The holiday season is the highest-stakes period in ecommerce. Traffic goes up, expectations go up, and the margin for operational errors goes down. Stores that do well aren’t necessarily the ones with the best deals — they’re the ones that are prepared.
Here’s what to work through before the season hits.
Start Earlier Than You Think You Should
Consumer holiday shopping behavior has shifted steadily earlier. A meaningful portion of shoppers start in October — researching gifts, building wishlists, and waiting for sales to start. If your store isn’t visible and ready by early November, you’re already behind for a segment of the market.
Practical implication: if you’re planning a holiday promotional calendar, have it mapped out and the mechanics set up in Shopify (discount codes, automatic discounts, collections) before October ends.
Inventory Planning
Review your sell-through data from the previous holiday season. What sold out too quickly? What was left over in January? Use that data to inform your inventory decisions this time. Selling out of a top product is a good problem, but it’s also a missed revenue opportunity.
Set up low-stock threshold alerts in Shopify and consider setting up back-in-stock notification flows — customers who sign up to be notified convert at very high rates when product becomes available.
Promotions and Discount Strategy
The holiday period is saturated with discounts, which means the bar for what constitutes a compelling offer is higher. A few things worth considering: tiered discounts (spend $X, get Y% off) tend to increase average order value compared to flat discounts. Gift-with-purchase offers are effective for brands that want to maintain price integrity without markdown. Free shipping thresholds are table stakes for most product categories.
Build your discount codes and automatic discounts in Shopify before the season, and test them before they go live.
Email and Marketing
Holiday email volume is high and inbox competition is real. A few things that improve performance: start your holiday sequences earlier than competitors (pre-Black Friday teasers, early access for existing customers), segment your list so your best customers get a different message than cold subscribers, and keep subject lines specific and direct.
Back-in-stock, abandoned cart, and post-purchase flows should all be reviewed and updated before peak season. These automated flows run during the highest traffic period of the year — make sure the copy reflects your holiday tone and offers.
Shipping and Fulfillment
Update your shipping policy page with realistic holiday delivery windows before November. Customers making gift purchases are deadline-sensitive — clear cutoff dates for standard and expedited shipping reduce both purchase hesitation and post-sale support requests.
If you use a 3PL, confirm their holiday cutoff and capacity constraints well in advance. Fulfillment delays during peak season create a disproportionate amount of customer service volume.
Site Performance
Traffic spikes during BFCM and the peak holiday period amplify any existing performance issues. Run your store through PageSpeed Insights before November and address anything obvious. Shopify’s infrastructure handles large traffic volumes reliably, but third-party apps with external API calls can become bottlenecks under load.
Customer Service Capacity
Inbound support volume increases significantly during the holiday season. Review your most common inquiry types from last year (order status, shipping questions, return requests) and make sure your FAQ and policy pages answer them clearly. If you use a support tool like Gorgias, set up macros for the responses you’ll send hundreds of times.
Post-Holiday Follow-Up
New customers acquired during the holiday season are highly valuable — but only if they come back. Set up a post-purchase flow specifically for holiday buyers that introduces your brand, surfaces popular products outside of the holiday gift range, and invites them into your loyalty program or newsletter. The first two weeks after the purchase is the window where you can establish a relationship. Don’t waste it.
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