Black Friday 2026// ONE STORE. THE WHOLE BLACK FRIDAY.
Apply for the Black Friday Build.
One Shopify store gets its entire Black Friday planned, built and managed by us, and pays nothing for the work. Eight parts, individually valued at a total of $17,000. It's free to apply, and we'll pick the store we think we can make the biggest difference to.
Winner phoned Monday 28 September, around lunchtime.
- about 3 minutes
- free to apply
Applications are closed. The winner is told Monday 28th, around lunchtime.
Applications open Tuesday 22 September at 12:30pm NZ time. Come back then to enter.
Applications are unavailable just now. Please try again later.
Got it.
Your entry is saved. We review every entry over the weekend and phone the winner on Monday 28 September, around lunchtime.
What the winning store gets
A few people asked what "the whole Black Friday" actually means, so here it is line by line, with what each part costs on its own.
| Number | Part | On its own |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Your Black Friday Plan, worked out on your numbers | $1,500 |
| 2 | Your message tested in your ad account before the campaign runs (ad spend is yours) | $1,500 |
| 3 | The VIP pass set up in Shopify: the credit product, the tiers and the flow that issues it | $2,800 |
| 4 | Your offer set up in Shopify: products, pricing and incentives | $2,200 |
| 5 | Your offer page, written and built | $3,300 |
| 6 | The five-email follow-up, written and loaded | $3,300 |
| 7 | The next-purchase credit set up in Shopify, ready for the card you put in the box | $1,100 |
| 8 | Campaign management: we review and adjust each stage as it goes live, including over the weekend | $1,300 |
| Bought piece by piece | $17,000 | |
| What the winning store pays | $0 | |
It's delivered in stages from late September to the end of November, so the store has a working campaign before the weekend, not a document.
Put my store forwardWhy we're giving it away
We've spent seven years building and growing Shopify stores, and the thing I want most right now is one Black Friday we planned from scratch, start to finish, that I can show people afterwards. Not a slide about how it should work, an actual store and what happened.
So the deal is we do all the work, the store pays nothing for it, and when it's done we write up what happened in percentages, never the store's revenue, and the owner sees it before anyone else does. That's the trade, and it's in the terms.
Damian Redpath, founder
Put my store forwardHow we pick
It's free to apply and we pick. We choose the store we think we can make the biggest difference to, which comes down to roughly how many orders it does, how ready it is to move before November, and what you tell us in the one open question on the form. That's a judgement, not a draw, and it's the only rule.
What happens when
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Over the weekend | We read every one |
| Monday 28 September, around lunchtime | We phone the winner and announce the winning store |
| Late September to November | The Build, delivered in stages, live before the weekend |
So nobody's surprised
Ad spend is yours, for the message test (we recommend about $600) and for the campaign itself. So is the cost of any credit, gift or discount you offer your customers, any app subscriptions, and designing, printing and packing the physical card for the box. We set the credit up in Shopify; you put the card in. And we don't promise a result. We build it properly and manage it with you, and what it produces depends on your products, your prices and your customers.
Put my store forward
Who's behind it
I'm Damian Redpath, founder of Better Digital. We've worked only on Shopify for seven years, and I ran the Black Friday masterclass this competition was announced at. If you were there, you've seen how we think about the weekend. If you weren't, the short version is that most stores run a promotion and call it a plan, and the difference between the two is where the profit goes.
Put my store forwardQuestions people have asked
Can I apply if my store's in Australia?
Yes. Australian stores can apply under the same terms.
Do I need to have run Black Friday before?
No. We pick on where the Build will make the biggest difference, and sometimes that's a store doing it properly for the first time.
What do you need from me if we win?
Your numbers when we ask for them, access to the store, someone who can make decisions on your side in time, and tracking left on through January so we can write it up.
Will you publish my revenue?
No. The write-up is in percentages, it names the store, and you see it before it goes anywhere. Nothing with a dollar figure goes out without your written okay.
What if I don't win?
The winner is announced on Monday, and the free tools on the site are the place to start your own plan.