{"id":6912,"date":"2025-11-13T09:57:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T09:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=6912"},"modified":"2026-01-16T12:43:48","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:43:48","slug":"black-friday-how-retailers-can-prepare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/black-friday-how-retailers-can-prepare\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Friday: How your business can prepare for the biggest one yet"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBlack Friday: How your business can prepare for the biggest one yet\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2025-11-13T09:57:42+00:00\">13 November, 2025<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Black Friday: How your business can prepare for the biggest one yet\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/black-friday-how-retailers-can-prepare\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/staceymcintosh\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/11\/Stacey-McIntosh-350-1.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Stacey McIntosh<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Remember when Black Friday was just a day? Well, that\u2019s all changed now.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many retailers will be preparing early Black Friday deals, giving the entire month of November the Black Friday treatment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article addresses the core areas of consideration for your retail business if you\u2019re looking to win big during this busy selling season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Explore where you can leverage technology to create bandwidth and make Black Friday frictionless and profitable.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what we cover:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><div class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-table-of-contents yoast-table-of-contents\"><ul><li><a href=\"#h-black-friday-finances-is-it-a-good-idea-for-you-nbsp\" data-level=\"2\">Black Friday finances : Is it a good idea for you?&nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-assessing-shopper-behaviour-for-stock-management-nbsp-on-black-friday\" data-level=\"2\">Assessing shopper behaviour for stock management &nbsp;on Black Friday<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-accepting-payments-for-black-friday-sales-nbsp\" data-level=\"2\">Accepting payments for Black Friday sales &nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-managing-black-friday-payments-security-during-increased-traffic-nbsp\" data-level=\"2\">Managing Black Friday payments security during increased traffic &nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-hiring-black-friday-staff-nbsp\" data-level=\"2\">Hiring Black Friday staff &nbsp;<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#h-final-thoughts-on-preparing-for-black-friday\" data-level=\"2\">Final thoughts on preparing for Black Friday<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Black Friday and Cyber Monday checklist<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download your free Black Friday and Cyber Monday Checklist to help your business get ready for the busy sales period.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-05d6d44c-a929-4170-bea5-483a549c0f43\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free checklist<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-728756403_super-2-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-728756403_super-2-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-black-friday-finances-is-it-a-good-idea-for-you-nbsp\"><strong>Black Friday finances<\/strong>: Is it a good idea for you?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The rise of online shopping means its easier than ever to get customers to come to you, but you\u2019ll need to get creative with how to connect keen sales shoppers with your discounted merchandise to keep your profits up and your customers engaged.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taking an e-commerce approach and selling your products online (if you\u2019re not already) is just one way to benefit from the Black Friday phenomenon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First thing\u2019s first. If your business runs a fine line between profit and loss in its day-to-day operations, you need to decide if running Black Friday sales is the right move.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s some suggestions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Examine your financial health<\/strong>, via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/profit-and-loss-account-financial-statement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">profit and loss statements<\/a>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Run some projections<\/strong> to find out if your business model can really support not only item price cuts, but the temporary expansion of staff and expenses, such as increased marketing or advertising budgets, you might need to accommodate this potential demand.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Does it make sense to hire additional customer service contractors<\/strong> to deal with an increase in order enquiries? If stock sells out, will you need extra warehouse staff on hand to pick and pack? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Are there any issues in your supply chain<\/strong> that would prevent items getting to the customers on time?&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from these logistical and financial considerations, you should also make sure you\u2019ve got the ability to capture the right data from this event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understanding your customers\u2019 buying patterns, locations, and reach potential is an essential part of growing the business and making the following year even better.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Getting the right financial, inventory, and supply chain software can help manage insight for you, rather than manually collating various spreadsheets of customer and stock data yourself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-assessing-shopper-behaviour-for-stock-management-nbsp-on-black-friday\"><strong>Assessing shopper behaviour for stock management<\/strong>&nbsp;on Black Friday<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You will need to stock up for elevated sales, whether that\u2019s in stores or online. That means more stock needs to be warehoused, or transported, and that comes with a cost.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look at your data from last year to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accounting-software\/inventory-management\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">gauge how much inventory you need<\/a>\u202fto both in-store and online. Did you have any surprises in the stock you thought was going to sell well and didn\u2019t or the reverse?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Investing in stock insight is important for creating the capacity needed to manage high demand during peak trading season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can ensure you have enough inventory for the influx in demand during Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and well into the Christmas shopping season.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accepting-payments-for-black-friday-sales-nbsp\"><strong>Accepting payments for Black Friday sales<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Without a secure, fast payment system, your Black Friday gains will be limited. Generational preferences and how comfortable shoppers are with payment technology will also factor greatly into your success.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today\u2019s customer journeys are increasingly varied, and can be immediate or extremely complex, especially for the younger or oldest demographic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Setting up a fluid payment system via social media is essential in our modern, connected work. Some social media platforms can take you to your purchase page immediately, while others risk dropping the customer via a series of convoluted steps.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Journeys can range from impulse purchases on shopping or social media apps to lengthier, highly considered purchases involving multiple channels for product research and price comparison\u2014even during\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/black-friday-dos-and-donts-for-small-businesses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Black Friday sales<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider weaving accessibility into your purchase journey. Ensuring your website meets accessibility standards, and is mobile-friendly, for example, can increase customer trust in the payment system. Demand for mobile payments and digital wallets is growing, so it\u2019s worth exploring these as part of your payment methods.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Integrate the payment process into your omnichannel customer offering for a frictionless Black Friday experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To do so, you should consider the customer\u2019s expectations at each point in their journey and ensure your payment technology can accommodate any scenario of sale regardless of channel or preferred payment method.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Retailers of any size will stand out by offering simplicity, convenience, and durable, well-defined value in their approach to payments.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For online retailers, a diverse offering of payment methods is critical to customer experience.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We know from research over the years that consumers generally can be up to four times more likely to complete a purchase if they see a wide variety of payment types presented to them at checkout.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-managing-black-friday-payments-security-during-increased-traffic-nbsp\"><strong>Managing Black Friday payments security during increased traffic<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You should also consider the security of your customers\u2019 financial and personal data, and factor in protection against fraud.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2018, the EU <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/gdpr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed a new framework, commonly known as GDPR<\/a> mandating secure storage of customer\u2019s data. If you trade with any customers in EU countries, and hold their data, you must comply with the terms of this requirement.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While existing businesses have been compliant since the change, if you\u2019re starting a new business to take advantage of Black Friday sales, you should factor in additional technology costs of this into your plan and budget.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More innovation that supports improved customer data protection is tokenisation, which allows safe storage of your unique card details providing access to the original payment information regardless of the contact point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shoppers have grown more willing to use new payment technology, but they\u2019re still concerned about the safety of their personal information.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research shows 62% are generally welcoming towards added authentication measures for online payment security as mandated by\u202fPSD2.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>New authentication technologies will revalidate repeat purchases or return shoppers to the website and make their experience even more frictionless.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hiring-black-friday-staff-nbsp\"><strong>Hiring Black Friday staff<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with everything else in place, you\u2019ll still need to ensure you have enough staff coverage to deal with stock management and preparing items for delivery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Insights from a business management solution can tell you how many additional staff you\u2019ll need to hire. It can also help you with hiring, and onboarding and managing schedules.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding more staff\u2014temporary or full time\u2014means more\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/sage-business-cloud\/payroll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">payroll admin<\/a>\u202fof assigning employee types and calculating accurate pay and benefits for each.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Doing this accurately will be more challenging during the busy Black Friday season, especially if it\u2019s done manually.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Payroll integration technology with time tracking and attendance functionality can make peak season staffing easier.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Connecting your time and sales data is important for reconciliation purposes, eliminating data errors, and reducing payroll fraud.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping track of this data can also help with planning for other peak trading seasons.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A business management solution equipped with automation can make this easy and error-free for any size staff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-final-thoughts-on-preparing-for-black-friday\"><strong>Final thoughts on preparing for Black Friday<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Black Friday is a fast-paced selling season. Even more so now than ever, if your customer doesn\u2019t get the experience they expect, you might lose a future sales opportunity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Utilise new technology for business management to\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/manage-your-cash-flow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stay on top of cash flow<\/a> and ensure whatever they buy, gets to them quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With careful inventory and stock management, staffing decisions, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-nail-your-black-friday-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a>, and the right marketing approach, you\u2019ll keep things running smoothly at the online checkout for one of the biggest shopping events of the year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This article was first published in October 2019 and has been updated for relevance.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Black Friday and Cyber Monday checklist<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download your free Black Friday and Cyber Monday Checklist to help your business get ready for the busy sales period.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-05d6d44c-a929-4170-bea5-483a549c0f43\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free checklist<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-728756403_super-2-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-728756403_super-2-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black Friday is one of the year&#8217;s biggest sales periods. Learn how to get your payments, technology and stock management processes ready.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":346,"featured_media":11264,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[229,25,162],"business_type":[4,3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[57],"persona":[71,73,74],"imagine_tag":[86,96,108,109],"coauthors":[353],"class_list":["post-6912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","category-money-matters","tag-ecommerce","tag-make-receive-payments","tag-retail","business_type-small-business","business_type-medium-sized-business","industry-ecommerce"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Stacey McIntosh","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1152307915-1.jpg","imagine_tags":{"86":"Ecommerce","96":"Medium businesses","108":"Retail","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/11264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}