Are You Ready for BFCM 2025? (This Will Save You Hours)

This BFCM is different. The stakes have never been higher as AI reshapes the future of commerce. Shopify merchants alone generated $11.5B in sales during last year's BFCM weekend, a 24% increase that shows no signs of slowing down. Shop Circle’s portfolio influenced $534M in revenue during BFCM last year, empowering 63K+ modern businesses.

The harsh truth about the Shopify App Store ecosystem

From over 11K Shopify apps to choose from for basic functions (branded invoices, automations, inventory management) is aggravating, time-consuming, and just more difficult (and expensive) than it should be. While there are plenty of options with "free" plans available, those plans are extremely limited, and by the time you find out that you can't do exactly what you want to do, you've already wasted a few hours. Plus, with multiple developers from the 7.5K+ Shopify partners, it becomes overwhelming.

We've heard this story from thousands of merchants. Here's what makes it worse during BFCM season: You're not just dealing with multiple app choices, you're racing against time. Don't worry, our portfolio of 40+ high-performing apps spans conversion, customer engagement, and operational efficiency tools, giving you the complete software stack that you need to succeed.

The brands that want to dominate their BFCM aren't the ones with the most apps. They're the ones with the right infrastructure before the holiday rush begins. 

But here's what most merchants miss: The real money starts flowing weeks earlier. Smart brands begin their holiday campaigns in early November, and the most strategic operators are already capturing early shoppers who start buying in October.

Together with our founders and seasoned partners, we've compiled everything you need to transform from overwhelmed to holiday-ready, with the battle-tested strategies and mission-critical tools that turn BFCM 2025 into your most profitable season yet.

It’s filled with winning insights, strategies, and tactics exclusively for our merchant community.

Chapter 1 - Spruce up your storefront for conversions

Your website isn't just a business card, it's your revenue-generating machine that works 24/7. While competitors scramble with basic functionality during BFCM traffic surges, your infrastructure must be built to handle BFCM traffic spikes without downtime.

Performance optimization

Speed is everything in 2025. Every second your site takes to load is money walking straight into your rival's pocket. Lightning-fast load times, smooth mobile experiences, and intuitive navigation are non-negotiable. Your customers don’t want to find 404 errors or broken links while trying to get their holiday shopping done.

You can consider using the SC Easy Redirects app for managing redirections, preventing any lost traffic, and improving SEO during pre-BFCM site optimizations.

Industry expert tip: “Audit your entire site architecture proactively and ensure every link leads to a conversion opportunity.” - Belma C, Senior Product Manager, Shop Circle

Personalization at scale

Personalization is a must-have. Every visitor should feel like your store was made just for them, from the moment they land on your site.

The first step to nailing down a personalization strategy is to enhance your product listings with detailed information that captures customer interest. Extend your Shopify store with apps like Accentuate Custom Fields to store data and display dynamic content, and much more. 

Also, use AI Order Tags & Flows to segment customers based on orders and offer discounts, gift cards or other incentives for a targeted promotion.

Community engagement

As the DTC space becomes increasingly competitive, curating a shopping experience that caters to your loyal audiences becomes critical. This is where your mobile app can make a difference, especially since 81% of customers plan to shop via mobile apps during BFCM 2025. Engage with customers directly through push notifications, exclusive discounts, and one-click checkout convenience. Start a whole new shopping experience or sales channel using the Hulk Mobile App Builder app to build deeper customer relationship thereby increasing your Lifetime Value (LTV).

Chapter 2 - Pricing, discounts, and exclusive holiday offers

Avoid offering a blanket discount throughout the holiday season. To keep your customers excited and engaged, we recommend alternating your discount codes and promotions. This strategy will ensure your BFCM deals stay fresh and enticing. 

Price and promo to please 

Use wholesale pricing strategies that allow you to create targeted discounts to different customer types. Build lasting relationships with flexible net payment terms, custom shipping rules, and more during the holiday sales period.

Take advantage of Wholesale Pricing Discount B2B to reward customers who buy products in bulk.

Encourage repeat BFCM orders by making it easy for buyers to reorder past purchases. An app like WSH Order Form and Reorder makes it easy to customize quantities through intuitive ordering forms.

Pro expert tip: “Your BCFM funnel should be fortified by customized discounts and product pricing for specific (B2B) customers to build FOMO among consumers based on minimum order value and quantity.” - Seth Gold, Chief Executive Officer, Wholesale Helper

Tiered pricing psychology

Leverage volume discount with bundles to move inventory and increase average order value by combining less popular items with more popular ones. Also, include a countdown timer for flash sales to build FOMO on the time left to save on deals. According to a report by Invesp, tiered pricing strategies can increase conversion rates by up to 20%. Make them want to spend more to save more!

Hulk Volume Discount Bundles is, without a doubt, the most popular app to increase your Average Order Value (AOV).

Last chance to buy

Variety and choices make your store an inviting experience for customers. Not just in the variety of the products you sell, but the way you price, bundle, position, and discount them as well. Offering price drops to move lingering inventory that’s piling up or inventory that’s less popular boosts both sales and profitability. That’s how you turn promotions from a short-term tactic into a long-term growth strategy.

506 GetSale Bulk Discounts is one of the most prominent apps for obtaining bulk discounts directly on your PDP.

Chapter 3 - Look as professional as any leading brand to build trust

During the BFCM 2025 rush, it's crucial to make your brand’s impact positive to reinforce the value your customers are getting. Automating robust systems capable of scaling to meet demand and minimizing operational disruptions can prepare you for the upcoming Black Friday peak.

Accuracy and clarity of documents

Ensuring invoices are accurate, branded, and include essential details like return instructions and promo codes creates a cohesive customer experience that resonates with your brand with every order. 

Order Printer Pro: PDF Invoice is a top recommendation by enterprise-grade merchants like Rhode Skin.

Check out 506 EasyScan SKU & Barcode for efficient inventory management during BFCM, including scanning and printing labels, generating SKUs, and assigning barcodes.

Instant digital deliveries

Adding digital downloads to create instant revenue streams during BFCM by delivering exclusive materials immediately.

Tools like Sky Pilot - Digital Downloads can plug right into your Shopify store and handle digital deliveries immediately after purchase. You can send videos, music, e-books, podcasts, PDFs, PNGs, EMPs, and JPGs, you name it. And because digital products can be downloaded endlessly, it’s one area of inventory you never need to worry about!

Pro expert tip: “Merchants generate 40%+ of their BFCM revenue from digital products they created in just 48 hours. The key lies in positioning digital offerings as premium experiences. Customers are willing to pay full price for valuable digital content when presented correctly.” - Nejla Muslic, Product Manager, Sky Pilot

Stay ahead of your logistics

Nothing hurts like running out of your bestsellers mid-sale. In case you face inventory shortages or supply chain disruptions during BFCM, you can set up SMS and email alerts to drive your customers back to your store and get them shopping! Apps like SC Back in Stock Restock Alert make it easy to add an “Email me when available” form to out-of-stock products. 

Enrich your customers’ profiles

Build a product recommendation quiz, ideal for BFCM sales, that guides customers to suitable products and helps drive conversions and sales during the biggest shopping season of the year. Once the quiz ends, users will see the recommended product, service, or anything you want to promote, based on form responses.

Use Hulk Form Builder to create quizzes in a few minutes and collect valuable customer data.

Chapter 4 - Boost sales with upsells, guidance, and gifts

Most brands invest heavily in attracting customers and getting them to purchase, but rarely focus on the post-purchase experience. This is an opportunity to turn happy customers into happier ones while driving AOV.

Add gifts to your BFCM strategy

Instead of the usual free-gift-with-any-purchase promotions, try offering a free gift for customers who fulfill specific conditions. The larger the order value, the better the gift!

Personalize the gifting experience this BFCM season with automated triggers that make every customer feel valued. Using an app like 506 EasyGift lets you go beyond generic and offer highly curated gifts or product samples.

Strategic upsells and product recommendations turn single purchases into crazy shopping sprees. Leverage apps like Frequently Bought Together to simplify the holiday shopping experience!

Cash on delivery checkout 

When you combine intelligent product bundling with one-click upsells, you're not just selling products, you're creating an experience that keeps customers coming back for more. Releasit COD Form and Upsells app offers the most popular and efficient payment option - Cash on Delivery, converting hesitant buyers into loyal customers.

Advise customers with AI

Prioritizing customer experiences is essential for your BFCM strategy and empowering your shoppers with tailored product advice (at scale) is a proven method to significantly increase conversion rates.

Consider Aiden, an AI powered software leading to up to 50% increases in conversion with guided selling, used by several of Europe’s largest online retailers.

Chapter 5 - Delight and retain your loyal customers

88% of shoppers make decisions based on influencer recommendations. Elevate the VIP experience for your brand loyalists, especially during the holiday season, and encourage them to share the word around. 

Refer and reward 

As the festive frenzy of BFCM draws near, merchants find themselves at a crossroads. How to retain and acquire new customers during the peak season? When referral programs are a part of a brand’s toolkit, then BFCM is the right time to give exclusive rewards to your customers. You can use an app like SC Conjured Referrals to get customers to bring their friends and followers to your store.

Smart brands know that wishlist functionality is their pipeline for future guaranteed sales. Using wishlist apps, you can remind your customers to create a ‘Holiday Favorites’ or ‘Gifting Wishlist’ before the start of BFCM 2025. Set up Hulk Advanced Wishlist before the promotions roll out. 

Transparent shipping updates

Real-time order tracking isn't just about customer satisfaction, it's about reducing your support workload. When customers can see exactly where their package is at any moment, those "Where's my order?" tickets disappear, freeing up your team to focus on growth.

Hulk Order Status Tracker is a powerful solution for communicating delays and exceptions on your own website, allowing customers to re-engage with you directly and facilitating repurchases.

Action Plan

Mark these revenue-critical dates in your calendar

• Black Friday: November 28, 2025
• Small Business Saturday: November 29, 2025
• Cyber Monday: December 1, 2025
• Green Monday: December 8, 2025 (the overlooked goldmine)

BFCM 2025 isn't coming, it's here before you know it. What helped our merchants was keeping a running list of must-haves vs nice-to-haves, then actually looking up recommendations before installing anything. Way less backtracking that way.

The choice is yours: You have the strategic frameworks AND the exact tools that execute them flawlessly. 

That's exactly why we built this portfolio of mission-critical solutions giving you the unfair advantage needed to implement winning strategies. 

From app selection chaos to recurring revenue

We hope you enjoyed reading our BFCM 2025 guide and are feeling inspired to put some of these strategies into action. 

Starting the new year with a focused strategy will help you maximize growth and engagement for your Shopify store.

From everyone at Shop Circle, and all our partners and merchants, we wish you a profitable holiday season, and good luck implementing the infrastructure for your busiest season yet.  

Happy Holidays!