Black Friday 2025 is the most exciting – and the most dangerous – weekend of the year for eCommerce businesses. It’s the time when record-breaking sales meet record-breaking mistakes. While customers are busy hunting for deals, many online stores struggle behind the scenes with slow websites, stock issues, and poorly tested campaigns.
The problem isn’t a lack of effort – it’s rushing. In the rush to launch discounts and flashy banners, many teams overlook the crucial yet often overlooked step: testing, forecasting, and coordination between marketing, tech, and logistics. The result? Missed orders, lost revenue, and plenty of stress that could’ve been avoided.
In this article, we’ll highlight seven common mistakes eCommerce stores make before and during Black Friday, and how to make sure you don’t repeat them this year. Because when it comes to the biggest shopping weekend of the year, one simple rule applies: if you prepare smart, you’ll sell more – if you don’t, you’ll spend the weekend fixing errors instead of counting profits.
1. Ignoring the Technical Capabilities of Your Store
Your marketing team might have the best campaign ideas in the world, but if your website crashes when traffic spikes, none of it matters. Every year, countless stores lose sales simply because they never test their site under real Black Friday conditions. Pages slow down, carts freeze, and customers leave before checkout.
Don’t let that happen to you. Run load tests, review your server capacity, check payment gateways, and test your checkout flow from start to finish. Optimize your caching, images, and scripts – even minor improvements can make a big difference in speed.
💡 Pro tip: Schedule a technical or performance audit at least a few weeks before the event. Tools like Hyvä Checkout for Magento or Shopware can help optimize your site’s performance, keeping it lightning-fast even under pressure.
2. Not Preparing Your Inventory
Nothing frustrates shoppers more than discovering a product is out of stock – especially after they’ve added it to their cart. Many stores underestimate demand or fail to sync inventory between warehouses, resulting in overselling, delayed deliveries, and customer complaints.
Forecast demand based on last year’s sales and current trends, and make sure your ERP system or stock management tools are updated and synced across all channels. If you’re planning bundles or special offers, be sure to prepare extra stock for those items as well – they often sell faster than expected.
💡 Pro tip: Create a “Plan B” inventory list – products you can promote if bestsellers run out. This keeps your campaign flexible and your revenue flowing even when demand surprises you.
3. Ignoring the Pre-Game
Black Friday isn’t just about the sale day itself – it’s about the weeks of awareness and trust-building that come before it. Modern shoppers rarely buy impulsively; they need multiple touchpoints before making a decision. If your first ad appears two days before the sale, you’ve already lost most of your potential buyers to brands they’ve seen earlier.
Start warming up your audience early with email teasers, retargeting campaigns, and social content that reminds customers what makes your brand worth trusting. Use this time to build anticipation, not panic.
💡 Pro tip: Treat October as your pre-season. The goal isn’t just clicks – it’s to ensure your brand is already on the shopper’s mind when Black Friday starts.
4. Shipping Shock
You can have the best prices, the smoothest checkout, and the most beautiful banners – but if your shipping is slow or unclear, customers will remember only the disappointment. During Black Friday, delivery delays are a top reason shoppers don’t return. Unexpected fees or vague delivery times create frustration before the order even ships.
Be transparent. Show shipping costs and estimated delivery dates before checkout. Partner with reliable carriers and consider backup solutions in case your leading logistics provider gets overloaded. Offering free shipping thresholds or express options can also boost your conversion rate.
💡 Pro tip: Review your logistics capacity just like you test your servers – run a small pre-sale campaign to spot weak points in packaging, fulfillment, and delivery speed before the absolute chaos begins.
5. Not Collecting Customer Data
Black Friday brings huge spikes in new visitors – but if you don’t collect their data, you’re missing a golden opportunity for long-term growth. Many stores treat the sale as a one-time event instead of a chance to build relationships. After the rush, they’re left with sales… but no way to re-engage those customers later.
Add newsletter sign-ups, post-purchase surveys, or loyalty program invitations. Offer small incentives for data sharing – early access, exclusive discounts, or a gift with the following order. The goal isn’t just to sell; it’s to create a database of people who will buy again.
💡 Pro tip: Make sure your data collection is GDPR-compliant and that your CRM or email platform is ready to segment and personalize campaigns after the event.
6. Focusing Only on Discounts
Significant discounts attract shoppers, but they don’t guarantee loyalty – and they’re easy to copy. If you rely solely on slashing prices, you’re essentially training customers only to buy when you’re on sale. Instead, offer value-driven incentives, such as gifts, extended warranties, or free delivery thresholds. These add perceived value without cutting your profit margin.
Also, think beyond transactions – make the experience memorable. Great UX, fast checkout, and a reliable delivery process often matter more than an extra 10% off.
💡 Pro tip: Combine limited-time offers with value add-ons. “Buy two, get one free” or “Gift for orders over $100” gives shoppers a reason to act fast – without devaluing your brand.
7. Forgetting About Cyber Monday
Too many stores stop their campaigns right after Black Friday – missing out on a second
wave of eager buyers. Cyber Monday is your chance to extend momentum, clear remaining stock, and reach customers who hesitated during the first round.
Plan your Cyber Monday strategy by tweaking your offers, refreshing banners, and sending reminder emails to non-converting customers. It’s a quick win that requires minimal effort but brings measurable returns.
💡 Pro tip: Use your Black Friday data – abandoned carts, popular items, and best-performing ads – to retarget those same audiences during Cyber Monday for maximum ROI.
Black Friday is coming — don’t risk your revenue.
Prepare your store now.
Black Friday Readiness Checklist for eCommerce Stores
Before launching your Black Friday campaign, take a step back and make sure your foundation is solid. A strong technical setup, clear logistics, and well-coordinated marketing plan will prevent chaos when traffic spikes and orders start flooding in. Even a single overlooked detail – such as an overloaded server, a broken checkout button, or low stock on bestsellers – can result in thousands of dollars in lost revenue. The week before Black Friday shouldn’t be about panic fixes, but about confirming that every part of your eCommerce operation is ready to perform.
Here’s a quick checklist to help you verify that your store is fully prepared for the busiest shopping weekend of the year.
Technical Preparation
- Run a complete site performance and load test.
- Check server capacity, caching, and CDN configuration.
- Test checkout flow, payment gateways, and integrations under pressure.
- Ensure your site is mobile-optimized and error-free.
- Set up uptime monitoring and alerts for quick response.
Inventory and Fulfillment
- Forecast demand and update stock levels across all channels.
- Coordinate with warehouses and delivery partners in advance.
- Prepare packaging, labeling, and backup logistics options.
- Display shipping costs and estimated delivery times clearly.
Marketing and Campaigns
- Start awareness campaigns early to warm up your audience.
- Set up email, SMS, and retargeting sequences before launch.
- Prepare visuals, landing pages, and promo codes in advance.
- Plan your Cyber Monday follow-up offers and messaging.
Customer Experience
- Simplify checkout and enable guest purchasing.
- Offer multiple payment and delivery options.
- Train or automate your support team for high-traffic hours.
- Add clear return, refund, and data privacy information.
Data and Analysis
- Confirm tracking, analytics, and conversion goals are working.
- Segment your CRM for post-sale remarketing campaigns.
- Prepare to analyze results and document insights after the event.
Conclusion: Don’t Leave Black Friday to Chance
Black Friday isn’t just about running great campaigns – it’s about making sure your store can handle the pressure behind them. Technical stability, fast checkout, and flawless user experience are what turn high traffic into real sales. The difference between a record-breaking weekend and a stressful one often comes down to preparation.
If you’re unsure whether your website can handle the peak load or would like professional help optimizing your store before the rush, please reach out to us. Our team provides technical support, audits, and performance optimization for eCommerce platforms to help you stay confident, stable, and profitable this Black Friday.
