Shopify Black Friday 2025: Apps and Advice That Work

Black Friday lands on November 28, and for online stores, it’s still the biggest sales event of the year by far.

Last year, Shopify merchants brought in a record $11.5 billion over the Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend. All signs point to 2025 being even bigger, with more shoppers than ever searching for deals online.

If you run an ecommerce store, preparing now—with the right strategy, marketing, and tools—means you’ll be ready to maximize sales and avoid the last-minute rush.

Start planning for Shopify BFCM now

Start your preparation by mapping out goals for the weekend. This means deciding which products to push, setting sales targets, and figuring out how you'll handle the extra traffic. Merchants who plan early typically see better results because it helps them avoid rushed decisions right before the deadline.

To keep you on track, create a schedule that covers everything from inventory checks to your BFCM marketing strategy. When it comes to social media, remember that when you post is just as important as what you post, so try to set optimal dates and times for posting promotional content.

According to Buffer, the best time to post on Instagram for maximum engagement and reach is between 3pm and 4pm on weekdays or 5pm and 6pm on weekends.

Optimize your Shopify store's performance

When you're running a big sale, your website's load times and reliability become just as important as your marketing. With customers excited to secure deals, the last thing you want is them abandoning their cart due to technical difficulties with your site.

Shopify's inbuilt web performance reports are a simple but great way to review where your site's performance could be improved. To get a more thorough analysis, you can combine it with Google's PageSpeed Insights.

Mobile devices accounted for 69.9% of sales, according to the Black Friday 2024 report by Salesfire. Don't forget to test and optimize your mobile site, too!

We recommend testing your checkout flow separately so you can be sure it runs smoothly and isn't overly complicated.

Next, accepting all the popular payment types opens you up to a wider audience, so be sure to offer alternatives to bank cards. This can include things like mobile wallet options, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL), and even cryptocurrency!

Business Wire reported that BNPL spending reached a record $18.2 billion online during the 2024 holiday season, highlighting the growing importance of providing flexible payment choices.

Craft compelling promotions for your online store

The discounts you offer are arguably the most important part of the BFCM sale.

Here are a couple of strategies you might want to consider:

• Tiered savings: You can offer bigger discounts to customers who spend more.
• Bundles: By putting together groups of related products, you can raise AOV (average order value) without lowering prices too much.
• Mystery boxes: Increase excitement and the probability of impulse purchases by offering a selection of products at random.
• Countdown timers: Customers may be more likely to buy if they think they might miss out on a deal that is only available for a limited amount of time.
• Personalized offers: Use data from past purchases to create customer-specific promotions. Not only does this add variety, but it also makes your customer feel more valued, boosting brand loyalty.

Leverage essential Shopify apps

Shopify apps can supercharge your Black Friday efforts. Why not try one of the more popular popup apps to announce future sales, capture emails, and drive urgency?

Countdown timers are another good example of a tool that can keep visitors engaged by showing how long your sales last.

For upselling, any half-decent bundle app will let you group complementary products together or create buy-one-get-one deals easily. This is a great tactic to use during sales, as people are always excited by the prospect of saving more money (even if they don't necessarily need the extra products).

Apps like Klaviyo and Omnisend handle email and SMS marketing to reach customers directly on their phones. These tools automate tasks so you can focus on strategy.

What about invoices and credit notes for Shopify?

When it comes to invoicing, Sufio stands out for automating everything from invoices to credit notes and reminders for Shopify.

It creates fully-compliant documents in over 40 languages and handles refunds seamlessly during high-volume periods.

For merchants who require a solution that scales with them, Sufio is a dependable invoicing solution, whether you expect 50 or 50,000 orders during the 2025 BFCM event…

Build an effective marketing workflow

Email still works best for Black Friday. Break your list into groups and send them offers that fit what they like. Email and SMS apps like the two mentioned above can help you set up automatic messages that keep people interested until they buy.

Hit social media hard with posts on Instagram and TikTok showcasing promotions. User-generated content builds trust, so encourage shares with contests. Paid ads on platforms like Facebook can drive traffic, but track ROI closely to avoid overspending.

Handle the post-sale rush

After the sales spike, follow up with thank-you emails and make the most of any upsell opportunities. Process returns quickly to maintain goodwill. Analyze what worked using Shopify's reports to refine next year's approach.

Once that's done, the best thing to do is to keep an eye on inventory restocks and customer feedback. Strong customer care turns one-time shoppers into loyal fans. With solid prep, Black Friday 2025 could be your store's best yet.