Industry experts explore the impact of Black Friday on cyber resilience and the measures that must be in place to prevent an overload of cyber-attacks.
As the countdown to Black Friday begins, the retail landscape is once again gearing up for one of its most intense trading periods. Yet the event has evolved beyond a day of discounts for shoppers, and it now serves as a test for resilience.
Moving effortlessly between digital and physical channels, consumers have become more connected and demanding than ever before.
For retailers, operational resilience is essential. From workforce coordination to inventory management and the ability to withstand potential cyber-attacks, every link in the retail chain will be tested during the peak season.
A true stress test for retail systems
This year, UK shoppers are expected to spend nearly £4 billion over the Black Friday weekend – a lucrative opportunity for retailers but also a logistical nightmare.
Trevor Jordaan, Senior Industry Strategies Director at Blue Yonder, said: “Inflation, tighter budgets and shifting loyalties have made demand far harder to predict. 77% of UK consumers say inflation is affecting how they buy, 35% are switching to value brands, and almost one in five will only purchase when discounts appear.” This volatility, Jordaan warns, “challenges even the most mature operations.”
The stress placed on supply chains means visibility and coordination become imperative. Jordaan explains that “a single disconnect between forecasting, fulfilment or returns can ripple through margins and customer experience alike.”
Synchronisation within one cognitive ecosystem is the key to thriving during Black Friday.
Jordaan explained: “Black Friday doesn’t reward those who sell the most – it rewards those who orchestrate the best. Success depends on visibility, agility and the courage to plan intelligently in an unpredictable world.”
However, an influx of customers isn’t the only stress retail systems are facing on Black Friday. Patrick Meehan, Senior Sales & Solutions Engineer at HackerOne, warns that attacks are now carefully timed to coincide with such events. “Cybercriminals have shown a clear pattern of timing attacks to coincide with major retail events, preying on opportunities when organisations are under peak operational pressure and response teams are stretched thin,” he stated.
According to HackerOne’s latest report, vulnerability disclosures in the retail sector have increased by 42% year-over-year, with the average breach costing $3.54 million.
To mitigate risk, Meehan urges businesses to prioritise security. He gives the following advice: “Ahead of the peak season, retailers need to double down on offensive security practices, real-time system monitoring and rigorous third-party risk management.”
Staffing smart: Empowering the frontline
The human workforce keeps retail running, and as demand surges, workforces must be prepared to meet the increased demand.
Mark Williams, Managing Director EMEA at WorkJam, says staffing remains one of the biggest challenges of the Black Friday period: “To manage the increased workload, more employees are needed on shift to maintain efficient operations and deliver excellent customer service.”
Flexibility is the key to success, Williams believes. “Smart workforce management tools make scheduling simple and adaptable,” he said. “Technology that enables self-service scheduling allows employees to choose shifts that suit their availability, while ensuring staffing levels meet business needs.”
He added: “An ‘Open Shift Marketplace’ can go even further by tailoring available shifts to workers’ skills, preferences, and locations, helping nearby stores share staff quickly and efficiently. With these tools and technologies in place, retailers can approach Black Friday with confidence.”
The edge advantage: Staying always-on
The continued rise of online shopping intensifies the pressure on retailers to perform. Bruce Kornfeld, Chief Product Officer at StorMagic, warns that downtime during peak hours can be catastrophic.
Research from 2024 indicates that online transactions around Black Friday resulted in cart sizes four times larger than those made in person. “To avoid this, retailers are increasingly implementing hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), which combines storage, computing and networking into a single system on-site,” Kornfeld stated.
By keeping applications and data local, HCI protects stores from the “Black Friday cloud risk” of internet or cloud outages. These systems are often built with robust security in mind, offering integrated encryption, authentication, and compliance features for protection against holiday-season cyber threats.
Securing the customer experience
Customer experience isn’t just about convenience; it’s also about trust. As many shoppers flood websites and contact centres in search of the best deals, retailers must be prepared to respond fast and efficiently.
Richard Buxton, Technology Director for Collaboration at Node4, believes that integrated CRM and contact centre solutions are key to meeting those expectations: “An AI-augmented, integrated CRM and contact centre solution gives customer service agents instant access to customer information and summaries of prior service interactions, so they don’t have to start from scratch.”
Beyond solving problems in the moment, these systems provide long-term insights, which enable process improvements for future peak periods too. Buxton added: “A unified solution also allows retailers to monitor call performance, run analysis and identify common customer pain points.”
Keeping all systems unified throughout the customer journey is an imperative when offering a seamless experience. Abdelkader Keddari, VP Global Strategic Solutions at Fluent Commerce, echoed Buxton’s sentiment: “Today’s shoppers move seamlessly across channels, from online to store to emerging agent-driven shopping, often within the same transaction. This creates a need for systems that can recognise and respond in real time.”
A consistent experience is a smooth experience, Keddari said: “The winners will be those who can deliver consistency, innovation at scale and win consumer trust.”
In an era defined by rapid change, Black Friday is more than a sales event. It’s a live experiment in resilience, innovation, and trust. From resilient infrastructure and adaptive staffing to sustainable fulfilment and secure operations, retailers need rigorous planning to thrive during this year’s peak season.
