A Black Friday has ceased to be just a promotional event concentrated at the end of November and has become a continuous operation of planning, technology and logistics. For retail, success on this date depends less on aggressive discounts and more on the ability to prepare infrastructure, digital experience and operation in advance.
The movement gains strength at a time when the Brazilian consumer is more willing to buy, but also more demanding. Data presented by Google Cloud during the release of the sixth edition of the FlashBlack study shows that 60% of Brazilians intend to buy some product on Black Friday and 48% begin researching prices and planning purchases months before the official date.
This change in behavior reinforces the need for anticipation on the part of retailers. According to Carol Hudson, head of retail at Google Cloud, Black Friday needs to be treated like Carnival: when one edition ends, planning for the next one begins immediately.
IA becomes a competitive challenge
The study evaluated the 35 main e-commerce sites in Brazil during the last Black Friday and showed that Artificial Intelligence has already ceased to be a trend and has become a competitive advantage in retail. Despite this, the adoption of the technology is still limited in the country.
According to Alessandro Luz, senior marketing manager at Google Cloud Brazil, consumers have already migrated from the traditional logic of keyword searches to more natural and conversational interactions.
The problem is that a large part of the retail sector has not yet been able to keep up with this transformation. The research revealed that none of the 35 e-commerce sites analyzed offered multimodal searches capable of combining text and image simultaneously.
Among the 29 chatbots evaluated, only seven were able to respond to multimodal interactions. In addition, although 23 retailers recommended products based on previous searches performed on the website or app, only ten presented personalized results according to the consumer’s profile. Another point raised by the study is the limitation of semantic searches.
In 19 of the e-commerce sites analyzed, the systems failed to interpret searches made by context or consumer need, requiring the exact product name. “The bots still treat frustration as a command error. Few can understand the context, apologize, or forward to human support,” says Luz.
Basic problems compromise sales
Despite the advancement of digital tools, the survey showed that many retailers continue to face difficulties in issues considered basic to the online shopping experience. Of the e-commerce sites evaluated, ten presented timeout errors during Black Friday.
In 33 of them, the main content of the page did not load within the ideal time of up to 2.5 seconds. According to Alessandro Luz, the impact falls directly on conversion. “When the site does not load within 20 seconds, it’s as if the store doors are closed to the consumer,” he explains.
The study also identified problems during the purchase journey. Among the retailers analyzed, 18 presented failures during checkout process and 23 negatively impacted user navigation with unexpected layout changes, such as buttons that change position or pages that reorganize themselves while the consumer tries to complete the purchase.
The results reinforce that planning for Black Friday goes beyond promotional campaigns and needs to involve technological infrastructure, operational stability, and digital experience.
Operational planning takes center stage
For industry experts, preparation for Black Friday should begin long before the campaign goes live. Depending on the complexity of the solutions adopted, adjustments to infrastructure, system integration, and technology implementation can take months.
“If it involves infrastructure and more complex projects, the retailer needs to start this process much earlier. Depending on the solution, implementation is faster, but planning is essential,” says Luz. In addition to technology, other operational pillars have also gained prominence in preparing for the date.
Getnet highlights that the increased flow of access and transactions requires special attention to e-commerce performance, payment diversity, and logistics.
Among the company’s recommendations is the need to ensure that websites are responsive and prepared for the high volume of access via mobile devices, which today account for a large part of online purchases.
Security has also become a priority. Anti-fraud tools and real-time monitoring help protect both consumers and retailers’ operations during peak periods.
Another important point is the expansion of payment options. Cards, Pix (Brazil’s instant payment system), digital wallets, and payment links are already part of consumer expectations and can directly impact sales conversion.
Integration and logistics are crucial
Integration between orders, payments, and inventory emerges as another critical factor in avoiding operational problems during Black Friday. According to Getnet, gathering all information on a centralized platform reduces errors such as duplicate charges, stockouts, and delays in service.
Logistics also remains one of the main challenges of the event. Consumers are more sensitive to delivery times and transparency regarding shipping, especially in higher-value categories such as home appliances and electronics. Therefore, offering real-time shipping cost calculation and express delivery options can become an important competitive advantage.
