Black Friday AI checklist for Shopify stores (BFCM 2026)

By Nov 1: decide the offer

• Offer chosen with the numbers: headline offer, exclusions, VIP perk
• Stock check on the products you'll push; reorder anything that could sell out
• EU stores: note each discounted product's lowest price in the 30 days before the sale
• Holiday carrier cut-off dates collected for every region you ship to

Here is my product list with price, unit cost and shipping cost per order [paste or upload]. My payment fees are [X]% and my ad cost per order is about [Y]. For 15% off, 20% off, 30% off and free shipping, show the margin per order for each product and how many extra units I'd need to sell just to break even. Flag products I should exclude. Don't predict sales.

By Nov 8: plan the calendar

• Email and SMS calendar built
• Sign-up form or pop-up for an early-access list live on the site
• Warm-up emails scheduled to engaged subscribers

Build a day-by-day email and SMS calendar from Nov 9 to Dec 7 for my store. Offer: [offer]. Segments: VIP / engaged / everyone else / past buyers. For each send give date, segment, channel, goal and a one-line idea. Only text people who opted in to SMS. Output as a table I can paste into a spreadsheet.

By Nov 15: write everything

• All BFCM emails and texts written and loaded
• Sale landing page, announcement bars, product promo blocks and FAQ drafted
• Support macros loaded into your help desk

Here are 3 emails I've sent before [paste]. Learn my tone first and describe it in 3 bullets. Then write the Black Friday launch email: 3 subject lines, a preheader, the body and one button. Then an SMS under 160 characters, with the character count. Leave anything you don't know as [ADD]. Don't invent reviews, stock levels or deadlines.

By Nov 20: test

• Discounts created with start and end times in the store's timezone
• Real test orders: the discount applies, combines (or doesn't) as planned, the shipping threshold works
• Emails tested on mobile; links tracked; buyers suppressed from "sale" sends
• Site speed checked on mobile for the sale page

Nov 24 to Dec 1: run

• Morning check each day: orders, stock, discount working, support queue
• Swap the announcement bar and hero on schedule (before, during, last day)
• Turn off the sale exactly when you said; update the bar, hero and FAQ

Write help-desk macros for my store for the holiday rush: where is my order, delayed parcel, discount code not working, price adjustment request, return request, damaged item, gift order. Use my policies: [paste shipping and returns policy]. Friendly, short, and never promise a delivery date I haven't given you.

Dec 1 to Jan 31: keep the new customers

• Thank-you email, review requests, cross-sells, shipping cut-off reminder, January win-back
• Lessons-learned page filled in within a week

Pricing rules to check

EU stores: an announced price reduction has to reference your lowest price in the 30 days before the discount (EU Price Indication Directive, Art. 6a). Rules on former prices and urgency claims differ in the US and UK, so check the rules where you sell. This checklist isn't legal advice.

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