Preparation for Black Friday And Cyber Monday (BFCM), If You Are Using Shopify Plus. It’s Not Too Late.

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Your Shopify Plus Website

So, you have an excellent Website on a Shopify Plus platform; now, how do you make the most of that Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale? We outline some real world actions to take, so you don't miss out on one of the busiest sales days of the year. What is this based on? Well over 30 years of marketing experience, and over 20 years of digital marketing experience. So it's a quick read, and any questions, please come back to me.

Flawless Load Management & Speed: While Shopify manages backend scaling (processing over £4.6 million in sales per minute at peak), theme level inefficiencies can slow down your site.

• Action: Run site speed audits (Google PageSpeed Insights) on your product pages and checkout flow, with a heavy focus on mobile performance (79% of 2024 sales were mobile).
• Action: Deactivate any non-essential, heavy, or slow-loading apps. Compress all high-resolution product and banner images before the launch. This will help with load speed.

The Launchpad Control Room: This area of the Shopify Plus dashboard is your secret weapon for a stress free launch. It contains all the elements of the Shopify Plus platform.

• Action: Use Launchpad to schedule and coordinate all aspects of your sale, including theme sale page publication, discount code activation, price changes, and homepage banner updates. This ensures your sale launches (and ends) instantly, globally, without manual, risky, real-time code changes.

Accelerated Checkout: Friction kills Black Friday conversions.

• Action: Ensure Shop Pay is prominently enabled. Shop Pay consistently delivers one of the industry's highest conversion rates and handles surges better than traditional payment methods. Also, integrate popular Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options (such as Affirm or Klarna) to increase average order value (AOV) by offering flexible payment options.

Tiered Discounting to Boost AOV (Average Order Value): Move past simple sitewide discounts that erode profit.

• Action: Implement threshold based discounts (e.g., 20% off orders over £150, 30% off orders over £250). Use apps to apply ‘gift with purchase’ (GWP) offers once a spend threshold is met, which customers often value highly.

VIP Early Access Strategy: Reward loyalty and drive initial high margin sales before the noise.

• Action: Segment your highest LTV (Lifetime Value) customers and email/SMS them a private link or unique discount code 24-48 hours before the public sale, eg email today for access tomorrow. This generates early momentum and makes VIPs feel valued, also takes that available spend away from your competition early.

High-Impact Bundling: Increase the number of items sold per transaction.

• Action: Use product bundling apps to create irresistible "Black Friday Exclusive" sets at a deeper discount than the individual items. Promote BOGO (Buy One Get One) offers for high-stock, complementary products.

Dedicated Sales Landing Page: Don't Rely Solely on Your Homepage.

• Action: Create a dedicated Black Friday or Cyber Monday landing page that clearly outlines all promotions, features, and countdown timers, and uses strong, focused calls to action (CTAs). Direct all paid ad traffic here.

Real-Time Urgency Triggers: Use data to drive immediate purchasing decisions.

• Action: Implement low-stock alerts and "X people are viewing this product" notifications on product pages for your most popular items. Use countdown timers on banners and in the cart to reinforce the time-limited nature of the deals.

Post-Purchase Upsells: Convert the "Thank You" page into a high margin sales channel.

• Action: Use one click upsell to offer a small, highly relevant, and deeply discounted item (e.g., an accessory or travel size version) immediately after the customer completes the initial purchase.

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Inventory Security: Avoid devastating stock outs on your biggest sales day.

• Action: Conduct a final inventory check, confirm all restock timelines, and set automated low stock notifications for your fulfilment team. Use clear "Out of Stock" labels on the front end instead of removing the product, allowing customers to sign up for "Back in Stock" alerts.

Customer Support Scaling: Expect a massive spike in WISMO ("Where Is My Order?") and return inquiries.

• Action: Set up an AI Chatbot or leverage Shopify Inbox to automate answers to common BFCM questions (shipping cutoffs, discount exclusions, return policies). Prepare a dedicated FAQ page and train your human agents for the surge.

Clarity on Shipping & Returns: Reduce purchase anxiety.

• Action: Clearly state your Holiday Return Window and Shipping Cutoff Dates for guaranteed holiday delivery prominently in your site announcement bar and cart page.

Lead with Lifestyle: Unlike electronics, homewares sales are driven by feeling. Use high-quality, beautiful images that show your products in aspirational, finished rooms (e.g., a beautifully set dining table, a cosy reading chair, lit fires, etc).

• Highlight Utility: Frame the discount in terms of home improvement and quality.
• Instead of: "20% off Throw Pillows"
• Try: "Refresh your living room for less with 20% off all accent textiles."
• Segment Non Purchasers: Messages V and VIII should exclude customers who have already purchased during the sale to prevent fatigue. By the time we start pushing the sequence of messages, it is crucial.

Use Unique Codes for SMS: To track SMS performance accurately and reinforce exclusivity, consider using a unique code specifically in your SMS flows.

• If you need further assistance or require marketing support, the Happy Otter team is here to help. Why not speak to us today? Email hello@happyotter.co.uk, or speak to us on 01273 011042 and one of our team members will be happy to help you.