7 Black Friday Strategies to Maximise Your Sales in 2026

Love it or hate it, Black Friday is here to stay and if your business is taking part, you’ll be tapping into the £9 .9 billion that is set to be splashed over the Black Friday–Cyber Monday weekend this year.

Black Friday 2026 lands on Friday 27 November, kicking off the busiest trading weekend of the year for UK retailers, from Black Friday through to Cyber Monday on 30 November. It’s no longer a single day. Many retailers now run deals for a week or more before the day itself, and the weekend carries straight on into Cyber Monday (30 November). For small businesses, it’s the busiest stretch of the golden quarter, so now is the time to make sure you’re set up to capture as much of that demand as possible. To help you prepare, we’ve put together 7 Black Friday strategies to make the most of the year’s busiest sales weekend.

1. Give your customers FOMO

Black Friday shoppers expect limited-time deals. A sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) makes them much more likely to buy straight away instead of waiting or shopping around. If customers believe stock is limited or a deal is exclusive, its perceived value goes up too, even if they weren’t planning to buy right away. FOMO cuts the time customers spend comparing and overthinking, and they’re less likely to abandon their basket if they feel the deal might disappear.

Ensure your website and/or your store clearly communicate urgency. Use messaging like: “Ends at midnight”, “Only 24 hours left”, “Only 12 left at this price”, “Selling fast—over 500 sold today.” You could also use countdown timers on your website or on your social media. Learn how to add a countdown timer to your Instagram story here. Just make sure any urgency claims are genuine. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act), if you advertise a limited-time offer, you’re legally obliged to honour it (see point 6 for more on this).

2. Create deals without discounts

Get creative with your Black Friday offers. If your margins are tight, you don’t have to rely on blanket discounts to drive sales, you could try bundles, tiered deals like “Buy More, Save More,” hourly flash sales, mystery boxes, or limited-edition drops that create excitement without reducing prices. 

Focus on your best-sellers or high-intent products to maximise conversions, and don’t be afraid to test different formats throughout the weekend to see what resonates with your audience. Pair every offer with clear urgency (see above) to encourage shoppers to act quickly. 

3. Offer early access to subscribers

If you already have an email database, make the most of it in the lead-up to Black Friday by giving subscribers early access to your offers. Exclusive previews not only drive anticipation but also reward loyal customers. If you run a loyalty program, consider offering bigger discounts to your VIP members or inviting them to an after-hours, invite-only shopping event. These personalised perks create a sense of novelty and recognition—and the more valued your customers feel, the more likely they are to make a purchase.

4. Ensure your checkout is optimised

If you run an online-only shop, your website will make or break your Black Friday performance. Traffic will be higher than usual, so speak to your web developer ahead of time and make sure your site can handle the surge. Even a few seconds of slow loading, or any friction at checkout, can quickly turn into abandoned baskets and lost revenue

The same applies in-store. Your payment experience must be fast, reliable and friction-free. Slow card machines, limited card acceptance or high transaction fees lead to frustrated customers and lower profits. Zeller Terminal accepts all major cards, including American Express and China UnionPay, for a low standard rate from 1.3%, with no monthly fees and no contracts.

5. Boost your customer support

More customers mean more customer service — so it pays to be prepared. Whether that’s rostering on additional staff, updating and expanding the FAQ section of your website, or integrating a chatbot to handle common queries, planning ahead helps you stay ahead of the rush. The smoother and more responsive your support experience is, the easier it is to keep customers happy throughout the Black Friday weekend, reduce pressure on your team, and prevent small issues from turning into lost sales.

6. Avoid misleading promotions

If you’re flooded with sales, it can be tempting to extend a limited-time offer. Under the DMCC Act, that could count as a misleading practice. Falsely claiming a deal is only available for a very limited time is one of the practices the Act bans outright. Get to know your legal obligations ahead of time so you can steer clear of unlawful advertising.

You can’t claim a “site-wide” or “shop-wide” sale if not everything is on sale. You can’t advertise “up to X% off” if only a handful of products reach that discount. And you can’t use “was/now” strikethrough pricing unless the “was” price is a genuine previous selling price. You also shouldn’t create false urgency with misleading limited-time offers, or hide important exclusions and conditions in the small print. Any compulsory fees need to be included in the headline price too, not added at checkout. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can now fine businesses directly for breaches, up to 10% of global turnover. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) also keeps a close eye on Black Friday pricing claims.

Customers are always entitled to a remedy for faulty goods, including a full refund within 30 days under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. In-store change-of-mind returns are up to you, so you can set different conditions during sales periods as long as you communicate them clearly. Online sales are different. Customers have a legal right to cancel within 14 days, and that can’t be removed for sale items. Before Black Friday weekend, make sure the returns policy on your receipts, website and in-store signage is up to date.

With Zeller, you can quickly change the information on your receipts from your Zeller Dashboard or directly on Zeller Terminal. Learn how to customise your Zeller receipt settings here.

7. Follow up after purchase

Black Friday shouldn’t just be seen as a one-off sales event—it’s also an opportunity to capture new customer data and turn one-time shoppers into repeat buyers. For online stores, this is straightforward, as customer information is automatically collected and stored in your CMS. For bricks-and-mortar retailers, it requires a bit more creativity. Encourage customers to join your mailing list or follow your social accounts by offering a small gift or extra discount, run a competition requiring an email entry, or use QR codes at the point of sale to collect contact details.

With Zeller, you can add a custom image to your receipts or terminal screensaver featuring a QR code that links to your newsletter signup or Instagram account. By making it easy for customers to engage at checkout—when they already have their phones out to pay—you create a frictionless way to build a valuable database of engaged customers. This enables you to follow up with targeted offers and promotions long after Black Friday has ended.