks with boot purchases, or universal free shipping—help improve conversions and preserve margins.

How Can We Sustain Momentum After Cyber Monday?

Many brands breathe a sigh of relief after Cyber Monday, but savvy marketers know the game isn't over. The period immediately following BFCM, through December and even into January, can continue strong if you plan for it.

1. Extend or Evolve Your Offers

If you have stock left or missed sales goals on certain items, consider extensions.

Options:

• "Cyber Week" extension or flash sales in early December
• "Cyber Week Continues – 25% off all remaining winter gear through Friday!"
• Special sale around Green Monday (typically the second Monday of December)

Word of caution: If you repeatedly extend a sale, customers might learn to wait. It can be better to refresh the angle.

2. Target Last-Minute Shoppers

There's a wave of shoppers in mid-to-late December who suddenly realize they need gifts or gear. Capture them by emphasizing:

• Urgency related to shipping and inventory
• "Order by Dec 18 for delivery by Christmas"
• "Only 3 left – don't miss out on the last of our winter stock"

If you have brick-and-mortar stores:

• Push "Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store"
• Offer curbside options for procrastinators

3. Use Gift Cards and Gift Guides

Gift cards:

• Perfect for those who are hard to shop for
• Great for outdoor enthusiasts who might prefer to choose their own gear

Gift guides:

• "Last-Minute Gift Ideas for Adventurers" featuring your products
• Can be an email or social post series in mid-December
• Helps people find something for that relative who loves hiking

4. Continue Email Engagement

Adjust your email strategy post-BFCM. Send thank-you emails, personalized follow-ups, loyalty offers, and product-specific cross-sells based on what the customer purchased during BFCM. An example of a personalized follow-up with a loyalty reward would be: "You bought a jacket – did you get new gloves to match? Here's a special 20% off coupon as a thank-you."

5. Retarget and Remarket

Lots of people will have visited your site during BFCM and not bought, or abandoned carts. Don't let that data go to waste.

Retargeting tactics:

• Set up retargeting ads in December that show the products people viewed
• Messages like "Still thinking about it? It's not too late to get your winter gear"
• Use dynamic remarketing to show them the exact items they browsed
• Combine this with any extended sale or new coupon code to sweeten the deal

6. Plan for the New Year

January brings winter trips, gift card spending, and outdoor fitness resolutions. Start teasing New Year sales in late December to stay top-of-mind.

Example: "Stay tuned: big clearance on winter equipment coming first week of January!"

This keeps your brand in customers' minds even after the holidays.

FAQ: BFCM Strategies for Winter Gear Marketing

Q1: When should I start marketing for BFCM to maximize jacket and boot sales?

To maximize winter apparel sales during BFCM, brands should begin marketing as early as October. The most successful campaigns warm up their audience for several weeks through list building, teaser content, and early engagement, ensuring customers are already familiar with the brand and anticipating its offers by mid-November. Launching “early Black Friday” promotions in the week or two before BFCM also helps capture shoppers who want deals before peak traffic hits.

Q2: How much of a discount is enough to attract BFCM shoppers for winter apparel?

Most winter gear brands find that discounts in the 25–30% range are competitive and attract strong buyer interest. While some categories offer deeper cuts, you don’t need to drop prices 50% unless you’re clearing last season’s inventory. For current-season items, a mix of moderate sitewide deals combined with a few deeper “doorbuster” discounts creates strong perceived value while still protecting margins. Pairing discounts with bundles or free gifts also increases appeal without sacrificing profitability.

Q3: What’s an effective strategy for selling high-priced winter equipment like skis or tents during BFCM?

For expensive outdoor equipment, value-added promotions often outperform heavy discounting. Offering 15–20% off plus a free accessory—such as a ski bag, ground tarp, or repair kit—creates a compelling offer while preserving margin. Brands should highlight buy-now-pay-later options and emphasize long-term durability and performance, which helps justify premium pricing even during a discount-driven holiday.

Q4: How can smaller outdoor brands stand out against major retailers during BFCM?

Smaller brands can outperform large retailers by leaning into authenticity, agility, and storytelling. Personalized messages from founders, unique product differentiation, strong customer service, and community engagement create emotional connections that big-box stores can’t replicate. Niche brands can also partner with complementary outdoor companies for cross-promotions, expanding reach without massive advertising budgets.

Q5: Should I use pop-ups or countdown timers on my site for BFCM?

Pop-ups and countdown timers are effective when used intentionally and sparingly. A well-designed pop-up can grow your email list before BFCM or highlight a key promotion during the event, while countdown timers reinforce urgency by showing when a sale ends. However, these tools should never impede the customer experience—especially on mobile—and must visually align with the brand to avoid appearing spammy.

Q6: How should brands manage BFCM if they also sell on marketplaces like Amazon?

Brands selling on Amazon should treat marketplaces as an additional channel while still prioritizing their direct site. Participating in Amazon’s BFCM deals helps tap into its massive traffic, but brands should offer exclusive bundles, gifts, or loyalty points on their website to encourage direct purchases. It’s important to ensure pricing strategies don’t conflict across channels and to consider marketplace fees when determining discount levels.

Partner with Algofy Outdoors for BFCM Success

BFCM is too important to navigate alone. Algofy’s team brings extensive experience working with hundreds of outdoor and lifestyle brands. We help you refine promotional strategy, scale paid media, optimize websites, enhance creative, improve email & SMS performance, and more—turning seasonal traffic into loyal, long-term customers. Start the season ahead—book a free call today to get started.