How to grow your email list on Shopify before Black Friday 2026: a step-by-step plan

Why does your Shopify email list matter for Black Friday 2026?

Black Friday Cyber Monday is one of the busiest sales weekends of the year for Shopify stores. Shopify reports that its merchants made a record $14.6 billion in sales over BFCM 2025, and that more than 81 million consumers bought from Shopify-powered brands (Shopify News, December 2, 2025). The top selling countries were the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Canada.

During that weekend, ads get more expensive and every inbox is full of offers. An email list is the channel you own. You can reach people who already said yes, at the moment the sale starts, without paying for each click.

The catch: the list has to exist before the sale. That is why the next five weeks matter.

When should you start building your list for BFCM?

Now. Klaviyo recommends testing form variations 4 to 6 weeks ahead of BFCM and launching the winners well before the rush (Klaviyo blog, July 16, 2025). Here is a simple calendar for 2026.

Step 1: How do you collect email consent the right way in Shopify?

Start with the settings Shopify already gives you. They work on every order and cost nothing.

Turn on marketing opt-in at checkout and sign-in

In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Checkout, then the Marketing opt-in section, and select Email. Shopify shows a consent checkbox at checkout or customer sign-in. You can choose the regions where it is preselected, or let Shopify follow local rules (Shopify Help Center).

Decide on double opt-in

With double opt-in, subscribers confirm by clicking a link in an email. Shopify notes that in some countries it is required by law, and that it is a good practice for building an engaged list. If you sell to the UK or EU, talk to your advisor about what you need.

Know the US rules

If you email US customers, the CAN-SPAM Act applies. The FTC's CAN-SPAM compliance guide says every marketing email needs accurate sender info, a valid postal address and a clear way to opt out, and opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days. Our guide to email popup consent covers this in more detail.

Step 2: Which signup spots help you grow your email list on Shopify?

You do not need ten forms. You need the right four or five, each with a clear job.

A timed welcome popup

This is your main list builder. Show it after the visitor has had a few seconds to look around, not the second the page loads. Make the offer clear in one line.

An exit-intent offer

Exit intent opens a popup when a visitor is about to leave. Use it for a different message than your welcome popup, or make it the only trigger for first-time visitors. Never show both in the same visit.

A footer or embedded form

Some people scroll to the bottom to look for a signup. Shopify themes have a newsletter section, and the free Shopify Forms app adds inline and popup forms.

An early-access page

Create a page that says "Get early access to our Black Friday sale" and link it from social posts, your bio and your order confirmation emails.

Your checkout

Already covered in Step 1. Many of your most engaged subscribers are people who just bought.

Step 3: What incentive makes visitors join before Black Friday?

People give you their email when the reason is clear and immediate. Pick one main incentive and make it obvious.

Klaviyo's BFCM guide suggests that not every signup incentive needs to be a discount, and points to VIP early access as an alternative before big sales. You can combine both: "Join now for 10% off today and first access on November 27."

If you want the popup itself to stand out, a short game works well as a signup reason. Kodra Play shows a 15-second paddle, flipper or pong game, and each winner gets a unique code that applies at checkout. See how the Kodra Play popup works.

For more on picking a format, read our guide to the spin wheel popup alternative for Shopify.

Step 4: How do you stop your signup discount from leaking?

One shared code like WELCOME10 often ends up on coupon sites. Then people who never joined your list get the discount, and your list grows slower.

Fix it with three settings:

• Unique single-use codes. Every new subscriber gets their own code.
• One discount per email. The same person cannot sign up again for another code.
• An expiry date. A code that expires in a few days pushes the first order and limits misuse.

Shopify lets you set usage limits, dates and minimum order amounts on discount codes. Our first order discount popup guide walks through the settings in detail.

Step 5: How do you make signup work on phones?

Klaviyo reports that more than 80% of Cyber Week 2024 traffic came from mobile phones (Klaviyo blog, July 16, 2025). If your popup is hard to use on a phone, most of your BFCM visitors will skip it.

Check these on your own phone:

• The popup does not cover the whole screen. Google's guidance on intrusive interstitials advises against obscuring the entire page.
• The close button is easy to tap.
• There is one field: email.
• The keyboard does not hide the submit button.
• The code is applied at checkout, so nobody has to copy it on a small screen.

Step 6: What should you send new subscribers before Black Friday?

A new subscriber who hears nothing for three weeks forgets why they joined. Plan three emails.

• Welcome email (right away). Deliver the code, say what to expect and when.
• Reminder (2 to 3 days later). Show top sellers and remind them the code expires.
• Pre-sale email (a few days before November 27). Tell them when the sale starts and how they get early access.

Shopify saves subscribers who opt in to the Email subscribers segment on your Customers page. Email tools that sync with Shopify customers, including Shopify Messaging, can send to that segment.

Step 7: How do you know your list growth is working?

Look at the numbers every week until the sale.

• Popup views and emails collected. This gives you your signup rate.
• Code uses. How many new subscribers actually bought.
• Revenue from popup codes. The number that tells you the popup pays for itself.
• Desktop vs phone. If phones lag, fix the mobile popup first.
• Unsubscribes after the welcome email. A high rate means the offer and the emails do not match.

If you are switching popup tools before BFCM, our Privy alternatives for Shopify comparison lists 10 options with current pricing.

Start building your list this week

You have about five weeks until Black Friday on November 27, 2026. Turn on checkout consent today, launch one good popup this week, and test it before mid November.

Keep the offer simple, protect it with unique codes, and send a welcome email that keeps your promise.

FAQ