It pays to be ready one of the calendar’s busiest days
It may feel like we’ve only just left summer behind, but the signs are there.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas decorations are already sneaking into our stores.
That means that smart retailers looking to get ahead of the game are already preparing.
Black Friday is chief among the dates looming on the horizon.
It is predicted to be the busiest in-person retail day of 2025 in the US.
And while the UK has busier days in the runup to Christmas, Black Friday, and Super Saturday the day after, is the first of those.
As such, it merits attention to ensure retailers make the most of the shopping frenzy.
So what should your store be doing now to set yourself up for sales success in a few months’ time?
Set up a hybrid funnel
We’ve seen huge recent increases in the number of buying journeys that span different platforms. In fact, almost three quarters of consumers use multiple channels during a purchase.
That means you can’t expect your Black Friday traffic to stay neatly in the same lane. Building a complete customer experience that can span in-store and online (both PC and mobile) touchpoints is critical.
For instance, if a customer can add items to their basket on your website and then complete that transaction in store using a connected point of sale system, they may be more likely to spend.
Stress test your website
The hybrid nature of many consumer journeys means they are likely to reach your website at some point in the process. The last thing you want to do is scare them off with slow load times or a confusing interface.
You should also adopt a mobile-first mindset when it comes to your digital presence. The majority of traffic will come from users on mobile phones, and it will pay to be ready for that.
Run a mock Black Friday event to see how your site can handle demand at the levels you’re expecting—and then some. If it can’t live up to the challenge, you at least have time to make improvements before the big day in November.
Sell your offer clearly
It’s not enough to simply whack a discount on everything and expect to compete. Customers are savvy enough to shop around for the best deals and you have to stand out to catch their eye.
Some retailers have had success with ‘mystery boxes’—using Black Friday as a chance to offer low-cost unwanted stock, bundled up into a more exciting format. Shifting some older items and making an experience out of it can change the way your offers are viewed.
Don’t just communicate the savings, but hook customers with the experience of shopping with you or owning your products. Whether it’s the feeling that you’re looking to cultivate or free shipping and returns to make the whole process carefree, understand why people buy from you and maximise that.
Once you’ve clarified what you’re saying, work out the channels you’ll be using. The earlier you can get your paid advertising set up, the less likely you are to fall victim to surge pricing as the date gets closer.
Reach out to both new and returning customers with their own individual offers. Getting your name in the head of warm leads now could spell profit come November.
Prepare your return system
We mentioned free returns above, and that’s an important factor you need to be ready for the aftermath of such busy sales. Almost 30% of online sales are returned, and in the chaos that is Black Friday, you can reasonably expect that figure to climb even higher.
Make sure you have the capacity to deal with potential returns and refunds, as well as managing the associated logistics.
Scheduling after staff on Black Friday itself may seem obvious, but you’re likely to need additional support on customer services in the days that follow too. Of course, it’s easy to add additional shifts to your rota with a smart employee scheduling solution like Findmyshift.