make Black Friday work for Your eCommerce business

Black Friday has the opportunity to either be a goldmine or a headache. For eCommerce businesses, it’s both an opportunity and a test of preparation.

We see it more as a visibility race, with the winners being those who get seen and convert first. That being said, here’s a bit more about how you can make Black Friday work in your favour.

Understand the Scale of It

The scale of Black Friday keeps growing. In 2024, online retailers in the UK saw an average 18.5% increase in weekly revenue during the event. Mobile devices accounted for 69% of global Black Friday purchases last year and could hit 73% in 2025.

That means your customers are scrolling, comparing, and buying from their phones (sometimes in the same five-minute window). So, your job isn’t just to offer a good deal; it’s to appear right when they start searching.

Visibility Comes First

Search is still the main way shoppers in the UK discover new brands – around 38% of product discovery happens through search engines.

If you’re not showing up when someone is specifically searching for deals on your products, you’re invisible. That’s why search-first planning matters. Make sure your SEO is up to date, your paid campaigns are structured around the right intent, and your landing pages actually match the promise of your ads.

Prepare Your Website

Black Friday traffic has the potential to take its toll on unprepared sites. Pages that usually run fine can suddenly slow down, and every extra second of load time loses sales.

Check your site speed early, optimise image sizes, trim down bulky content, and make sure checkout works smoothly on mobile. Test your infrastructure without the assumption that it will hold up. If a user clicks “buy” and the page freezes before they can check out, that’s a wasted click and a lost sale.

Create Urgency

There’s a fine line between urgency and pressure. Countdown timers, “low stock” notifications, and limited-time deals work, but only if they’re genuine. Shoppers are smarter now and can spot fake scarcity a mile off.

Focus on being clear and honest. Offer your best deals to loyal customers first (your email list or remarketing audience) and use messaging that feels time-sensitive but credible. Avoid constant discounting; it can affect trust and train customers to wait for the next sale.

Time & Targeting Matter

Not every shopper starts on the day itself. Many begin researching weeks earlier, so if your campaigns go live too late, you’re chasing rather than leading the way.

Use audience data and search trends to customise what people see. Someone who viewed your product in October shouldn’t see the same ad as a brand-new visitor. Personalising by intent (even in small ways) helps you spend smarter and convert faster.

Don’t Stop After Friday

When the rush dies down, the real value is in what you’ve learned. Analyse which keywords drove sales, which products sold fastest, and where people dropped off.

Returns and refunds can spike post-event, so follow up with loyalty offers, cross-sell campaigns, or even early-access messages for Christmas. Keeping momentum after the sale has the potential to build longer-term revenue.