Black Friday Alternatives for eCommerce Brands - Stand Out by Giving Back
- Pledger
- 2 hours ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 22 hours ago
Green Friday, Give Back, Blue Friday, #optoutside and other innovative Black Friday Alternatives.
Black Friday is one of the biggest shopping events of the year, but deep discounts alone no longer guarantee success. For eCommerce stores and Shopify merchants looking to differentiate themselves, purpose-driven campaigns can make a real impact. Give Back Friday, Green Friday, Blue Friday and similar initiatives let your brand turn Black Friday into a meaningful experience—rewarding customers, supporting causes, making a strong brand message and building loyalty. In this guide, we’ll show you how to stand out on Black Friday with creative strategies that go beyond price cuts.
TL;DR/Summary: As Black Friday & Cyber Monday grow ever more competitive, brands are switching from deep discounts to making purpose part of their offer. This article outlines alternative Black Friday ideas — like Give Back Friday, Green Friday, Blue Friday, and supporting brands running innovative BFCM alternative campaigns, as well as how retailers can use Virtue's features (fixed giving, upsells with impact, checkout donations) to launch campaigns that increase both impact and engagement. It also suggests starting early and extending the giving into key periods (Giving Tuesday, Christmas).
What happens on Black Friday & Cyber Monday?
Black Friday is the time when retailers go from the red into the black, this is when customers (now from all across the world) take advantage of heavy discounting to stock up on Christmas presents, or other gadgets they were waiting for.
While the world's largest corporations will see a 62% increase in sales over Black Friday, Small e-commerce brands will see about a 27% growth. Thankfully there has been a shift in recent years and there are more options available to retailers beyond heavy discounting.
Discounting is an effective strategy to sell more quickly. However, discounting alone does not guarantee loyalty and long-term brand love. Ethical business and businesses looking to build a long term loyal audience during this time can look to Black Friday Alternatives.
The Changing Face of Black Friday & Conscious Consumers
Conscious consumers are the largest customer segment in retail, including eCommerce, and they are less focused on price and more focused on purpose. As a result, there has been a rise in social and giving initiatives during the Black Friday weekend. While research has shown that people still like a discount, it is way more effective when paired with donations.
Whether it be sustainability or charity support, there are a number of cause marketing alternatives that you can follow this November.
Black Friday Alternatives - Choose Your Black Friday Giving Theme (Give Back, Green, Blue & more)
The alternatives to Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) all focus on purpose whether it be buying from ethical brands or companies that are choosing to swap discounts for donations or do both:
Give Back Friday
Shop Small Movement, Buy Nothing, #optoutside
Virtue Impact App is a simple way to let customers see the positive impact of their purchases. Compatible with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Adobe Commerce Cloud.
Give Back Friday
Give Back Friday is a catch-all for any 'Giving Back' a brand would like to commit to on the day. It is a versatile movement that has been gaining traction over the past few years with more and more companies taking part. Here are some examples of brands running Give Back Friday campaigns from previous years:
Charities to Consider for this Give Back Friday
On Virtue, there are over 40,000 charities and impact partners that you can support for Give Back Friday. Here are a few great ones to consider:
The Trussel Trust - support food banks to provide practical support to people in crisis
CARE International - Saves Lives In Emergencies. CARE works around the world to save lives, putting women and girls first in crises and emergencies.
British-Ukrainian Aid- assisting individuals who have been physically, mentally or socially disadvantaged, including the injured, orphaned, and disadvantaged
Woman's Aid - donations help provide life-saving services to women and children across the UK
Crisis - the UK national charity for people experiencing homelessness. The charity offers year-round education, employment, housing and well-being services.
Movember - an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. Why not pair the biggest eCommerce event of the year with one of the most important ones by supporting Movember?
Medical Aid for Palestine - MAP is a UK-based charity/non-profit working for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees.
Check out some causes to donate to this BFCM
Or pick from Virtue's eco-system of 60,000+ Causes and charities to donate to:
Green Friday
Green Friday is an initiative dedicated to promoting sustainability. Instead of offering heavy discounts on fast fashion, companies will work to promote their sustainable lines or donate to environmental causes.
How to take part in Green Friday:
Promote sustainable items in your shop
Plant Trees with every purchase
Donate to charities and causes that promote environmental conservation and fight against deforestation
Switch to a sustainable packaging alternative for your store
Some larger brands are taking part in Green Friday as well. In 2021 Ikea took on the Green Friday Initiative offering shoppers the ability to return their pre-loved IKEA furniture in exchange for a $25 coupon to spend on other items.
Causes to Consider this Green Friday
If you are interested in giving to a cause this Green Friday. There are many great initiatives that you can support:
Planting Trees with every order is one of the most obvious wins. Check out Virtue's Tree planting partners and start planting trees today
Carbon Emissions in the retail industry are at an all-time high during the Black Friday Weekend. Why not offset with a certified partner carbon offsetting partner like Nori
Support non-profits protecting the planet. This could mean supporting a habitat conservation charity like Borneo Orangutan Survival or one of the many environmental charities on Virtue
Check out some other causes to donate to
Blue Friday
Blue Friday is another sustainability initiative, however, this one is focused on preserving our oceans and waterways. This can either be focused on preserving oceans and fisheries or helping with clean drinking water.
How to take part in Blue Friday:
Offset your plastic footprint
Donate to charities and causes that protect oceans and fisheries
Support causes that promote clean drinking water
Causes to Support for Blue Friday
We have a number of causes that you can support for Blue Friday. Here are a few options:
Kelp Planting - Kelp is an excellent way to create marine habitat while offsetting carbon emissions
Coral Reef Planting - by planting coral reef fragments you can help create habitat
Plastic Offsetting - work with partners to help remove or prevent plastic from entering our oceans, lakes, and rivers
Support an Ocean Conservation Charity like Sea Shepherd (battling whaling ships on the high seas) or Sea changers (conserving marine habitat)
Shop small, #optoutside, opt-out & other creative ideas this BFCM
In the recent years brands like Cards Against Humanity, EYO, Ocean Bottle, have sent an arguably even stronger brand message by tapping out of BFCM all together. Equally anti over consumerism and PR worthy - these brands have managed to both stand out AND in some cases increase sales by discouraging consumerism as we know it.
We also love how influential brands like Ocean Bottle, with SME margins in mind, are encouraging people to shop small with SMEs who often can't compete with big brads on the discounting front.
Using Virtue Giving App features to incentivise sales with impact
At VIrtue we have built a number of integrations making it easy for online retailers to give back and make a difference. If you have a shop built on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, or Adobe eCommerce then check out our integrations.
Give from product sales
If you would like to give a fixed amount to a cause on Black Friday (ie, plant a tree with every order) you can use our fixed-giving feature. This allows stores to give either a set percentage or a set amount from every order.
You can also support different initiatives with individual products from your store.
Upsell with impact
This is a great way to set giving and spending milestones for your customers. The higher their cart value the more is donated to a chosen cause. Increase both - your average order value and impact for your causes.
Customer Giving and Checkout Donations
If you would like to give your customers the ability to donate at checkout then you could implement customer giving in your store. This is a great way to raise more money for a cause that you care about.
Turning loyalty points for donations to causes
Virtue's integration with Yotpo Rewards & Smile.io means shoppers can donate their loyalty points to meaningful causes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What does “Stand Out by Giving Back” actually mean for Black Friday? It’s about shifting the focus from steep discounts to purpose-driven promotions — e.g. pairing sales with donations, aligning with causes, or offering sustainable product options — so your brand differentiates itself.
2. Why should a retailer consider giving or cause-based campaigns instead of just discounting heavily? Because discounts alone are less effective in saturated markets. Consumers — especially conscious ones — respond more to brands whose values align with theirs. Giving campaigns can build loyalty, trust, and meaning beyond a transactional sale.
3. What are the main alternatives to heavy discounting during Black Friday ? Some of the key options include:
Give Back Friday (donate per sale)
Green Friday (emphasize eco & sustainable practices)
Blue Friday (focus on water, oceans, marine conservation)
Support small / local businesses
Encourage customers to donate at checkout or pick causes
4. How can I choose the right cause for my campaign? Pick causes that align with your brand mission and customer interests. Environmental causes, social justice, health, wildlife, and local community needs are common good fits. Authentic alignment will resonate more than just selecting a popular charity arbitrarily.
5. When should I start planning my giving-based Black Friday campaign? As early as possible. Planning ahead gives time to coordinate with partners, communicate with customers, and integrate the campaign into your overall holiday strategy. Many brands extend their efforts into Giving Tuesday and beyond.
6. What tools or strategies can help me implement giving back during Black Friday? You can use features such as:
Fixed-giving (a fixed amount or percentage from each sale donated)
Upsell-with-impact (higher cart values trigger larger donations)
Checkout donations (customers choose to add a donation at checkout)
Highlight sustainable products or packaging
Integrate cause partnerships visibly into your marketing
7. Will giving campaigns hurt my margins? It depends on how you structure them. The key is to balance the cost of giving with increased customer engagement, loyalty, and potentially higher average order value. When done well, many brands find that giving campaigns can enhance ROI instead of undermining it.
8. How do I communicate my giving campaign to customers without coming off as inauthentic or “cause-washing”? Be transparent. Share which causes you support, how donations are tracked, what impact you expect, and share results after the campaign. Use storytelling, real metrics, and regular updates to build credibility.
9. Can small eCommerce brands compete with bigger retailers on Black Friday by giving back? Yes — and it may even work to their advantage. Large retailers often rely on price wars, which small brands can’t afford. By differentiating with purpose and aligning with consumer values, smaller brands can carve a niche and gain customer loyalty.
10. After Black Friday, when else should I focus on giving or cause-aligned campaigns? Good follow-up opportunities include:
Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after Cyber Monday)
The broader holiday season leading up to Christmas
Post-holiday initiatives or new year campaigns
Check out some other causes to donate to
What else is happening?
After Black/Green/Blue/Giveback Friday there are other major retail events to consider. These include Giving Tuesday and the lead-up to Christmas.
Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a movement to 'do good'. Over the last decade, it has grown into a global movement for people and brands to give (on the Tuesday after Cyber Monday)
There are a number of ways to take part in Giving Tuesday:
Donate to a charity or cause
Donate food or items to a cause
Volunteer your time to a worthy cause
Giving Tuesday UK has over 4,400 partners helping to give back and make the world a better place on November 29th 2022. You can also register your brand here if you would like to join the Giving Tuesday partner network.
Children in Need
Children in Need will officially take place on Friday, November 18, but fundraising events will be held for several weeks leading up to the televised shows. As in previous years, Children in Need will be screened on BBC1 on the Friday evening. You can support BBC Children Appeal on Virtue
Christmas starts early in retail
While a lot of us get in and get those Christmas gifts early - many others do leave it to 'last minute'. One thing to remember Christmas in retail starts early.
We recommend running your campaigns as early as the start of December. and look for some great causes to support including homelessness initiatives, food banks, and organisations collecting toys for children.
Happy selling with impact! Check out our integrations and let us know if there is anything you want to chat about by emailing support@virtueimpact.com
Check out some Virtue Case Studies:
Virtue - simple way to let customers see the positive impact of their purchases. Compatible with Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, Adobe Commerce Cloud.
