In 2023, business owners achieved a record-breaking $11 billion in sales during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) weekend.
If you want to make the most of 2024’s biggest shopping event, it’s crucial to start planning early. A successful Black Friday strategy requires careful preparation to overcome challenges and achieve your sales goals.
This 25-step Black Friday checklist will help you navigate the season and maximize revenue.
- Plan for an Extended Sales Period
- Use Data to Identify Key Products for Promotion
- Create an Irresistible Black Friday Offer
- Develop a Holiday Shipping Strategy
- Reward Loyal Customers
- Organize Your Sales Calendar
- Double Down on Top Sales Channels
- Retarget Past Visitors and Customers
- Launch Email Campaigns Early
- Update Your Homepage with Seasonal Creative
- Optimize for Mobile Shopping
- Prepare for Traffic Surges
- Boost Conversion Rates
- Offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Options
- Leverage Chatbots for 24/7 Support
- Streamline the Checkout Process
- Expand Internationally
- Optimize Order Fulfillment
- Consider In-Person Sales with Pop-Up Shops
- Provide Prompt, Personalized Customer Support
- Make Returns Easy and Hassle-Free
- Create Contingency Plans
- Monitor Analytics for Insights
- Turn Seasonal Shoppers Into Year-Round Customers
- Reflect on What Worked and What Didn’t
- BONUS!
Black Friday 2024 Checklist: 25 Ways to Prepare for Success
1. Plan for an Extended Sales Period
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping frenzy is no longer limited to a single weekend.
With sales starting earlier and stretching into the weeks after, planning for a longer promotional period is essential.
According to a joint survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics, 56% of U.S. shoppers took advantage of pre-Thanksgiving sales in 2023.
Start your promotional messaging early and consider extending your deals beyond the traditional BFCM window.
2. Use Data to Identify Key Products for Promotion
Identifying the right products to promote is critical. Analyze past sales data, especially from previous BFCM seasons, to determine which products are likely to perform well.
Use reports from your eCommerce platform or payment gateway to view top-selling items during peak times. Additionally, implement an ABC analysis to categorize products:
- A-grade products drive 80% of revenue.
- B-grade products generate moderate sales.
- C-grade products may be slower sellers or dead stock, perfect for clearance during Black Friday.
3. Create an Irresistible Black Friday Offer
Attract customers with “jaw-dropping” discounts on popular items.
Consider using loss leaders—highly discounted flagship products that bring in traffic and encourage additional purchases.
Bundles, product upsells, and post-purchase offers can also boost your average order value.
4. Develop a Holiday Shipping Strategy
Shipping can make or break a customer’s decision to buy. Offer free or reduced shipping for orders over certain thresholds (e.g., free shipping for orders over $75).
If possible, provide expedited shipping options during BFCM, as 62% of shoppers expect their free shipping orders to arrive within three days.
Make sure to display your shipping policy clearly at checkout, in marketing emails, and on your FAQ page.
5. Reward Loyal Customers
Incentivize repeat purchases by offering early access to your Black Friday sales, tiered-spending rewards, or extra discounts to your loyal customers.
Integrate a customer loyalty program that offers perks for referrals and exclusive offers for subscribers. This not only rewards your most dedicated customers but also helps build long-term relationships.
6. Organize Your Sales Calendar
BFCM sales require organization. Create a detailed sales map in Google Sheets or Excel to schedule start dates, prices, and the rollout of promotional messages.
Organizing your sales well in advance ensures that everything runs smoothly when the holiday rush hits.
7. Double Down on Top Sales Channels
Identify your most profitable sales channels and focus your efforts there.
Whether it’s your website, social media, or third-party marketplaces, prioritize the channels that have historically delivered the best results during high-traffic periods like Black Friday.
8. Retarget Past Visitors and Customers
Retargeting previous visitors and customers is a key strategy for increasing conversions. Set up tracking tools like Meta pixel to monitor page views, purchases, and cart activity.
Retargeting ads remind previous shoppers of your offers and encourage them to return to your store.
9. Launch Email Campaigns Early
Email marketing plays a huge role in Black Friday success. Start building your email list now, using signup forms and pop-ups on your website.
Create personalized email campaigns with enticing subject lines and offers based on customer behavior. Send “warm-up” emails leading up to the sale to generate anticipation and provide exclusive deals to loyal subscribers.
10. Update Your Homepage with Seasonal Creative
Capture attention with holiday-themed visuals on your homepage and across your sales channels.
Seasonal creativity helps set the event’s tone and makes your offers stand out.
If you lack design skills, use tools like Canva or hire an expert to create engaging visuals that resonate with your brand.
11. Optimize for Mobile Shopping
Mobile shopping continues to dominate Black Friday sales. In 2023, 72% of purchases were made on mobile devices.
Ensure your website is mobile-optimized, with easy navigation, responsive design, and a seamless checkout process. Test your site on multiple devices to guarantee a smooth shopping experience.
12. Prepare for Traffic Surges
Black Friday can result in significant traffic spikes, which can slow down or crash your website.
Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to optimize load times and improve performance.
Additionally, streamline your site’s architecture by removing unnecessary elements that could slow it down during peak periods.
13. Boost Conversion Rates
A small increase in conversion rates can lead to a substantial boost in sales.
Benchmark your current conversion rate using industry averages and work on optimizing your product pages with clear CTAs, detailed descriptions, and easy-to-use payment methods.
14. Offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) Options
The buy now, pay later model is growing in popularity. Offering financing options like Affirm, Afterpay, or Klarna can make high-ticket items more accessible, increasing conversion rates and average order value.
15. Leverage Chatbots for 24/7 Support
Chatbots are an effective way to provide real-time customer support, especially during high-traffic events.
Use them on your website and social media channels to answer frequently asked questions, offer product recommendations, and guide customers through the buying process.
16. Streamline the Checkout Process
A complicated checkout process can deter customers from completing a purchase.
Simplify your checkout with one-click payment options like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Auto-fill features can speed up the process and reduce cart abandonment.
17. Expand Internationally
Black Friday is no longer just a U.S. event. Countries like the UK, Australia, and Germany are seeing significant participation.
If your business can accommodate international shipping, consider marketing your products to global customers.
18. Optimize Order Fulfillment
Handling a high volume of orders requires efficient order and fulfillment workflows.
Organize your fulfillment area, stock up on supplies, and consider bringing on temporary staff to help with picking, packing, and shipping.
19. Consider In-Person Sales with Pop-Up Shops
While eCommerce is critical, brick-and-mortar sales still account for a significant portion of overall retail revenue.
Consider opening a pop-up shop to engage customers locally or partner with a physical retailer to extend your reach.
20. Provide Prompt, Personalized Customer Support
Quick, responsive customer service is crucial during Black Friday.
Equip your support team with standard replies for common issues (e.g., shipping delays, product damage) and train them to handle problems with empathy and professionalism.
21. Make Returns Easy and Hassle-Free
Shoppers want peace of mind when making a purchase, especially during high-volume events like Black Friday.
Offer a clear, flexible return policy and make it easy for customers to initiate returns through your website.
22. Create Contingency Plans
Plan for the unexpected. Whether it’s a site outage or shipping delay, having contingency plans in place ensures you can handle problems efficiently without losing sales momentum.
23. Monitor Analytics for Insights
Track your Black Friday campaign’s performance using tools like Google Analytics.
Monitoring traffic, conversion rates, and sales data can help you optimize your strategy in real-time and make data-driven decisions for future events.
24. Turn Seasonal Shoppers Into Year-Round Customers
Black Friday is a great opportunity to acquire new customers. Retarget these seasonal shoppers with email marketing, social media, and personalized offers to encourage repeat business throughout the year.
25. Reflect on What Worked and What Didn’t
Once Black Friday is over, review the data. Analyze your successes and challenges to refine your strategies for the next year.
Document key insights and adjust your approach to make future campaigns even more effective.
26. MAJOR BONUS
Ensure you use a reliable payment processor such as Easy Pay Direct.
During BFCM it is crucial that your payment processor does not hold your funds or shut you down.
Payment providers that use the aggregator model, also known as PayFacs, such as Stripe and Square, are known for closing accounts during Black Friday due to spikes in volume, pre-orders, and many other factors, including chargebacks.
During Black Friday, if one of your competitors does anything shady, and an aggregator such as Stripe notices, they put a flag on the entire industry.
And through no fault of your own, you could be faced with held funds or a closed account.
The solution is to use a payment processor that does thorough Underwriting.
This will greatly reduce the change of a closed account or held funds.
To learn more, sign up for an account today, so that you can be approved and processing in the fastest safe way possible.
This will ensure your BFCM success!