Personalization Pays Off: Retailers Using Endear During Holiday Season Saw 40x Higher Conversion Rates Than Traditional Marketing

Endear Releases Black Friday Clienteling Checklist to Help Brands Maximize Sales this Season and Beyond

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As retailers gear up for a highly competitive holiday season, new data from Endear, the retail CRM for modern brands, shows that personalization is no longer optional - it's essential for driving sales. Brands that used Endear's platform to send tailored, one-to-one messages based on in-store shopping behavior saw up to 40x higher conversion rates than traditional marketing during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024, generating over $50 million in revenue.

With U.S. holiday retail sales expected to top $960 billion this year, according to NRF projections, brands are seeking smarter ways to stand out. While e-commerce continues to grow, 72% of shoppers still visit physical stores weekly, creating a unique opportunity for sales associates to capture data that fuels highly personalized follow-ups.

"Foot traffic spikes during the holidays, but the real opportunity is turning one-time visitors into repeat customers," said Leigh Sevin, co-founder and CEO of Endear. "Personalized messages based on real in-store interactions, where associates learn about customers' style preferences, life events, or even target price point, are proven to drive stronger relationships and better results in the months and years that follow."

Endear's data is based on customer engagement across over 1,000 retail stores in 19 countries during the 2024 holiday season, and reveals that clienteling, the practice of using data to guide personalized communications, is more effective than generic marketing. By leveraging in-store and online customer data, brands can build stronger connections that extend beyond the holiday rush.

As part of its commitment to supporting brands, Endear is releasing its Black Friday Clienteling Checklist to deliver the framework that helps ease the workload and turn the holiday rush into repeat business for retailers.

1. Engage Your VIPs: Why are VIPs important? Well, it's in the name! They're your top spenders and most loyal customers — so you don't want to neglect them. The more you can reward, nurture, and delight them, the more they'll keep buying and supporting your brand. Consider these holiday offers and campaigns to engage your VIPs well:
   1. 1. Early access to sales
      2. Exclusive discounts
      3. Hyper-personalized product recommendations
      4. Personal shopping appointments
      5. Surprise gifts
2. Set Up Automated Campaigns: Not every message needs to be sent directly from a sales associate to feel personal. With the right tools, automated campaigns can still feel tailored to the customer, and even appear to come from the associate the customer shopped with. Here are a few campaigns Endear suggests automating:
   1. 1. Thank you for first-time purchase
      2. Announcing a sale
      3. New Collection drop
3. Create Gift Guide Templates: Creating personalized gift guides is one of the most effective strategies for the holidays — and it doesn't have to be a hassle. With Endear's Shoppable Stories, you can easily create interactive gift guides straight from your store's existing product photos. These stories are intuitive and let your customers shop straight from the guide. By building them in advance, your associates can quickly insert their product recommendations and wow your customers.
4. Educate Your Team: Don't leave your team guessing — make sure they know exactly what's expected during the holiday rush. From marketing initiatives to clienteling strategies, every team member should be on the same page. In addition, make sure they know exactly what they're working toward this holiday season. Whether it's hitting a specific sales number, sending a certain number of messages, or increasing average order value (AOV), having a target keeps everyone on track. Post updates regularly, whether it's through your CRM dashboard or even just a quick check-in during meetings. This keeps the fire burning and lets everyone see how their efforts are contributing to the bigger picture.
5. Don't Stop After BFCM: The holiday season doesn't end after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In fact, 8 out of the 10 busiest shopping days are typically in December. This means there's plenty of opportunity to keep driving sales all the way through the New Year. Continue your clienteling efforts by reaching out to customers who may have missed out on earlier deals or need last-minute gifts. Offer tailored recommendations, last-minute gift guides, or even post-purchase follow-ups. Consistent, personalized outreach ensures you stay top-of-mind during the busiest shopping days of the year, and helps turn holiday shoppers into loyal, year-round customers.

Endear powers relationship-driven selling for leading names like Reformation, Glossier, and UNTUCKit. Retailers looking to maximize ROI this holiday season and beyond can learn more at Endear's holiday hub, the go-to resource to help with holiday clienteling strategies.

About Endear

Endear is the retail CRM for modern brands that want to build more meaningful customer relationships that drive real results. Designed for growing mid-sized brands, Endear empowers store teams with unified customer profiles backed by real-time data, seamless integrations, and AI-powered tools that make clienteling scalable and effective. By streamlining outreach across channels like text, email, and WhatsApp, Endear helps deliver personalized, high-impact customer experiences that increase foot traffic and boost sales. By making every engagement trackable and actionable, Endear is redefining retail ROI so every store becomes a performance channel and every interaction becomes an opportunity for growth. For more information, visit https://endearhq.com/.

SOURCE Endear