How Shopify POS Turns Black Friday Crowds Into Year-Round Growth

Smart retailers know Black Friday and Cyber Monday cash is just the beginning. While others move on after the weekend, they focus on the real prize: turning those one-time holiday shoppers into customers who stick around all year.

In our recent webinar, 3 new best practices for BFCM & beyond, Shopify retail experts Nichole Dyer and Zack Lukosius revealed how leading retailers are transforming their approach to holiday sales. Rather than treating BFCM as a four-day sprint, these merchants use it strategically as a foundation for sustained growth.

This recap breaks down three high-impact, low-effort strategies that help you automatically capture customer data, keep sales flowing when lines get long, and offer the flexible fulfillment options that win today's demanding holiday shoppers. 

Turn anonymous transactions into lasting relationships

BFCM brings you 3-4x your normal foot traffic, but most retailers treat every customer like a stranger. The difference between surviving the holiday rush and thriving year-round comes down to one thing: turning seasonal shoppers into customers you can reach again and again.

The foundation of post-BFCM success starts with SMS and email capture at checkout. When customers pay with credit cards, Shopify POS automatically matches their information to Shop Pay's 150+ million buyer network and prompts opt-ins during payment—no extra steps for staff, no separate apps to manage. This means you're building your marketing list with customers who've already demonstrated purchasing intent.

But basic contact information is just the beginning. Customer metafields let you capture the data that really matters for your business, like clothing sizes, birthdays, style preferences, allergies, or pet names. These merchant-defined fields automatically flow into unified customer profiles that work across online and in-store, building richer customer profiles with every interaction. Your staff can quickly access past purchases and preferences to provide personalized service that turns a generic "Can I help you find something?" into a “I see you're training for another marathon—those running shoes you bought are due for replacement after 300 miles, and we just got the new model in your size 9.”

Retail segments takes this data one step further and automatically groups customers based on shared attributes. Create segments like “holiday gift buyers" or “high-value local customers" for targeted post-BFCM campaigns. The AI-powered insights identify retail-specific patterns you might miss otherwise.

"Every transaction builds and updates these profiles in real-time," explains Zack Lukosius. "When someone shops with you in-store, that data immediately enhances their online profile, and vice versa."

Keep revenue flowing when crowds get overwhelming

Picture this: It's 2 PM on Black Friday, your store is packed, and there's a line forming at checkout. Traditional retail says close every sale right now, in person. The smartest retailers recognize that sometimes the best approach is capturing customer interest now and completing the sale later.

Send cart solves the indecision problem perfectly. When customers are browsing but hesitant to commit, your staff can send their cart directly to their email with just a few taps. The customer gets a link to complete purchase online whenever they're ready, maintaining all in-store pricing and promotions. You've captured their interest at peak engagement—when they're physically in your store, engaged with products, and have invested time in the shopping process.

Draft orders handle complex sales and high-consideration purchases. Whether it's custom orders, bulk purchases, or situations requiring internal approval, staff can save all purchase details and create orders to be completed later. These sync instantly between POS and Admin for follow-up with invoices, email reminders, or online checkout links.

Gift cards solve multiple challenges simultaneously. They're perfect when customers want to give someone choice or found something they love but aren't ready to buy. From your perspective, gift cards increase average order value, guarantee future visits, and provide immediate cash flow during BFCM while driving traffic when things typically slow down. Shopify's built-in gift cards work across all channels with minimal setup required.

"The key thing to notice is how effortless this is for your staff," notes Zack during the demo. "They're not slowing down checkout or juggling multiple systems. Everything happens naturally as part of the sales process."

Train your team on these three "pressure release" options and create simple scripts for common scenarios. For indecisive customers: "I can send this cart to your email so you can complete the purchase whenever you're ready." For gift buyers: "Would a gift card work perfectly for this? They can choose exactly what they want."

Offer flexible fulfillment options when they matter most

Holiday shopping is fundamentally different from regular shopping. Customers are buying for multiple people, stressed about timing, and juggling specific deadlines. The best retailers understand this and offer flexible delivery and pickup options to help customers during the busy holiday season.

Local pickup gives customers complete control over timing while reducing your shipping costs and delivery pressure. Customers can buy online and pick up in-store, adding more flexibility when shipping deadlines are tight. For customers, it means avoiding delivery delays and shipping costs. For you, it means guaranteed foot traffic and additional sales opportunities.

Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS) is perfect for customers who want to shop from home but need items quickly. Instead of overwhelming shipping operations, you're using physical locations as fulfillment centers. Shopify's real-time inventory sync means when someone buys online for pickup, inventory is immediately reserved and unavailable for other sales until pickup—preventing the frustrating scenario where customers arrive for items that have been sold.

Ship to customer gives you access to your entire inventory network, not just what's in each store. When customers find something they love, but you're out of stock locally, staff can access online inventory and ship directly to them or gift recipients. This works for any reason—out of stock items, bulky products, or direct gift shipping—all built right into POS with preferred shipping methods and real-time costs.

"What makes Shopify's local pickup special is the real-time inventory visibility," explains Nichole. "Customers can see exactly what's available at which location, and you can offer pickup from multiple stores if you have them."

These BFCM best practices are just the beginning

You've got the playbook: capture customer data like a pro, keep checkout moving when your store's packed, and give shoppers the pickup and delivery options they want. These three moves can turn BFCM chaos into your biggest growth opportunity of the year.

Shopify POS makes it all work together. Track what's selling across channels, manage inventory in real-time, and give your team everything they need to create those "wow, that was easy" moments customers remember. When your entire business runs on one system, you spend less time juggling tools and more time doing what you do best: selling.

Actionable next steps

1. Enable email capture and define custom metafields that matter most for your business before BFCM begins.

2. Train your team on send cart, draft orders, and gift cards with simple scripts for common scenarios.

3. Set up all fulfillment options (local pickup, BOPIS, ship to customer) and train staff to offer them proactively.

4. Create post-BFCM marketing campaigns using the customer segments and data you'll capture during the holiday rush.