A season is not won on the day of the offer. It is won six weeks earlier, when you decide what you will sell, at what price, and whether you can actually ship it.
E-shops that “lose” a season rarely lose it for lack of traffic. They lose it to stock running out, a slow site, or orders that missed the delivery window.
Want a readiness check before the season?
Tell us what you sell and when you peak and we will send a checklist with a timeline.
The eight-week timeline
| When | What you do |
|---|---|
| 8 weeks before | Choose products and prices, order stock |
| 6 weeks before | Photography, descriptions, offer pages |
| 4 weeks before | Technical check of speed and checkout |
| 3 weeks before | Agree volumes with your courier, set delivery limits |
| 2 weeks before | Warm up your email list and your ad campaigns |
| 1 week before | Test orders, contingency plan |
| On the day | Monitoring, fast replies |
| After | Analysis, contact with new customers |
The third row is the one that gets skipped and costs most. A site that handles 200 visitors does not necessarily handle 2,000.
What goes on offer
Not whatever is left over. Three categories, with different roles:
| Role | What it is | Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Hook | Popular, recognisable, brings traffic | Large |
| Profit | Good margin, sells alongside | Small or none |
| Clearance | Stock costing you space | Whatever it takes |
The work happens in the second row. The hook brings the visit; the profit line pays for the season. If everything is deeply discounted, you work a month for nothing.
The calculation before deciding a discount is simple and unpleasant: at a 40% gross margin, a 20% discount requires double the sales for the same profit. The full working is in e-shop pricing.
Will the site hold?
Three things to check four weeks out, not the night before:
- Mobile speed. If it drags at normal traffic, it will collapse at four times that — see how to measure in website speed.
- Checkout from a phone, with a real order. Every payment method, all the way through.
- Hosting limits. Ask your provider what happens at peak and whether you can upgrade temporarily.
And one discipline that saves seasons: stop making significant site changes a week beforehand. No new features, no new plugins, no “small improvements”.
Stock and shipping
The two things that decide whether sales become satisfied customers or complaints.
Stock:
- Identify the ten products you expect to sell and make sure you hold double your forecast.
- Set up automatic hiding or flagging when something runs out, so you stop taking orders you cannot fulfil.
- Keep a small safety buffer for replacing problem deliveries.
Shipping:
- Talk to your courier about expected volume — cost ranges are in shipping and couriers.
- State realistic delivery times, not optimistic ones. At peak, everybody slips.
- Publish a clear last-order date for pre-holiday delivery, visible on every page.
That last one reduces complaints more than anything else you can do.
Want a ready checklist?
Ask us for the season checklist and we will send it adapted to your sector.
Communication: what to send and when
The highest-return channel in peak season is email — because you own it, and it does not get more expensive when competition rises.
| When | Message |
|---|---|
| 2 weeks before | “It’s coming” — what to watch for, no offer |
| 3 days before | Early access for your list |
| On the day | A clear offer, one button |
| Final hours | A closing reminder, only to those who opened |
| After | Thank you + something useful |
The second row is what pays: early access makes your list feel worth being on — and it gives you sales before advertising costs climb. List and sequence structure is in email marketing.
On advertising: start warming up two weeks earlier. A campaign launched on the day of the offer pays more and learns slowly.
What to do after the season
This is where the biggest opportunity gets lost. You acquired customers at a cost — do not let them be forgotten.
- Separate out the new customers and send them a welcome sequence.
- Record what sold and what did not, with numbers, while it is fresh.
- Note what broke: stock, delivery times, questions that kept repeating.
- Work out the real profit, not the turnover, after discounts and shipping.
- Keep the checklist for next season, corrected.
The fourth surprises people: the season with the highest turnover is not always the most profitable.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to do Black Friday?
Not necessarily. If your margin is thin or your product is premium, an alternative offer (a gift, a bundle, free shipping) protects your position.
What discount do customers expect?
In season, 20%–30% reads as normal. Below 15% rarely moves anyone, unless the product is expensive.
Should I raise prices beforehand to show a bigger discount?
No. It is misleading, it is regulated, and customers spot it with price comparison tools.
When do the searches start?
Earlier than the season itself. Offer pages should exist weeks in advance, even without prices.
What if something sells out?
Keep the page with a back-in-stock alert and suggest an alternative. Do not delete it mid-season.
The first step
Open your calendar and mark the date of your next peak. Count eight weeks back and set a reminder.
That one reminder does more work than any last-minute tactic.
Next step
Book a free 30-minute call with the team at The Dev Alley. We will look at your e-shop and build the season plan together.