Every eCommerce business knows the importance of a good sale. And there are 2 days that drive traffic like no others: Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s important to make sure that your store is ready to handle the traffic that these massive sales events bring. That’s why you need to make sure you’re BFCM ready ASAP.

It might feel far off, but Black Friday is only 55 working days away (as of September 9th). To maximize results, your store should be ready by the second week of November, just 45 working days from now.

How do you know if your eCommerce store is BFCM ready? We’ve got you covered.

Need a hand getting ready? Schedule your consultation with Fyresite today to find the plan that works for your business.

How to Prepare Your Shopify Store for Black Friday Cyber Monday

Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered.

Review Previous Performance

The best source of data is your own. Review the numbers from last year’s BFCM. What went well? Which channels performed best? Where were the problem spots? What could have been done to improve the performance?

The more that you know about your previous performance, the better you can iterate and plan for this year.

Update Your CRM

Before you start sending out emails and promoting your BFCM sales, make sure your CRM is updated. It’s best to do this early, so you can build anticipation and excitement for your sales.

Retarget and Winback

BFCM isn’t just a sales event: it’s an opportunity to win back customers. Segment your audience and create campaigns tailored to win them back.

Check out our blog on marketing re-engagment emails on Shopify to learn more.

Check and Double Check Your Website

Every merchant’s worst nightmare? Their website going down during the biggest sales event of the year.

Stress-test your website, evaluate site speed, review your checkout, and anything else that is essential to your website to make sure it’s ready for the big day.

Optimize for Mobile

If your Shopify store isn’t fully mobile-optimized, you could be leaving sales on the table. Make sure your design, checkout, and navigation are smooth and responsive on mobile devices.

Determine Sales Period

It’s called Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but let’s be honest; no one sells only on those days. So how long should your sales period be? Some merchants do the weekend between BFCM, the whole week of Thanksgiving, or even the whole month of November.

The sales length is up to you. Previous performance, competitor choices, and industry standards can all influence this decision.

Determine Sales Terms and Products

You should be deciding now what products you’ll be including in your sale, or if your sales will be storewide.

You also need to decide what the terms of your sale will be.

Are you going to run separate discounts for different product categories, or apply a flat discount across your entire store? Will you run tiered promotions or flat discounts? Decide which products to include and what terms to set so your promotions are clear, compelling, and easy to market.

Don’t Risk Poor Performance for BFCM

There’s a lot of money on the line for BFCM. Make sure your Shopify store is in the best condition possible. Connect with Fyresite for a consultation to review what your store needs before BFCM.