For Shopify independent store sellers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) remain among the most critical sales events of the year.

During the 2025 BFCM period, Shopify merchants generated $14.6 billion in global sales—a 27% year-over-year increase—with over 81 million consumers making purchases. Additionally, more than 94,900 merchants achieved their highest single-day sales figures during this time.

As we look toward 2026, Shopify’s recommendations for BFCM preparation clearly go beyond simply running a single promotional event.

On August 28, Shopify released its 2026 BFCM preparation checklist, incorporating elements such as offer design, marketing, website and checkout testing, fulfillment, customer service, returns, and post-holiday customer retention into the peak season strategy. Shopify also emphasized that BFCM is just one part of the broader holiday shopping season, urging merchants to begin preparations well in advance.

In other words, even before Black Friday arrives, the work sellers truly need to do has already begun.

For Shopify sellers targeting the US and UK markets, returns deserve a place in peak season planning alongside product selection, discounts, and marketing. After all, a surge in orders inevitably means that returned items will require receiving, inspection, and processing.

Why should Shopify sellers start preparing for BFCM now, before the event actually arrives?

When many sellers think of Black Friday, their first reactions are often:

What discounts should I offer?

Which products should I promote?

How much should I budget for ads?

How can I boost conversion rates?

These are, of course, vital components of peak season preparation.

However, in its 2026 BFCM checklist, Shopify has expanded the scope of preparation to include website performance, the checkout process, logistics and fulfillment, customer support, and returns management.

The reason is simple: once Black Friday actually arrives, there is little room for last-minute adjustments. Promotional strategies require advance testing, flagship products must be selected early, websites and payment flows need prior verification, logistics and inventory require planning, and customer service teams must be ready for a spike in order volume.

This is especially true for fulfillment and returns. If order volumes surge during the big sale, sellers must consider:

Can current logistics handle the increased volume?

Is inventory sufficient?

Can delivery promises be kept? Where should consumers send their returns?

Who receives and inspects the returned items?

Therefore, preparation for BFCM shouldn't start on Black Friday itself; instead, potential issues should be resolved before the surge in orders hits.

Shopify Sellers Preparing for BFCM: Look Beyond Just "How to Sell"

When preparing for BFCM, many sellers spend a great deal of time figuring out how to generate more orders but often overlook the post-sales pressure that follows order fulfillment.

However, as order volumes rise, the demand for post-sales support tends to increase in tandem. Shopify explicitly includes returns in its peak season preparation checklist and advises sellers to clearly define and display their return policies while planning their return management strategies in advance.

Thus, rather than waiting until BFCM concludes to handle returns, it is far better to map out the entire returns process before the peak season begins.

U-Speed’s US return warehouse offers sellers a range of services, including a local US return address, receipt of returns, product quality inspection, photo reporting, repair and refurbishment, repackaging, relabeling, and processing for resale.

Eligible items can re-enter the sales cycle after inspection and processing, thereby minimizing the impact of idle inventory or direct financial losses associated with returns.

Consequently, rather than waiting until after BFCM to deal with returns, it is best to have a local US returns process in place before the peak season kicks off.

For independent store sellers targeting the UK market—specifically those selling apparel, footwear, and headwear—the process of handling returns differs slightly. When a consumer returns an item, a seller needs to look beyond mere receipt of the package. Key considerations include: Are there stains? Are there signs of wear? Is ironing required? Is the packaging intact? Is the item suitable for resale?

U-Speed’s UK returns warehouse specializes in return-related services. For footwear, apparel, and headwear, it offers receiving, ironing, quality inspection, folding, repacking, labeling/re-labeling, and—for eligible items—re-listing for sale.

By handling the influx of returns for clothing, footwear, and headwear locally in the UK following BFCM (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), sellers can avoid the extra costs and time associated with shipping returns back to their home country.

You can prepare your returns strategy before BFCM even begins.

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday still some time away, Shopify sellers should take this opportunity to review the following:

Which products were your best sellers during last year's BFCM?

Have you finalized your key products and inventory levels for this year?

Have you tested your website, checkout process, and promotional offers?

Is your logistics and fulfillment capacity sufficient for the peak season?

Have you confirmed return addresses and processing plans for the US and UK?

While your marketing strategy determines the volume of orders you receive, fulfillment and after-sales service determine whether those orders can be successfully completed.

BFCM is not limited to the day of Black Friday itself, nor does it end the moment a product is shipped. For Shopify sellers, planning return processing strategies for the US and UK now ensures a smoother, more composed response to peak-season order volumes and the inevitable requests for returns and exchanges.