5 Things DTC Brands Must Do Before Black Friday 2025

Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) remain the most critical sales moments of Q4 for DTC brands. According to Adobe Analytics, in 2024, U.S. shoppers spent $41.1B billion online in a single day, up 8.2% from the year before. That’s $15.8 million spent every minute during peak hours.

Before kicking off your Black Friday 2025, the best DTC founders heading into the online sales frenzy aren’t just great marketers prepping for sales. They're disciplined planners with a Black Friday ecommerce strategy locked in place, capital ready to deploy, systems aligned, and suppliers on deck before and after the rush to move faster than demand. 

What the Smartest DTC Brands Are Doing Now

The last thing brands want to run into this BFCM season is fulfillment issues. Stock outs, delayed shipments, or missing items can derail sales and kill momentum before it even takes off. Effective ecommerce Black Friday planning can be the make-or-break factor in ecommerce growth for DTC brands this coming season. 

Here are five things the most prepared ecommerce operators are doing right now to get ready for BFCM 2025.

1. Lock in Inventory Sooner Than You Think

In today’s ecommerce climate, freight and supplier timelines are unpredictable. The wake of tariffs left many founders unsure about shipping timelines and the best founders pivoted their ecommerce growth strategies to be proactive rather than reactive. The same mindset goes for BFCM. Ecommerce brands prepping for sale surges need to secure purchase orders early with built in buffer time for delays. 

A staggering 33% of U.S. businesses still experience supply chain delays due to ongoing global disruptions, leaving sales on the table from missed orders and damaging customer loyalty. Brands that get a jump on inventory planning for Black Friday and front-load their purchases stay ahead of competitors still betting on one-time deliveries. With flexible funding partners like Clearco, founders can fund POs early so products hit shelves right on time, pulling ahead while others wait for delayed shipments.

2. Forecast Spend Across Channels. Then Stress-Test It.

When it comes to launching promotions during Q4, costs skyrocket fast. Heading into Black Friday 2025, total ad spend is projected to hit between $400–$450 million, with ad spend jumping 30% during the peak shopping period. To beat out the competition, DTC ecommerce brands can easily find themselves in a bidding war, overconfident their ROAS will deliver. Operators should test these cost per acquisition (CPA) assumptions early before getting in over their heads by budgeting in wiggle room to stay aggressive without overextending. 

A smart way to approach this Black Friday ecommerce strategy is to break down your paid, owned, and retention channel budgets separately. This gives founders a clear picture of where ad spend is going and helps track returns in real time.

3. Audit Your Tech Stack for Checkout and Conversion Leaks

No brand wants to spend 3x on ads just to lose shoppers at checkout. With the majority of BFCM sales happening online, every second lagged or broken link is money off the table. Good marketing can drive traffic to your site, but technical failures can kill that momentum just as fast. 

To prepare your ecommerce site for BFCM, brands should consider conducting conversion rate optimization (CRO) sweep across every touchpoint a customer will have at this upcoming BFCM. Up to 22% of online shoppers in the US have abandoned an order all together due to lengthy and complicated checkout processes. 

From mobile UX and site speed, cart recovery automations, email and SMS triggers, and upsell or bundle flows at checkout, every touchpoint in the customer journey is another opportunity to increase conversion, maximize order value, and turn a one-time shopper into a repeat customer. 

4. Plan for Flexible Cash Flow, Not Just “Big” Sales

Every year brands cash in big with revenue spikes from BFCM, but expenses don’t stop at the checkout. Costs can pile up weeks after BFCM ends with returns, restocks, and ad bills from preparation for the peak period landing. Rigid funding models that have founders waiting on fixed payment terms and funding schedules can choke a brand of liquidity just when it’s needed most. In order to continue scaling, founders need capital access for Black Friday campaigns that flexes with their revenue and sales velocity. 

Flexible capital providers like Clearco offer revenue-based funding options with capped, weekly remittances that adjust to your sales cycle. This keeps your brand liquid through the Q4 peak and beyond  Helping you sustain momentum, not stall it, long after BFCM ends.

5. Have a Post-BFCM Plan Before It’s Over

The smartest DTC brands don’t treat the wind down of BFCM as the closing of a chapter, they use it to springboard into Q1. Last year Shopify reported that more than 67,000 merchants had their highest-selling day ever over BFCM. To keep this momentum alive, brands need to double down on retargeting holiday buyers, planning New Year campaigns, and funding early for 2026 inventory before rates begin to climb. 

BFCM is more than a sales event, it’s a data goldmine for quickly scaling brands. The insights from Black Friday 2025 can help founders forecast demand, reengage shoppers, and stay top of mind with personalized marketing campaigns. A strong post-Black Friday retention strategy, paired with BFCM performance data, becomes a founder’s blueprint for sustained growth year after year.

Clearco Helps Founders Stay Ahead of the Rush

Black Friday isn’t just a sales event, it’s a stress test, and the winning brands that come out on top will be the ones who turn the chaos into momentum. With proper planning and the right capital partner, DTC ecommerce brands fighting for attention at this BFCM are the ones who act early, spend smarter and scale strategically. 

‍Clearco gives brands capital access to meet demand when it lands, without giving up equity or being constrained to rigid terms. Whether it’s funding ad spend, pre-ordering inventory, or bridging post-BFCM expenses, we move in step with your brand, keeping pace at every surge.