Black Friday has evolved from a single day of doorbusters into a multi-day, multichannel shopping surge that can make or break a small business’s holiday season revenue. Last year’s sales for the day reached a record-breaking $17.5 billion in the United States, and the National Retail Federation estimates 130.4 million consumers will be shopping online and in-stores on Black Friday 2025.
For small businesses, capitalizing on this momentum means being ready to deliver exactly what today’s shoppers expect: great deals, seamless digital experiences, flexible payment options, and personalized marketing that actually converts. Whether you’re selling online, in-store, or both, here are 13 smart ways to prepare now and position your business to capture your share of this season’s massive sales potential.
Establish your goals
Set clear and attainable goals for your Black Friday shopper rush. Decide which products and services you want to promote, where you plan to advertise, and the types of deals you plan to offer.
While setting sales goals for the event is clearly a top priority, you can set other related goals to benefit your small business in the long run, such as:
- Increase email leads.
- Create opportunities for return customers.
- Sign up more loyalty program members.
- Promote future sales occurring throughout the holiday season.
Create a customer loyalty program
A customer loyalty program makes shoppers feel like they belong to something and will encourage them to turn to your brand, even when another business has something for sale at a lower price. Why? Because you have established a relationship with the customer through loyalty program discounts, rewards, and other special offers.
To increase sign-ups for your loyalty program, launch it via a pre-Black Friday email marketing campaign. Establish different tiers of loyalty and associated perks and demonstrate your program's value by offering "welcome" rewards or points immediately upon sign-up.
You can also put your loyalty program front and center of your storefront and/or website, so new customers have the opportunity to join.
Plan email marketing and social media campaigns
Email marketing campaigns are a great way to inform your customer base about your upcoming Black Friday deals. Using loyalty discounts and exclusive offers in these emails can entice customers, increasing customer satisfaction and sales.
Since consumers are bombarded with email advertisements during the holiday season, avoid sending a single email full of information. Instead, distribute information about your sale across multiple emails, stagger their send times, and establish a sense of urgency to encourage engagement.
Similarly, you can experiment with social media ads to promote your deals. Target local audiences by running ads for those in specific locations—such as key ZIP codes, cities, or states. You can also make additional sales on social media using services such as Instagram Shopping and TikTok Shop.
[Read more: Marketing Insights to Spur Sales This Holiday Season]
Offer steep discounts
If you want to attract new customers this year, you need to be willing to offer discounts. Deloitte research found that seven in 10 shoppers across all income groups are engaging in “value-seeking behaviors” in 2025, like shopping at more affordable retailers and redeeming loyalty points to save money. Additionally, Gen Z consumers are 95% more likely to seek out deals and use digital tools to find the best prices.
Discounts can be especially impactful this holiday shopping season: Deloitte found that 77% of consumers expect higher prices on holiday goods in 2025 compared to last year due to the current economy, so offering lower-than-expected prices could drive shoppers to your business.
Review your point-of-sale system
Businesses need to accept as many payment options as possible, including credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, and contactless payments. Using a point-of-sale (POS) system like Square allows you to accept all of these payment types through one terminal. You also have the option to email or print receipts, and the analytics dashboard will give you insights into your transactions, among other POS system features.
You might also consider using your POS system's embedded payment provider rather than a payment system connected via APIs. This streamlines transactions for customers and ensures a quick and easy checkout experience, strengthening consumer trust while allowing you to gather valuable consumer data and insights to guide decision-making.
[Read more: How to Choose a POS System for Your Small Business]
Check your inventory
Check your inventory levels in advance and make sure you have adequate stock of your most popular items so you don't sell out during the Black Friday rush.
If you sell items online and through a retail store, you might offer your customers an additional incentive to shop in-store. Encouraging in-store shopping helps you move more products, it reduces your delivery services, and it makes inventory management easier.
[Read more: Small Business Holiday Guide]
Add new or exclusive products
Drum up excitement on Black Friday by unveiling an exclusive or new product. If you tease the release of a new product or one that is only available for a limited time, shoppers will want to see it. The sense of urgency can create more foot traffic—whether online or in person—and boost sales.
Deloitte research found that seven in 10 shoppers across all income groups are engaging in “value-seeking behaviors” in 2025.
Make shopping from a mobile device easy
According to Salesforce, mobile purchases accounted for $53.5 billion in 2024 holiday season purchases among U.S. shoppers. To accommodate the large number of shoppers navigating your website on a mobile device, make sure the process is user-friendly and frictionless, no matter how consumers reach your site.
To help mobile shoppers, consider fewer steps to make a purchase, mobile-friendly payment options, and larger buttons to make navigation clear. Test your mobile commerce site well in advance of Black Friday so you have ample time to address any issues that potential buyers may experience.
Ensure your website is up to par
No matter how much you think your business's website is equipped to handle a shopping rush, it doesn't hurt to test it. In addition to ensuring your website can accommodate multiple shoppers at a time, it’s a good idea to enhance page speed to ensure you don't lose potential buyers. While assessing your website, review your website's security measures and strengthen them as necessary.
If you're looking to take your web shopping experience to the next level, consider incorporating an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot to help users more easily find what they are looking for. A chatbot can make purchase suggestions based on customers' browsing history.
Devise a plan for shipping
During Black Friday, shipping companies charge higher rates due to increased volume, but many consumers expect a business to provide free shipping—and those that don't may lose customers to competitors that offer free shipping.
If free shipping over a certain purchase threshold isn’t possible for your business, offer a deal to customers who are willing to pick up their orders in-store. Doing so could lead to additional sales as consumers browse the store during pickup. Plus, your small business can save on shipping costs.
Make search engine optimization a priority
To successfully boost your rankings and gain traction online, as well as target customers, businesses should prioritize better search engine optimization (SEO). However, the sooner you start, the better, as it may take time before you see SEO-related results.
Observe your landing and product pages to find areas for improvement. Tactics for improving SEO include revamping copy or adding search terms that align with your target audience and the shopping holiday. Then, take time to confirm that your website accurately lists relevant company information, including store hours, policies, contact information, and location.
Strengthen your customer support
The Black Friday shopping season is a great time for businesses to attract new customers, but with more patrons come additional questions and concerns that require additional resources to address. To prepare, businesses should ensure they have enough staff that can handle additional requests promptly—otherwise, customers will shop with competitors who can help.
Meet customer expectations through various channels, including in-store and telephone support, as well as online support via live chat, email, and social media. Be sure to update your website's FAQs, which can help answer some consumers' questions without additional resources.
[Read more: How to Sign Up for the Small Business Saturday 'Shop Small' Map]
Watch what bigger companies are doing (but don’t overcomplicate your strategy)
Your business may not be able to replicate Amazon or Target, but studying their promotional strategies can help you come up with additional ideas for your own Black Friday marketing. For instance, Amazon provides holiday gift guides for its customers, which can be a great way to draw attention to products that your customers may be unaware of.
While it always helps to learn from more prominent retailers, you don’t necessarily need to copy their efforts. Come up with one or two sales you want to focus on and invest your energy into executing them well. Keeping your plans simple will ensure you can provide a positive experience for customers and build buzz around your brand that will last far beyond the holiday shopping season.
[Read more: Maximize Your E-Commerce Potential This Cyber Monday]
This article was originally written by Jamie Johnson and Miranda Fraraccio.
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