{"id":10858,"date":"2026-10-30T10:51:26","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/?p=10858"},"modified":"2026-10-30T10:51:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T10:51:29","slug":"black-friday-as-a-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/black-friday-as-a-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Friday is a smaller slice of the season than you think"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For all the hype Black Friday gets, the day itself brings the typical established small online store about as many orders as an ordinary day between October and December. The stores that do see a real jump tend to be the ones that got ready for it.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&rsquo;s tempting to plan the whole holiday season around that one Friday. The biggest discount goes there, the main email goes out that morning, and by Saturday you&rsquo;re deciding whether the quarter was a success.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our data points to a better plan. Holiday shopping now starts in early November and runs well into December. The Black Friday spike keeps shrinking, and the busy days that do stand out reward the stores that prepared for them, whichever dates they fall on.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-2\" id=\"h-what-black-friday-brings-to-the-typical-store\">What Black Friday brings to the typical store<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To see how much Black Friday matters, we looked at orders from the online stores on our platform between October and December in 2023, 2024, and 2025. We compared Black Friday with the rest of each quarter in two ways: across all stores combined, and store by store for the stores that sold steadily throughout the quarter.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At first glance, our data backs up the hype. Across every store on our platform, Black Friday 2023 brought in 2.02 times as many orders as an average October day. By 2025, that had dropped to 1.77 times, as more orders moved into the days around it.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b574c3\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b574c3\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/public\" alt=\"Bar chart showing Black Friday orders across all Hostinger stores compared with an average October day, falling from 2.02 times in 2023 to 1.98 times in 2024 and 1.77 times in 2025.\" class=\"wp-image-10871\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-spike-shrinking.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Add those surrounding days up and you get Black Friday week. From the Monday before through Cyber Monday, orders run 20% to 30% above an ordinary eight-day stretch. But that sounds bigger than it is.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those eight days still bring in only about 11% of the quarter&rsquo;s orders, meaning nearly 90% arrive on plain old days that never got a fancy name.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among established stores, meaning those with at least 50 orders between October and December that sold throughout the quarter, the median store took in about 1% of its quarter&rsquo;s orders on Black Friday each year from 2023 to 2025.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That&rsquo;s almost exactly what any ordinary day would get if orders were spread evenly. A third or more of these stores made no sales on Black Friday at all.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b5834f\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b5834f\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/public\" alt=\"Bar chart showing the median established store&rsquo;s share of October to December orders that came on Black Friday: 1.07% in 2023, 0.91% in 2024, and 1.11% in 2025, close to the 1.09% an average day would get.\" class=\"wp-image-10870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-ordinary-day.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So why the spike in overall orders? It comes from a smaller group of stores whose orders jump far enough to lift the total. Roughly one in three physical-goods stores, for example, sold at least double their usual daily orders.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The clearest difference we&rsquo;ve found between those stores and the rest is preparation. In Hostinger&rsquo;s <a data-click-id=\"hgr-post-content-link-black-friday-2025-study-of-49318-stores\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/black-friday-research-2026\/\">Black Friday 2025 study of 49,318 stores<\/a>, only 25.8% made even one change before the sale. Those stores grew their November orders, while the rest saw them slip.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-2\" id=\"h-holiday-shopping-now-starts-in-early-november\">Holiday shopping now starts in early November<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the stores that prepare, Black Friday is still a big day, but so are the weeks around it.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those weeks now start earlier and run well into December. Shoppers set that pace, and sellers have been following them.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a data-click-id=\"hgr-post-content-link-laoda\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/laoda\/\">La&rsquo;Oda<\/a>, a Lithuanian online store selling Korean and Japanese beauty products, noticed the first half of November 2023 was already selling well.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Its customers weren&rsquo;t waiting for the official date, and as founder Domas Simonovi&#269;ius puts it, &ldquo;the entire month can effectively be considered Black Friday month.&rdquo;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When 2024 showed the same pattern, Domas moved his Black Friday ads up to the second week of November for 2025, and November orders grew 54% year over year, from 821 to 1,266.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b590b2\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b590b2\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/public\" alt=\"Bar chart showing La&rsquo;Oda&rsquo;s November revenue rising from &euro;16,573 in 2023 to &euro;29,502 in 2024 and &euro;46,266 in 2025, after the store moved its Black Friday ads to the second week of November.\" class=\"wp-image-10869\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/laoda-november-revenue.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We&rsquo;ve seen the same shift with our own customers. In 2025, first-time orders at Hostinger rose steadily through early November and stayed high into December, so our <a data-click-id=\"hgr-post-content-link-black-friday-sale\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/black-friday\">Black Friday sale<\/a> now runs for up to nine weeks, with various offers across different products.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-2\" id=\"h-why-a-longer-season-doesnt-need-a-longer-sale\">Why a longer season doesn&rsquo;t need a longer sale<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The obvious response to a longer season is a longer sale. But before you put everything at 30% off from Halloween to mid-December, it helps to know what a discount does for a small store.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every extra week of discounts cuts into the margin on every order, and shoppers who see a sale for two months straight can learn there&rsquo;s no reason to pay full price.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">La&rsquo;Oda&rsquo;s campaigns offer a useful reality check. Its November average order value barely moved, from &euro;35.93 in 2024 to &euro;36.55 in 2025, so shoppers weren&rsquo;t filling bigger baskets just because things were cheaper.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The growth came from more customers, and because they turned up ready to buy, they cost less to reach. Its customer acquisition costs fell during the campaign.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For some stores, though, a discount can work against the brand itself.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fazenda Bonanza, a fourth-generation specialty coffee farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil, decided that slashing prices on premium coffee would make it look a lot less premium.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It tested a <a data-click-id=\"hgr-post-content-link-buy-three-specialty-coffees-get-a-free-french-press-offer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/black-friday-preparation\/\">&ldquo;buy three specialty coffees, get a free French press&rdquo; offer<\/a> instead, saw revenue rise by about 5%, and made that its main Black Friday offer.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b59ffb\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b59ffb\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1486\" height=\"1110\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/public\" alt=\"Three bags of Fazenda Bonanza specialty coffee, including the Dom Bilito and Reserva da Mata labels, displayed on a table under string lights.\" class=\"wp-image-10120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/w=1486,fit=scale-down 1486w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/09\/fazenda-bonanza-coffee-scaled.jpg\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1486px) 100vw, 1486px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-2\" id=\"h-how-to-plan-for-the-whole-season\">How to plan for the whole season<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning for a longer season mostly comes down to four things: getting your store ready early, choosing an offer that fits what you sell, giving new customers a reason to come back, and building your calendar around the dates your customers care about.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-3\">Start preparing about three weeks out<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our study of nearly 50,000 stores, the bar for counting as prepared was surprisingly low.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A store qualified if it made at least one change before the sale: updating products, setting up a discount or coupon, or adjusting payment methods.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stores that skipped even that still got 5.8% more visitors in November than their usual August to October average, but their orders fell 3.5%, and half of these stores saw orders drop by more than 20%.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b5b02e\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b5b02e\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/public\" alt=\"Bar chart comparing November 2025 orders with each store&rsquo;s August to October average: stores that made no changes before Black Friday fell 3.5%, prepared stores grew 16%, and stores that prepared one to three weeks ahead grew 34.2%.\" class=\"wp-image-10867\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-prepared-stores.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Preparation won&rsquo;t guarantee more orders. Stores that prepare also tend to be more active overall, and because setting up a coupon counts as preparation, some of the lift may come from the discount itself.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, the gap is wide enough that skipping the basics is a risky bet.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study looked at Black Friday, but the same habits work for every busy day in a longer season. About three weeks before your first one, work through the basics:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Product pages<\/strong>. Refresh photos, descriptions, and stock levels for anything you plan to promote.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Offers<\/strong>. Set up the offer you plan to run, like discount codes or a bundle, ahead of time and test that it applies correctly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Checkout and payments<\/strong>. Place a test order on desktop and on mobile, and make sure the payment methods your customers prefer are switched on. Better you find the broken button than they do.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Site speed<\/strong>. Check load times on your most visited product and checkout pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Email list<\/strong>. Separate past customers from new subscribers so each group gets its own offer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stock and shipping<\/strong>. Confirm you can handle a busy week, and publish delivery cutoff dates early. If you rely on suppliers, place your stock orders much earlier than the rest of your prep.<\/li>\n<\/ul><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of this has to be elaborate, even for a very small team.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-3\">Pick an offer that fits your store<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Discounts work best when they&rsquo;re targeted. La&rsquo;Oda&rsquo;s results show where it earns its keep: bringing in new customers rather than filling bigger baskets. Keep it limited to a few products and days, though.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your margins are tight, or a price cut would cheapen what you sell, adding value is the safer bet.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A bundle can pair a best seller with a slower product at a price that still protects your margin, and a gift with purchase or a free shipping threshold set just above your average order value gives people a reason to buy without cutting prices across the board.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some offers skip the price question entirely. A short run of a seasonal product or early access for your email subscribers gives people a reason to buy now and rewards the customers who already pay attention to you.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-3\">Plan for January before the sale starts<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The gap between prepared and unprepared stores didn&rsquo;t close when the sale ended. In January, prepared stores were still taking 3.3% more orders than their August to October average, while unprepared stores were 8.8% below theirs.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b5c06d\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b5c06d\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/public\" alt=\"Bar chart showing January orders compared with each store&rsquo;s August to October average: stores that prepared for Black Friday were up 3.3%, while stores that made no changes were down 8.8%.\" class=\"wp-image-10866\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/black-friday-january-gap.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">La&rsquo;Oda saw the same thing, with many of the first-time buyers it brought in during Black Friday returning for later campaigns.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To bring new customers back, set up a short welcome email sequence before your first peak, so it runs on its own while you&rsquo;re busy packing orders.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then plan a January offer for people who bought in November or December, such as early access to new products or a thank-you discount on their next order.<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-3\">Build your calendar around the dates your customers care about<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Black Friday&rsquo;s pull varies a lot by country, and in some places it&rsquo;s not even that big of a deal. In China, Singles&rsquo; Day on Nov. 11 is the bigger shopping event, and in Mexico, many shoppers wait for Buen Fin in mid-November.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In our store data, Black Friday barely moved orders in India, while Diwali, the main festive shopping season, brought the extra traffic instead. Stores that hadn&rsquo;t prepared for Diwali lost orders despite the extra visits, just as unprepared stores did on Black Friday.<\/p><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure data-wp-context='{\"imageId\":\"6ae4e65b5cef1\"}' data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ae4e65b5cef1\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-lightbox-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1000\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/public\" alt=\"Timeline of major November 2026 shopping events: Diwali in India on Nov. 8, Singles&rsquo; Day in China on Nov. 11, Buen Fin in Mexico from Nov. 13 to 17, and Black Friday to Cyber Monday from Nov. 27 to 30.\" class=\"wp-image-10868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/w=1920,fit=scale-down 1920w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/w=300,fit=scale-down 300w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/w=1024,fit=scale-down 1024w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/w=768,fit=scale-down 768w, https:\/\/imagedelivery.net\/LqiWLm-3MGbYHtFuUbcBtA\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/november-shopping-dates-2026.png\/w=1536,fit=scale-down 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><button class=\"lightbox-trigger\" type=\"button\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" data-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\" data-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\">\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\"><\/path>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Look at your own order history from the last two holiday seasons. If your busiest days fell somewhere other than Black Friday weekend, your customers have already told you where to build your calendar.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Put your strongest offers and most of your prep into your two or three peak periods, which is easier for a small team to stock and staff, and kinder to whoever answers the customer emails.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Between them, keep the store ticking over with a preview of your next offer, a restock alert, or a product spotlight rather than a discount every day.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading h-t-title-2\" id=\"h-where-to-start\">Where to start<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Treat Black Friday as one peak in a long season, and put your preparation into the few days that matter most to your store.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If Black Friday is still three or four weeks away, you have just enough time to do this properly. Grab a calendar, mark the two or three days you expect to be busiest, and start refreshing product pages, setting up offers, and testing your checkout before the first one.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If it&rsquo;s closer than that, it&rsquo;s still worth doing something, since more than half the stores that started one to seven days ahead grew their November orders by at least 20%.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with three things that fit into a day or two: one offer that adds value (like a bundle or a free shipping threshold), a test order to make sure your checkout works well, and a short welcome email for the new customers it brings in.<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the season wraps up, note which days actually brought in your orders and which offers people used. <a data-click-id=\"hgr-post-content-link-keep-that-data-handy\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/black-friday-as-data-not-revenue\/\">Keep that data handy<\/a>, and the next time a busy season approaches, Black Friday or any other, you&rsquo;ll know exactly what to get ready.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For all the hype Black Friday gets, the day itself brings the typical established small online store about as many orders as an ordinary day between October and December. The stor\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":455,"featured_media":10872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2417],"tags":[],"hashtags":[],"class_list":["post-10858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights"],"hreflangs":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10873,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10858\/revisions\/10873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10858"},{"taxonomy":"hashtags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtags?post=10858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}