I’ve been watching how brands hype up their Black Friday campaigns this month, and honestly… it feels like everyone is trying something totally different just to stand out. Some start their “Black Friday” like two weeks early, some throw in mystery boxes, and others are running these countdown clocks that literally make me panic-scroll even when I wasn’t planning to buy anything.
What I did notice, though, is that certain tactics keep popping up because they actually work — like limited-time offers, gamified emails, and all those “VIP early access” notifications. And then there’s the psychological stuff behind it: urgency, scarcity, FOMO, social proof… basically everything that pressures your brain to hit checkout faster than you intended 
Personally, the things that always get me are:
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Free shipping (I fall for it every time)
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Bundle deals (if you tell me something is cheaper together, I suddenly “need” both)
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Any form of countdown timer — my self-control disappears immediately
But here’s what I’m curious about this year:
What kind of Black Friday marketing actually works on you — and what do you completely ignore?
Do mystery boxes excite you? Do influencer flash sales feel trustworthy? Do you ever fall for those “Only 3 left!” tags? Or do you scroll past everything until the last minute?
Would love to hear what everyone else notices or gets tricked by during Black Friday season