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Black Friday is on 27 November this year, with Cyber Monday on 30 November. That leaves about five weeks, which sounds like plenty until you list everything that has to be ready. Last year Shopify merchants generated a record $14.6 billion in Black Friday Cyber Monday sales, up 27%, with sales peaking at $5.1 million a minute. A Shopify Black Friday checklist keeps you from finding gaps when that kind of traffic arrives.
The Dates and Numbers to Plan Around
Adobe's 2026 holiday forecast gives you a picture of the US online market:
- Black Friday, 27 November: $12.9 billion forecast, up 9.2%.
- Cyber Monday, 30 November: $15.1 billion forecast, the biggest day of the season.
- Mobile: 57.4% of holiday spending, so phones are your main shop window.
- Discounts: up to 21% just before Thanksgiving and up to 30% during Cyber Week.
Those discount levels set expectations. Shoppers will compare, and your offer has to be clear in a few seconds on a small screen. The rest of this post is the checklist itself, grouped the way the work usually splits.
Marketing Section of Your Shopify Black Friday Checklist
Black Friday marketing works best when the plan is finished early and the sending is easy.
☐ Decide your offers, and set exact start and end times in your store's time zone.
☐ Check discount stacking so codes and automatic discounts do not combine and cut into your margin.
☐ Build a teaser list, such as an early access signup for subscribers.
☐ Draft the email run: teaser, early access, launch, reminder, last chance and Cyber Monday.
☐ Prepare social posts and product copy for every discounted item.
☐ Update the homepage banner and key landing pages.
☐ Brief anyone running paid ads on offers, dates and exclusions.
Write for the phone first. Short subject lines, one clear offer per email and a big button will do more than a clever layout.
Black Friday Inventory Checklist
Nothing damages a sale like selling what you do not have.
☐ Count stock on every promoted product and set a low stock threshold.
☐ Decide purchase limits on hero products if you need them.
☐ Confirm supplier lead times for anything you might need to reorder.
☐ Plan to hide or mark sold out items quickly.
☐ Prepare packaging, labels and a fulfilment schedule for the peak days.
☐ Set a delivery cut off date for holiday orders and publish it.
Stock decisions are easier with a record. Look at last year's best sellers, add anything you are heavily promoting, and make the call early.
Customer Support Checklist
Every sale can become a question: where is my order, did my code work, can I return this.
☐ List the ten questions you expect and write each answer once.
☐ Update your returns policy for the holiday period and show it on product pages.
☐ Decide what a person must handle, such as payment problems and damaged goods.
☐ Plan cover for nights, weekends and Cyber Monday.
☐ Prepare a banner you can switch on if shipping runs late.
Our guide on how AI agents improve customer support during high volume sales events goes deeper on the support side.
Checkout and Site Checklist
☐ Freeze theme changes for the last couple of weeks, with only critical fixes allowed.
☐ Place test orders on a phone with a discount code and every payment method you offer.
☐ Check shipping rates and taxes for each market you sell to.
☐ Review page speed after adding banners and apps, and remove what you do not need.
☐ Schedule price changes and test that they end on time.
☐ Save a backup of your theme and product data.
Cross border shoppers made up 16% of global orders over Shopify's 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend, so check international shipping and currency before you check anything else.
Where Yep AI Fits
You can run this checklist alone, but the weeks before Black Friday are when help matters. Yep AI's agents each take a job off your list. Read the overview of Anna, Maya and Oscar to see how they work together.
Maya is the Marketing agent. She drafts email journeys, social posts, product descriptions and SEO blogs in your brand voice, and you review everything in the Marketing Hub before it is published.
Anna is the Support agent. She answers customers around the clock in 90+ languages, checks live order and carrier data, and handles returns and exchanges against your policy. She escalates tricky cases with a summary. Anna requires the Growth plan.
Oscar covers operations and is currently in Early access. He flags low stock and brings up sourcing opportunities, which helps with the inventory section above. Read about Oscar for details.
See the ecommerce customer service solution page and the pricing page. Core is $199 a month, Growth is $299 a month, and annual billing takes 20% off.
Try It on Your Store
Work through your Shopify Black Friday checklist with extra hands on marketing, support and stock. Install Yep AI from the Shopify App Store and start the 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime, no lock in. Or book a call to plan your Black Friday setup.
