Is it too late for businesses to prepare for Black Friday?

It’s a stretch of weeks where demand peaks, customer expectations skyrocket, and technology platforms are tested to their limits.

While it might sound harsh, if you haven’t already started preparing your systems and strategy for Black Friday, it’s probably too late. Although some successful businesses plan months in advance, there is still time to stress-test systems, optimising customer journeys, and ensuring infrastructure can cope with dramatic spikes in traffic. Campaigns and offers can still be finalised and built in time.

Pressure on current technology.

Many businesses already feel their technology straining under everyday demand. Add in the surge of seasonal traffic, and cracks can quickly become chasms.

Sites that load slowly or crash under pressure lose customers instantly.
Legacy systems often make it challenging to roll out new offers or bundles quickly, limiting your ability to respond to competitors.
Customers expect smooth journeys across mobile, desktop, and in-store, but older systems rarely deliver true omnichannel consistency.
With rigid platforms, experimentation (whether that’s A/B testing, launching new products, or introducing new payment options) is often off the table.

The holiday period magnifies these issues. Shoppers are less patient, competitors are more aggressive, and a single poor experience can mean a lost customer for life.

Is this season your wake-up call?

If you’re entering peak season knowing your tech stack isn’t fit for purpose, the reality is that it’s probably now too late to overhaul things for this year’s Black Friday rush. But that doesn’t mean you should put the problem off until next autumn.

Why composable should be on your radar?

Composable systems allow you to choose best-in-class tools and integrate them seamlessly.

Key advantages include:

Scalability: Easily add or swap components as your needs evolve.
Agility: Launch campaigns, promotions, and new experiences faster.
Resilience: If one service fails, the entire platform doesn’t go down with it.
Customer focus: Build tailored experiences across every channel.

For retailers, this means you can prepare for seasonal spikes You can evolve step by step, building resilience into your systems while maintaining the flexibility to adapt.

Working with the systems you have.

While large-scale change isn’t realistic before this year’s Black Friday, there are steps you can take to maximise performance in the short term:

Audit your existing infrastructure for weak spots.
Stress-test your systems under simulated traffic loads.
Optimise page load speeds and checkout flows.
Ensure you pricing is competitive to drive demand.
Deliver engaging campaigns that operate effectively across channels.
Ensure clear communication between your tech and commercial teams.

At the same time, use this period as a learning opportunity. Document the pain points as they happen. Capture the data that shows where you lost sales or customer satisfaction dipped. These insights will be invaluable when building your case for change in 2026.

Planning ahead.

The businesses that thrive during peak season are:

The ones whose technology doesn’t break under pressure.
Whose teams can move fast.
Whose customer experiences are seamless.
Whose campaigns and pricing meet customer expectations.

If your current systems leave you feeling nervous as peak season approaches, it’s time to start the conversation about what comes next.

Composable might not solve this year’s challenges, but it could put you in a stronger position for 2026 and beyond.