10 UX Best Practices for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025
Survive the surge with advice that works
Shopping season is almost upon us, giving eCommerce brands the chance to make stacks of cash in the countdown to Christmas.
The biggest online shopping events are Black Friday (28 November) and Cyber Monday (1 December), when consumers flock to their favourite websites for exclusive deals and discounts.
Both days are massive sales opportunities for online retailers, especially those who offer a slick shopping experience. But if your website is clunky or difficult to navigate, you could miss out. Almost 70% of online carts are abandoned*, often for preventable reasons such as unclear pricing, missing details, or a longwinded checkout process.
During high-pressure sales events, these friction points can overwhelm your customer and drive them to a competitor.
The good news is that a handful of straightforward UX improvements can help keep people spending time and money on your site. By focusing on four key areas: findability, transparency, urgency, and efficiency, your brand can give customers the clarity and confidence they need to complete their purchase.
Here are 10 UX improvements that can mean the difference between a sale and a bounce.
Findability
If customers can't quickly find what they're looking for, they'll leave. The sheer number of offers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday means shoppers are moving fast and comparing options across multiple sites.
Strong search, intuitive navigation, and helpful fallback experiences (such as when no results are found) make it easy for them to find the right products without fuss.
- Make search think like a human
Users often don't input perfect search queries. Your site search should accommodate realistic user synonyms, alternative terminology and misspellings, particularly if your content is jargon-heavy, industry-specific, or technical.
e.g. The John Lewis site indicates when it has retrieved an alternative spelling for a user's query.
2. Turn dead ends into discovery
If your ‘no results’ page basically shrugs at people and says ‘meh’, they’ll shrug back and take their money elsewhere. So, when a user is displaying buying signals, don't show them a blank page. Instead, suggest related products, popular categories, or alternative searches to keep them browsing.
e.g. Jimmy Choo's "No Results" page offers related categories and alternative search prompts, making it more likely the shopper will find something they'll like.
Transparency
People want deals, not detective work. Make it easy for people to see any bonuses or benefits you're offering, and they'll feel more confident they're getting a steal.
3. Clearly Show Value
If products come in different sizes or bundles, display the price per unit to make comparisons easy.
e.g. The Tesco Clubcard app displays the unit cost to help users make quick, easy price comparisons.
4. Put free shipping front and centre
Free shipping is an excellent perk, so don't bury it in the fine print. Show it near the price and "Add to Cart" button, where it will encourage people to buy.
e.g. On the Temu site, free shipping options are prominently displayed throughout, including directly beneath each product.
5. Make policies easy to find
Many people review the returns policy before buying, so hiding it under a generic section forces them to spend extra time searching for it. Clearly link the returns and shipping policy in the footer, where most people expect to find it.
e.g. When users navigate to the footer of the Amazon UK site, they can quickly find visible links to shipping and return policies.
Urgency
Savvy shoppers know that the best deals don't last long. Reassuring people that they’ll get a bargain if they act now can help move them from Black Friday browsers to Black Friday buyers.
6. Show stock levels
Phrases like "Only 3 left in stock" or "Selling fast" help customers understand scarcity and creates a sense of urgency.
e.g. Charles Trywhitt add an 'In Demand' badge to their product pages, encouraging users to act more quickly to get their goodies.
7. Highlight time-limited offers
Use countdown timers to show how long Black Friday deals will last, and add clear labels such as "Limited Time Deal" to qualifying products. These cues gently nudge shoppers to get a wriggle on.
e.g. Amazon's home page displays offers with a 'Limited Time Deal' label, which helps make the purchase feel more pressing.
Efficiency
Your checkout experience can make or break a sale. Long forms, forced account creation, or missing payment options all leave customers frustrated and unlikely to proceed. Automatically applying discounts and offering flexible payment options streamlines the process and gives customers the convenience they crave.
8. Apply discounts automatically
Hunting for promo codes is a pain. Automatically apply any eligible discounts and show the new price alongside the original, struck-through amount. This makes the savings immediately clear and saves customers' time.
e.g., A user who qualifies for a Deliveroo promotion can see that it has been automatically applied and requires no further effort.
9. Lead with guest checkout
Make guest checkout the most prominent checkout option. Even people with accounts forget their passwords; in many cases, it's easier for them to check out as guests than to recover their password on their mobile.
e.g. The Pottery Barn prioritises guest checkout, making it easier for shoppers to get through the checkout process quickly.
10. Offer flexible payment options
Services like PayPal, Apple Pay, or Buy Now Pay Later make it easier for customers to pay the way they prefer. More choice means fewer abandoned carts.
e.g. Asos offer multiple third-party payment options beyond the traditional credit or debit card workflow.
Conclusion
Every second counts in the Black Friday and Cyber Monday rush. Implementing UX tweaks that make it smoother for customers to find what they want, understand offers, and move through checkout can be the difference between a successful sales event and a Black Friday flop.
We implement these simple changes for our clients every year, and they always do the business.
