Is it possible to increase revenue by 44% on Black Friday with virtually the same volume of visits and without spending a single extra penny on paid traffic? This was the question e-Plus addressed at the Black Friday Lab , a meeting held on October 7th at the VTEX office , alongside TikTok , Pimbell , and Meu Clube de Viagens . During the morning, each brand presented its interpretation of the upcoming season, and the conclusion was convergent: Black Friday 2026 will be decided long before the last weekend of November.
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The essentials of Black Friday Lab
- Black Friday Lab was an event hosted by e-Plus on October 7, 2026., in the VTEX office, bringing together TikTok, VTEX, Pimbell and Meu Clube de Viagens at a single table.
- The central theme was the complete journey of the date: Discovery, media, platform and conversion: from strategy to results.
- e-Plus presented a case study of a fashion e-commerce business that saw a 44% increase in revenue during Black Friday. with virtually the same number of sessions, using the CS Flex model.
- TikTok showed that searches for terms related to Black Friday increased more than 78 times. between September and November, and the purchase decision begins months in advance.
- VTEX introduced VTEX Rise., a program that gives growing brands access to its enterprise e-commerce technology.
- Pimbell (influencer marketing) and Meu Clube de Viagens completed the program., which ended with a quiz raffling off stays at a resort in Brazil.
What Black Friday Lab put on the table
The proposal was unusual for the market: instead of each supplier defending its own service, five companies joined together to create a unified vision for Black Friday . E-Plus , an agency specializing in e-commerce for over 13 years and with more than a thousand projects in its portfolio, took on the organization and guiding principle, while VTEX, TikTok, Pimbell, and Meu Clube de Viagens contributed the platform, consumer behavior, influence, and engagement.
The common thread among the presentations was the shift in focus. Black Friday is no longer a one-Friday event, but a weeks-long season, with preparations beginning as early as the third quarter. Those who arrive in November to structure their campaigns, organize inventory, and fix their stores have already missed the most important window of opportunity.
TikTok: the discovery that begins months before
The data presented by TikTok at Black Friday Lab showed a clear shift in Brazilian consumer behavior. The platform has 134 million monthly users in the country, a number released by TikTok itself in 2026, and 55% of Brazilian internet users use it to discover new products, according to the Brazil Commerce Landscape 2026 survey by EMARKETER.
The novelty lies in the calendar. Searches for terms associated with Black Friday increase more than 78 times between September and November on the platform, according to internal TikTok data for Latin America . This aligns with a trend of advance planning: 80% of consumers organize themselves to buy before the big day , and a third of Brazilians begin planning their purchases more than three months in advance, according to studies by Kantar, Ipsos, and NielsenIQ cited in the presentation.
The message for retailers is that discovery, research, and purchase now happen in a single process. More than just announcing promotions, it's essential to be present when the consumer is still forming their desire.
VTEX Rise: technology for those who are growing.
As host of the event, VTEX presented VTEX Rise , a program aimed at brands that are already selling well and need a platform capable of keeping up with that pace. The proposal is to provide access to VTEX's enterprise technology with entry conditions designed for those who are still scaling, avoiding the rework of switching tools with each revenue surge.
Among the key features are the fast front-end built with FastStore, important for loading speed and SEO, and omnichannel capabilities such as shared inventory between stores and shipping from physical stores. In this model, platform growth ceases to be a risk and becomes a planned step in evolution, done at the right time and with an experienced implementation partner. e-Plus, a VTEX partner since 2015 and present in the VTEX Quadrants, acts as a certified implementer of the program.
Pimbell and My Travel Club: influence and engagement
Pimbell presented its influencer marketing platform, which connects brands to creators by niche and real engagement , with paid campaigns, barter, and an affiliate model that rewards per sale. The logic aligns with what TikTok had shown: a large part of discovery today comes from creator recommendations, and structuring this front is no longer optional for those who want to sell during the season.
My Travel Club , a travel benefits club, ended the afternoon with a quiz among participants, which raffled off stays at a resort in Brazil and kept the audience engaged until the end.
The e-Plus case study: +44% revenue increase with CS Flex
The most concrete part of the Black Friday Lab was the case study presented by e-Plus. A fashion e-commerce company needed to increase revenue on Black Friday without raising its investment in paid traffic, but it was running into familiar bottlenecks: friction in the mobile journey and checkout process, decentralized suppliers, and a lack of direction in its communication for the event.
The solution was to focus operations on CS Flex , e-Plus's model where a Customer Success manager coordinates around 40 on-demand specialists, replacing the logic of having a different agency for each service. This involved 80 hours divided into two phases: October for preparation (SEO, landing page, CRO, and lead generation) and November for conversion (promotional resources, email marketing, automations, and storefronts). The largest investment in October was in CRO and UX, precisely to remove obstacles from the customer journey before the peak traffic period.
The result, comparing Black Friday 2025 with that of 2024, came from efficiency, not more media:
| Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Variation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions | 99.371 | 100.066 | + 0,7 % |
| Conversion rate | 1,99 % | 2,67 % | + 34,1 % |
| Orders | 1.980 | 2.673 | + 35 % |
| Average ticket | 153,06 BRL | 163,27 BRL | + 6,7 % |
| Faturamento | 303.058,80 BRL | 436.420,71 BRL | + 44 % |
With virtually the same volume of sessions, conversion increased by 34,1% and revenue grew by 44%. These figures are from e-Plus itself, presented at the event, and the point the agency emphasized was the method: the gain came from preparing the customer journey to convert better, with the time bank directed towards what truly drove the business.
Bring the conversation to your operation.
The Black Friday Lab showed that the 2026 season rewards those who plan ahead and treat Black Friday as a project, not a last-minute campaign. If your store wants to enter this window with a journey prepared to convert, it's worth learning about e-Plus' CS Flex and, if the platform is part of the conversation, evaluating its implementation on VTEX with VTEX Rise. To start structuring your calendar, also explore other blog content and, when it makes sense, talk to the e-Plus team of experts about your operation.
FAQ
What was Black Friday Lab?
The Black Friday Lab was a meeting promoted by e-Plus on October 7, 2026, at the VTEX office, bringing together TikTok, VTEX, Pimbell, and Meu Clube de Viagens. The goal was to present, from strategy to results, how to prepare an online store to sell more during the Black Friday season, with data on behavior, platform, influence, and a real-world growth case study.
Which companies participated in Black Friday Lab?
Five companies participated. e-Plus organized the meeting and presented the CS Flex case study; VTEX hosted the event and showcased VTEX Rise; TikTok presented data from Shopping Season; Pimbell discussed influencer marketing; and Meu Clube de Viagens hosted the final quiz, which raffled off stays at a resort in Brazil.
What is e-Plus' CS Flex?
CS Flex is e-Plus's model where a Customer Success manager coordinates access to approximately 40 on-demand specialists in areas such as development, SEO, CRM, media, and data. Instead of hiring an agency for each service, the retailer has a single point of contact and can allocate their time to business priorities, as demonstrated in the Black Friday case study presented at the event.
When should you start preparing your store for Black Friday?
Preparation should begin months in advance. According to data presented at Black Friday Lab, searches for Black Friday terms increase more than 78 times between September and November, and a large portion of consumers plan their purchases more than three months ahead. Structuring SEO, customer journey, and campaigns as early as the third quarter maximizes results on the actual date.
