At 181st Street, we thrive on helping sustainability-focused e-commerce brands align their values with sales strategies that truly resonate. This year, we worked with a fashion retailer to transform their Black Friday approach – and the results exceeded all expectations.
Here’s how we increased their sales by 113% year-on-year, without compromise:
Breaking free from counterproductive boycott messaging
In previous years, this retailer leaned into anti-consumerism campaigns around Black Friday, including participation in a #DontBuyIt initiative. As part of this campaign, they shared a list of 16 questions for shoppers to consider before purchasing, including complex prompts like:
• “What’s the company’s record on human rights?”
• “Was it made sustainably?”
While these questions originated from an NGO, they proved highly impractical for a retailer whose business survival depends on customers purchasing their products. Worse, the guilt-heavy tone discouraged engagement and alienated the very shoppers the retailer needed to thrive.
Compounding the issue, the retailer sent this list of questions to their newsletter subscribers – people who had specifically signed up to learn more about their products and make a purchase, not to be dissuaded from buying.
This approach shifted the burden of responsibility onto the consumer, asking them to research complex human rights and sustainability issues within supply chains. This ran counter to the brand’s own commitment to ethical practices and transparency. Instead of empowering customers to make confident choices, the campaign inadvertently created friction and undermined trust, achieving the opposite of what the brand had intended.
The results were predictable:
• Flat sales during critical retail periods like Black Friday.
• A disconnect between the retailer’s messaging and their audience’s expectations.
• A high spam score and unsubscribe rate, leading to long-term email deliverability issues.
Our solution: A “Buy Better” approach
Behavioural science offers a simple truth: consumers are more likely to act when they feel empowered, not shamed. Our strategy focused on celebrating the retailer’s products and their customers with a positive, relatable message that overcame purchase objections and celebrated the choice to “Buy Better.”
Here’s how we made it work:
1. Riding the wave, not fighting it
Shopping is an inevitable part of Black Friday. Instead of resisting the social norm, we showed why buying from this retailer was the better choice – ethical, impactful, and guilt-free. Using data from their impact report, we demonstrated the power of an individual purchase and tied messaging back to their give-back program, encouraging people to spend without guilt.
2. Personal, relatable messaging
Customers don’t buy products simply because they are ethical or sustainable; instead, these attributes act as a differentiator between brands once key purchase barriers, such as price, convenience, functionality and quality, are overcome.
For this year’s Black Friday campaign, we leaned into social proof by showcasing real customers interacting with the product. This not only highlighted its exceptional quality but also worked to counter the unconscious bias that sustainable products are often perceived as lower quality.
Our messaging was empowering and relatable, focusing on how the products aligned with the customers’ lifestyles and values, rather than abstract climate messaging that preached what people should do or shamed them for unsustainable behaviour.
3. Building the bandwagon
Herd mentality is a powerful motivator. We spotlighted the collective impact that the brand’s customers were already making, creating a sense of community and shared purpose. Real customers were featured prominently across BFCM content to amplify this social proof.
4. Precision over volume
Using audience segmentation, we tailored messaging to resonate with key customer segments, ensuring relevance and emotional connection.
The Results
By rethinking their Black Friday strategy, we achieved:
• 113% year-on-year sales increase over the BFCM weekend
• 17% growth in average order value
• 23% rise in returning customer rate
• 115% boost in conversion rate, thanks to site optimisation
All of this was achieved without any discounts, protecting their profit margins and reinforcing their brand value.
Why it worked: the behavioural science behind the campaign
1. The power of positive emotions
Positive emotions drive engagement and action far more effectively than guilt or negativity. Celebrating the customers’ thoughtful choices created an emotional connection that inspired loyalty, increased sales, and won repeat business.
2. Overcoming the attitude-behaviour gap
Many sustainability campaigns fall into the attitude-behaviour gap, where consumers agree with values but don’t act due to perceived purchase barriers. By focusing on personal benefits and guilt-free actions – and keeping their product front and centre – we turned intentions into purchases. This approach also demonstrated that discounts aren’t necessary to thrive, even on Black Friday.
3. Making shopping easy and enjoyable
Reducing friction in the buying journey and emphasising the joy of choosing quality products encouraged action. Optimising the website experience and customer journey played a critical role in the conversion boost.
Key takeaway
Sustainability and sales don’t have to be at odds. By shifting from guilt-based rhetoric to empowering, customer-first messaging, brands can achieve outstanding results.
If your brand is ready to rethink sustainability marketing and create meaningful impact, let’s start the conversation.
Ready to transform your brand’s performance? Book a free consultation today.