In short: Before Black Friday (27 November 2026) check your site's capacity, page speed, payments, stock, backups, discount prices that comply with the rules (the previous price is the lowest one in the thirty days before), shipping, customer service and scheduled emails. During the peak days, monitor orders, errors and loading times.
Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November, with Cyber Monday following on Monday 30. For an online shop these are the busiest days of the year. Even small problems get noticed: a slow page or a product sold twice. A payment that won't go through. Anything you can check in advance should be checked now.
Four weeks before: decisions
- What you will put on offer and on what terms. A few products with clear discounts work better than a small discount across the whole catalogue.
- How much stock you have. Don't announce a discount on a product you can't deliver.
- Which channels you will use to tell customers: email, social media, ads.
- Who will answer customers on the peak days, and during which hours.
Discount prices that comply with the rules
The European rules on price indication (the so-called Omnibus Directive, implemented in Italy by Legislative Decree 26/2023) set a simple rule. When you announce a price reduction, the reference price must be the lowest price applied in the previous thirty days. Raising the price in October and then ‘discounting’ it in November is not allowed. Check the struck-through price on every product and keep a history of your prices.
Three weeks before: the technical side
Site capacity
Ask your hosting provider, or whoever manages the site, what happens with ten times your normal traffic. On WooCommerce, the server and the cache are what count. On Shopify, the platform copes. Apps and the theme, on the other hand, can weigh things down. See a slow site sells less.
Speed of the promotional pages
Test the home page, the categories on offer, the product page and checkout on a phone. Compress the banners. Remove the apps you don't need.
Payments
Place a test order with every method you offer. Check your payment provider's amount limits and let the bank or provider know if you expect volumes well above normal.
Stock and integrations
If your warehouse is connected to the shop, check that updates arrive in time. Keep a small reserve of your most popular products so you don't sell the same item twice. See stock and the online shop.
Backups
Take a full backup before the start and then one every day. The method is in backups that actually work.
Two weeks before: communication
- Prepare the emails with their copy and landing pages. A preview for subscribers, one on the opening day and one before the end. The method is in email for an online shop.
- A dedicated page with the terms, duration and products included.
- Paid campaigns with set budgets and goals and tested links.
The week before: logistics and customer service
- Agree volumes and collections with your courier. Check the dates after which delivery before Christmas can no longer be counted on and put them on the site.
- Update the page of frequently asked questions on shipping, returns and payments: it will cut down the messages.
- Prepare template replies for recurring requests.
- Check your returns terms. For distance purchases the customer has the right to withdraw within fourteen days: explain how to exercise it.
During the peak days
- Check orders, errors and loading times every few hours.
- Watch for unusual orders: addresses different from the billing ones, very large amounts, many failed payment attempts.
- If a product sells out, take it out of the promotion straight away.
- Reply to customers on the same day.
Afterwards: taking stock
A week later, look at orders, margins and returns. Look at which channels brought in new customers and which merely brought forward purchases that were going to happen anyway. Note down what went wrong: next year's list is already written.
Further reading: discount prices and reviews · environmental claims · hosting for a WooCommerce shop
Frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Friday 27 November 2026. Cyber Monday is Monday 30 November.
Which struck-through price can I show for a discount?
The lowest price you applied in the thirty days before the reduction (Directive 98/6/EC, Article 6a; in Italy, Article 17-bis of the Italian Consumer Code, the Codice del consumo).
What should I check on the site before the traffic peak?
Server or app capacity, the speed of the home page, categories, product page and checkout, test orders with every payment method, connected stock and backups.