Last Updated on September 30, 2025 by Holland Rocha
Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) are among the biggest sales opportunities of the year for online retailers. These few days can generate a significant chunk of your annual revenue and set the momentum for the rest of the holiday season. As we head into BFCM 2025, shoppers are more demanding and the competition is tougher than ever—which means the retailers who prepare well will have a real advantage.
Why BFCM Preparation Matters More Than Ever
In 2024, shoppers spent $10.8 billion online during Black Friday, marking a 10.2% increase from the previous year, according to Adobe Analytics. Cyber Monday was even bigger, with U.S. online sales reaching $13.3 billion, up 7.3% year-over-year. The entire Cyber Week period (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday) brought in $41.1 billion online, showing that BFCM continues to grow as consumers shift more of their holiday shopping online.r
But BFCM isn’t only about driving revenue—it’s your chance to win new customers and turn them into loyal fans. The experiences you create during these few hectic days can pay off for months (or even years) to come. The retailers who do well are the ones who plan ahead, think through potential problems, and manage to keep things running smoothly even when traffic and orders spike.
When to Start Preparing
The answer? As soon as possible. With BFCM about eight weeks away, you’re in a good window to prepare, but even if you’re starting later, there’s still time to make meaningful improvements. Here’s what needs attention before the rush hits:
- Payment flexibility removes barriers at checkout and meets customer expectations for options like Buy Now, Pay Later
- Inventory strategy ensures you have the right products in stock without tying up too much capital
- Shipping and fulfillment sets realistic expectations and keeps customers informed throughout the delivery process
- Leveraging AI and automation helps your team handle increased volume without burning out
Payment Flexibility: Make It Easy to Say Yes
The easier you make it for customers to complete their purchase, the more sales you’ll close. During BFCM, when shoppers are comparing deals across multiple sites, a smooth checkout experience can be the deciding factor.
Reduce Checkout Friction
Keep the path from cart to confirmation as simple as possible:
- Offer guest checkout so customers don’t have to create an account
- Enable one-click payments through digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal
- Minimize form fields by only asking for essential information
- Show shipping costs early so there are no surprises at the final step
- Display trust signals like security badges and clear return policies near the checkout button
Embrace Buy Now, Pay Later
BNPL has become a standard expectation for online shoppers. During BFCM 2024, BNPL purchases hit an all-time high of $991.2 million on Cyber Monday alone, up 5.5% from the previous year. Services like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm give shoppers the flexibility to split payments into installments, making bigger purchases feel more manageable.
BNPL drives higher average order values because customers feel comfortable spending more when they can pay over time. It improves conversion rates, especially for items over $100, and appeals particularly to younger shoppers who prefer installment payments over traditional credit. In a competitive BFCM landscape, offering BNPL can be the difference between winning a sale and losing a customer to a competitor who does offer it.
Inventory Strategy
Smart Inventory Management
Balancing inventory levels during BFCM is tricky. Stock too little and you’ll lose sales while disappointing customers. Stock too much and you’ll tie up capital that could be used elsewhere, potentially facing steep markdowns later.
Start by analyzing last year’s data to forecast demand by product category. Look at which items sold out quickly, which ones didn’t move, and what your bestsellers were. Set up low-stock alerts in your ecommerce platform so you can catch inventory issues before items actually sell out. Implement overselling protection to prevent the frustrating scenario where customers complete orders for items that are no longer available.
When items do run low or sell out, communicate this clearly on product pages. Phrases like “only 3 left in stock” can create urgency and drive purchases, while “currently unavailable” sets proper expectations. Consider setting up a waitlist system for sold-out items so you can capture future sales and gauge demand for restocking decisions.
Shipping and Fulfillment: Set Expectations and Deliver on Them
During BFCM, clear shipping communication is essential. Post your shipping deadlines prominently so customers know the last day to order for holiday delivery. Offer multiple shipping tiers to give customers options based on their urgency and budget.
Send proactive order updates at every stage—order confirmed, shipped, and out for delivery. These automated updates prevent “where is my order?” support tickets and give customers peace of mind without adding work for your team.
Finally, make your return policy clear and easy to find. An extended holiday return window removes a barrier to purchase, and processing returns quickly in January can turn a disappointed customer into a repeat buyer.
Leverage AI and Automation to Handle the Volume
Your support team will face significantly higher ticket volume during BFCM, but you don’t necessarily need to hire a small army to handle it. Smart automation can help your team work more efficiently and keep customers happy even when inquiries spike.
Let AI Handle the Routine Questions
Most BFCM support tickets are simple, repetitive questions: “Where’s my order?” “What’s your return policy?” “When will this ship?” These are exactly the kind of inquiries that AI-powered tools can handle instantly, freeing your agents to focus on complex issues that actually require their expertise.
Re:amaze’s AI FAQ Bot automatically suggests relevant help articles to customers based on their questions. As customers ask follow-up questions, it continues to surface the most helpful content. The bot learns from your FAQ automatically, so there’s no manual updating required. This means customers get instant answers to common questions without waiting for an agent, and your team spends less time answering the same questions over and over.
The platform also includes specialized chatbots designed for specific scenarios. The Order Bot can detect when customers are asking about order status and automatically provide tracking information. The Hello Bot handles initial responses when customers send very short messages, asking them to provide more details so agents have the context they need to help efficiently.
Automate Behind the Scenes
Beyond customer-facing bots, automation can streamline your team’s workflow during the rush. Automated workflows can route conversations to the right department or team member based on the content, automatically tag conversations by topic, and trigger specific actions based on customer behavior or order events.
You can set up different automation rules for each communication channel, send proactive notifications based on conversation activity, and even automatically unassign conversations from agents who are on vacation or outside their scheduled shifts. This kind of intelligent routing ensures that no conversation falls through the cracks, even when your team is stretched thin.
Make This Your Best BFCM Yet
Success during Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes down to preparation. When you prepare for BFCM early, optimize your payment and fulfillment processes, and use smart automation to support your team, you’ll not only maximize sales but also create experiences that turn first-time shoppers into loyal customers.
Re:amaze can help you deliver exceptional customer service throughout the BFCM rush with AI-powered chatbots, intelligent automation, and a unified platform that keeps your team organized even during peak volume. Start preparing today and make 2025 your most successful BFCM yet.