With the Black Friday 2025 calendar approaching, the challenge for retailers and digital brands is clear: to be fast, relevant, and direct, and in this, WhatsApp emerges as the front line in this race for consumer attention.
One person closely observing this transformation is Luiz Santos, founder of Unnichat, a CRM and automation platform using the official WhatsApp API. He states that "on occasions like Black Friday, every second counts, and whoever responds quickly on the right channel wins the sale," and that "WhatsApp has ceased to be an appendage of the campaign and has become a decision-making channel."
What brands need to understand is that the buying cycle on this date is no longer linear. While emails and ads compete for attention, WhatsApp has an advantage due to its conversational and reactive nature. In recent articles, experts estimate open rates of up to 98% and conversion rates between 45% and 60% when well-automated in large-scale events. In practice, this means that the message that arrives at the right time, in the right format, and with immediate action, such as a button or purchase link, can make all the difference between closing or losing the customer.
To effectively leverage this channel, preparation begins well before the peak date. The first step is to build an active opt-in base, segment the audience by purchase intent or category, and test automation flows. Next comes automation, which must handle multiple scenarios: limited-time offers, abandoned cart recovery, stock notifications, and repurchase activations. Luiz emphasizes that "planning campaigns only in the week of Black Friday is high-risk; WhatsApp requires warming up, testing, and flow maturation."
During Black Friday, automation should be combined with AI to provide mass, personalized responses: identifying who clicked on the link, who abandoned their cart, who opened the message, and adapting the next interaction accordingly. WhatsApp allows the use of catalogs, payment links, interactive buttons, and rich messages—features that reduce friction and accelerate the purchase process. A study by CM Group shows that WhatsApp campaigns with interactive buttons achieve engagement rates 15 to 35% higher than SMS or email.
However, the volume of messages on Black Friday demands more than automation: it requires real-time monitoring, contingency plans for errors, and seamless interaction between humans and machines. The infrastructure must support peak loads, the data team must track performance, and the customer experience must remain conversational, without feeling like a promotional barrage. The expert concludes by saying that "if the user perceives the brand as intrusive or repetitive on WhatsApp, the effect is worse than having no channel at all."
