Prepare your Shopify store for Black Friday: complete checklist

Turn Black Friday into a growth driver

Black Friday and Cyber Monday represent the annual sales peak for most e-commerce stores. In 2024, Shopify merchants generated more than 11.5 billion dollars in global sales during that weekend. Methodical preparation makes the difference between a record weekend and a missed opportunity. This guide covers the essential actions to take in the weeks before the event.

6 to 8 weeks before: inventory and strategy

Preparation starts with analyzing the previous year’s data. Identify your best-selling products during Black Friday, the categories that overperformed and the products that did not sell. This data guides your inventory and promotion decisions.

Place your supplier orders early enough to guarantee availability. Delivery times get longer as the holidays approach. Plan a buffer stock of 20 to 30% above your forecasts to absorb demand higher than expected.

Define your promotional strategy. Percentage discounts are the most common, but bundle offers (buy 2, get the 3rd at -50%) and gifts with purchase often generate a higher average basket value. Test your promotion mechanisms in Shopify before the big day.

4 weeks before: technical and performance

Your store’s loading speed directly impacts conversions. Every additional second of load time reduces the conversion rate by 7% on average. Compress your images, disable unused apps and test your store with Google PageSpeed Insights.

Verify that your checkout process works perfectly. Test every payment method, every shipping option and every discount code. A checkout bug during Black Friday costs thousands of euros in lost sales.

Configure your promotions in Shopify: discount codes, automatic discounts, promotional banners. Schedule start and end dates so promotions activate and deactivate automatically.

2 weeks before: marketing and communication

Launch your teaser campaigns by email and on social media. Announce the dates and give a preview of the offers to come. Create a sense of urgency with countdown timers and limited quantities.

Segment your customer base. Loyal customers deserve early access to promotions. Inactive customers receive a reactivation offer. Newsletter subscribers who have never purchased receive a special welcome offer.

Prepare your advertising campaigns (Google Ads, Meta Ads) with custom audiences and creatives tailored to Black Friday. Advertising costs rise during this period, so target precisely to maximize return on investment.

The big day: monitoring and responsiveness

Monitor your sales in real time from the Shopify dashboard. Quickly identify products selling faster than expected and adjust your promotions accordingly. If a flagship product is out of stock, highlight an alternative.

Respond quickly to customer questions. Live chat and quick email replies reduce cart abandonment. Every unanswered question is a potential lost sale.

LCMH, a Shopify partner in Alsace, supports merchants in preparing for their peak sales periods.

To optimize your SEO year-round, read our Shopify SEO guide.

Sources

1. Shopify, Black Friday Cyber Monday Data 2024. shopify.com/blog/bfcm-data
2. Shopify, Discount Codes. help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts
3. Google, PageSpeed Insights. pagespeed.web.dev