How Do I Handle Black Friday Customer Service for My Online Store?
Prepare the answers before the sale, then let AeroChat answer the flood of chats from your live store data. Black Friday questions are predictable: does the code work, is my size in stock, will it arrive by the weekend, where is my order. AeroChat checks your store, your stock and the courier for each one and replies in seconds on WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat and your marketplace chats. Your team only sees the chats that need a decision.
Why Black Friday swamps customer service
Traffic jumps for a few days and so do questions. Store owners describe the same weekend every year. Hundreds of people ask whether the discount stacks, whether a size will come back, and when the order ships. Then the “where is my order” messages start on Monday and run for two weeks. A team that answers 50 chats on a normal day suddenly faces several times that, and the slowest replies cost the most because shoppers are comparing deals across tabs.
Hiring short-term help rarely works. New staff do not know the products or the policies, and training them takes the same days you need them.
The usual fixes and their limits
- A sale FAQ page. Useful, and shoppers still message instead of reading it.
- Saved replies. Faster typing, but someone still reads every chat and looks up every order.
- An away message. It sets expectations overnight. It does not answer anything, and the queue is waiting in the morning.
- A FAQ chatbot. It answers fixed questions. It cannot check a specific order, a size or a code, which is most of what Black Friday shoppers ask.
- Extra staff. Works if they are trained in time. Most stores cannot do that for one week.
How to handle it in chat with AeroChat
Work in three stages.
- Two weeks before. Write your sale rules in one place: the dates, the codes, which items are excluded, the last order date for delivery before a holiday, and your returns window for sale items. Add them to AeroChat as knowledge.
- During the sale. AeroChat answers product, stock and code questions from your store data, checks orders by order number or phone, and sends a payment link when a shopper wants to buy in the chat. It hands complaints and exceptions to your team.
- After the sale. Order status, delivery and returns questions take over. AeroChat looks up the order and the tracking and answers in the same chat.
Customer: Does BLACK25 work on the wool coat? And will it arrive before Dec 5?
AeroChat: Yes, BLACK25 takes 25% off the wool coat until Monday (example). Size M in camel is in stock. Orders placed by Sunday ship on Tuesday and usually arrive in 3 to 5 working days (example), so it should reach you before Dec 5.
Customer: Great, and can I return it if it doesn’t fit?
AeroChat: Yes. Sale items can be returned within 30 days of delivery (example). You can start the return here in the chat.
Copy this into AeroChat
During our Black Friday sale, follow these steps.
- When someone asks about a discount code, check our sale rules and say whether it applies to that item and until when.
- When someone asks about a product or size, check live stock in our store before answering.
- When someone asks if an order will arrive by a date, compare it with our last order date for holiday delivery, Dec 18 (example), and answer plainly.
- When someone asks where their order is, ask for the order number or phone number, look up the order and the tracking, and give the status.
- If someone wants to buy in the chat, send a payment link for the item and size they chose.
- If someone complains about a wrong, damaged or late order, collect the order number and a photo and hand the chat to our team.
Never invent a discount or promise a delivery date the courier has not given. Reply in the customer’s language.
Replace the dates and the code with your own sale rules before you paste it.
What to connect
- Your store. Shopify, WooCommerce and Wix are built in. AeroChat reads products, stock and orders.
- Your channels. WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, web chat, plus Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop buyer chat if you sell there.
- Payments and couriers. Airwallex is built in for payment links. Couriers and shipping tools with a public API connect for tracking.
Questions
When should I set this up?
At least two weeks before the sale. That leaves time to connect WhatsApp, add your sale rules, and test the answers with your own number. Black Friday 2026 falls on November 27.
Can AeroChat tell customers about the sale on WhatsApp?
Yes, with an approved marketing template sent to customers who opted in. See WhatsApp broadcasts and the festive sale announcement template.
What about the order status questions after the sale?
AeroChat looks up the order and the tracking and replies in the chat. See order status in chat.
Is there a longer guide to peak season?
Yes. Peak season customer service for 11.11, 12.12 and Black Friday covers planning across all three.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
Get through Black Friday without a backlog
Add your sale rules, connect your store and WhatsApp, and test the answers before the first order comes in.
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed.
On Shopify? Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store.