Black Friday as a key revenue driver and market indicator
Black Friday is becoming a global phenomenon. What started as a post-Thanksgiving tradition in the United States has exploded into a multi-day, worldwide sales frenzy. The stakes? Enormous. Think about it: Black Friday tells us how strong consumer demand is, where retailers stand in the competitive arena, and how healthy the retail sector really is.
This annual shopping spree has grown beyond anything we could have imagined. Take 2023, for example: online sales hit $9.8 billion, a 7.5% year-over-year increase. It also tells us something important: online shopping is now the main stage for Black Friday. But here’s the challenge: the digital space comes with expectations. Customers want lightning-fast transactions, smooth checkouts, and zero friction. Retailers who can’t manage these surging volumes lose big, both in revenue and trust.
For C-suite executives, the takeaway is simple. Black Friday is a litmus test. It shows who’s thriving, who’s adapting, and who’s falling behind. Retailers that invest in smart, scalable technologies can thrive.
Payment system disruptions pose big risks
When the stakes are high, even small cracks can bring everything crashing down. The surge in transactions during Black Friday tests payment systems like nothing else. And when things go wrong, the consequences are instant and unforgiving: frustrated customers, unrealized sales, and reputational damage that lingers.
Last year’s numbers say it all. During Black Friday 2023, Visa saw a 68% spike in card payment issues, as reported by Down Detector. Meanwhile, Chase Bank mistakenly declined hundreds of legitimate credit card purchases. Imagine the scenario: customers with full shopping carts at checkout, only to see their payments fail. They don’t wait around, they leave. Worse, they go straight to competitors.
For executives, the lesson is clear. Payment disruptions are not acceptable, especially during peak sales events. The solution? Redundancy and reliability. Payment infrastructure must be strong enough to absorb surges and flexible enough to switch when a provider falters.
Advanced payment technologies
In this environment, retailers need tools that perform under pressure. Payment orchestrators, such as Yuno, are a game plan that works. These platforms integrate with multiple payment providers, giving retailers the flexibility to adapt in real time.
Take smart routing, for example. If one payment provider goes down, transactions are instantly rerouted to another. No waiting, no losses, just a smooth checkout process. That’s efficiency at its best. Then there’s Monitors, a feature that raises the standard further. It works by creating custom alerts based on transaction acceptance rates, helping teams detect and resolve issues as they happen, not after the damage is done.
The outcome? Approval rates go up, transaction failures go down, and operational performance stays steady during even the biggest surges. When every second and every transaction matters, these tools make the difference between success and failure.
Fraud prevention tools are key
Black Friday is prime time for scammers. Fraud surges during these events, and it’s not hard to see why. Massive transaction volumes, distracted consumers, and merchants racing to keep up create the perfect storm for cybercriminals.
Barclays reported a 22% increase in purchase scam losses during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2022. The average loss? A shocking £970 per victim. Now imagine that multiplied across thousands of transactions. The financial and reputational cost is staggering.
This is where advanced fraud prevention tools come in. The goal is twofold: stop fraudsters without blocking genuine transactions. Payment orchestrators deliver on both fronts. When using advanced fraud detection mechanisms, they filter out the bad actors while keeping the shopping experience smooth for real customers. It’s a balancing act, but when done right, it protects both revenue and trust.
Payment orchestration for business continuity and flexibility
Disruptions happen, it’s inevitable. Networks fail. Providers have outages. Fraud rules mistakenly block legitimate transactions. The difference between thriving and failing in these moments comes down to agility. Can your systems adapt quickly, or do you grind to a halt?
Token portability is a game-changing feature that solves this problem. With token portability, merchants can switch between payment service providers (PSPs) instantly, without any interruptions. Think about recurring payments, these remain secure and intact, no matter what happens behind the scenes. Customer data flows across gateways, keeping transactions smooth and preventing downtime.
Here’s the bottom line: Payment orchestrators give retailers the tools to stay resilient. Whether it’s rerouting transactions, switching providers, or avoiding revenue loss caused by technical glitches, these systems provide stability in an unpredictable environment.
