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At REVIEWS.io, we know reviews are the foundation of holiday success. They build trust, fuel visibility in AI search, and now syndicate directly into TikTok Shop and Shopify’s Shop app - helping your products appear where today’s shoppers are making purchase decisions. But reviews are just one part of the equation.
Ready to see how reviews can drive your BFCM strategy? Book a demo with REVIEWS.io today and set your store up for peak-season success.
To maximize results, you need the right mix of tools working together. From personalization and loyalty to returns and attribution, here’s your guide to the 12 essentials that should be in every BFCM tech stack.
It goes without saying that your eCommerce storefront is the foundation of your BFCM operations. It’s where customers make their final ‘to buy or not to buy’ decision, so it needs to showcase your brand and products effectively, ensure a seamless shopping experience, and stand up to the surge in traffic you’ll see over BFCM.
Now chances are you’re already set on the product you use for your eCommerce storefront, but if you are looking to make a last minute change there’s a few key things to keep in mind.
Recommended solutions: Shopify, BigCommerce.
BFCM shoppers are in a hurry. They’re comparing deals, jumping between sites, and often making impulse purchases. A slow or complicated checkout is one of the quickest ways to lose them. That’s why creating a friction-free checkout experience is crucial to boosting conversion rates during the holiday rush.
From minimizing the number of steps to ensuring accurate delivery details, the goal is to make the transaction process as fast, intuitive, and trustworthy as possible.
Recommended solutions: BoldCommerce, Address Validator.
The surge in orders during BFCM means your payment processing system needs to be fast, secure, and highly reliable. A single hiccup could cost thousands in lost revenue.
Recommended solutions: Shopify Payments, Recharge
There’s a lot of ways to capitalize on BFCM after the event, and if your products suit, a subscription model is one of them.
Customers appreciate the convenience, cost savings and personalized experience subscriptions provide, and with a subscription solution in place you can secure ongoing revenue, reduce customer churn and capitalize on the long-term value of your BFCM shoppers.
A good solution will allow you to design subscription plans that suit your products, easily manage recurring payments, and promote retention with effective engagement techniques.
Recommended solution: Rebuy.
Nothing builds trust faster than social proof. Reviews and UGC (photos, videos) reassure BFCM shoppers they’re making the right decision - especially when deals are flying and risks feel higher. In fact a whopping 74% of shoppers say that reviews influence their online purchase decisions over BFCM. They’re also a great source of marketing content, with customer photos and videos showcasing authentic product experiences.
And of course, you can benefit from increased sales by collecting more reviews and UGC to enhance your reputation. Ultimately, a good review solution will allow you to leverage trust to maximize conversion this BFCM and beyond.
Recommended solution: REVIEWS.io
Read How Nakie Sells The Product Experience Through Review Driven UGC ⬇️
Personalization leverages customer data to suggest relevant products, offer targeted promotions and create a more enjoyable shopping journey, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Personalization helps your brand stand out in a crowded market. By tailoring product discovery, you increase basket sizes and create a more enjoyable experience.
Recommended solutions: Bloomreach, Nosto, Boost Commerce.
Data suggests that on average, eCommerce merchants see a 20% spike in helpdesk tickets during BFCM.
Without the right tools, delays can damage your reputation. A solid helpdesk centralizes requests and keeps customers happy.
Recommended solution: Gorgias.
Email remains one of the highest-ROI channels during BFCM. It’s perfect for promoting deals, abandoned cart recovery, and nurturing repeat business after the event.
A good email marketing solution allows you to segment your audience, create and send personalized emails and schedule campaigns to align with BFCM events, while features like automation, A/B testing and analytics help you optimize your email strategy - improving open, click-through and overall conversion rates.
Recommended solutions: Klaviyo, DotDigital.Bonus: With Influence + REVIEWS.io, you can personalize campaigns with loyalty status and review snippets.
While email works for nurturing, SMS is the fastest way to grab attention and make sure your BFCM messages don’t go unnoticed.
A good SMS marketing solution allows you to send time-sensitive promotions, flash sale alerts and order updates directly to a customer’s mobile device.
Features like segmentation and personalization enhance the relevance of your messages, while timely reminders and limited-time offers through SMS can drive urgency and boost conversion rates.
Recommended solutions: Attentive, Klaviyo, DotDigital.
Because of the increased order volume over BFCM, it’s essential to be on the ball with stock and delivery management. If you’re not, you risk losing customers and earning yourself a poor reputation.
A robust inventory, shipping and logistics solution helps with real-time tracking of stock levels, so you don’t oversell on popular products.
It also streamlines the order fulfillment process, automates shipping label generation and provides real-time shipment tracking, helping to prevent shipping delays and improving customer satisfaction
Recommended solutions: ShipBob, Sendcloud, Rich Returns.
This is an essential part of an eCommerce tech stack if you want to build lasting customer loyalty during BFCM.
When you implement a loyalty program before the event, you can offer exclusive discounts or early access to members, significantly boosting sales and reinforcing existing relationships. Meanwhile, a loyalty program offered to BFCM customers gives them an incentive to return, increasing their LTV.
An effective solution will offer features for creating custom loyalty programs, tracking engagement, and turning your best customers into brand advocates.
Recommended solution: Influence.
To extract maximum value from your BFCM campaign, you need to learn and adapt as you go. This is where insights and attribution software stakes its claim in your tech stack.
These tools provide data and analytics to track the performance of various marketing channels, helping you attribute sales and ROI to specific campaigns, channels or touchpoints and identify which strategies are driving the most conversions.
By using this data-driven approach, you can optimize your marketing spend and adjust your strategies in real-time to maximize return on investment during the BFCM period.
Recommended solution: TripleWhale.
Each of these tools plays an important role in BFCM success, but it’s their integration that unlocks the biggest wins. When reviews, personalization, loyalty, and logistics work seamlessly together, you deliver a shopping experience that builds trust, drives conversion, and retains customers long after the sales are over.
This holiday season, prioritize tools that not only perform individually but also connect to create a cohesive, customer-first journey - giving you both short-term results and long-term growth.
Make this BFCM your most successful yet. With REVIEWS.io at the core of your tech stack - and seamless integrations with loyalty, personalization, and logistics tools - you’ll have everything you need to grow, convert, and retain customers this holiday season.
Book a demo with REVIEWS.io today and get ahead of the competition.
At minimum, you’ll need tools for reviews (REVIEWS.io), checkout protection (Address Validator), personalization (Boost Commerce), and loyalty (Influence).
Reviews build trust and improve visibility in AI-powered search and marketplaces like TikTok Shop. UGC (photos/videos) inspires confidence and boosts conversion.
Use Address Validator at checkout to correct typos and prevent shipping errors before they happen.
Run a loyalty program through Influence, encourage exchanges over returns with Rich Returns, and use email/SMS to nurture long-term relationships.
