Peak season can feel like a roller coaster. Exciting, chaotic, and full of huge opportunities if you know how to ride the momentum. With BFCM traffic climbing every year, shoppers are moving faster, expectations are higher, and one small hiccup in the customer journey can cost a sale.
The good news? You don’t need to overhaul your entire operation to make the most of it. You just need the right mix of smart tools, smooth payment experiences, and great customer support.
In a recent fireside chat, Tshili Khupe (VP of Revenue at LTVplus) and Atiya Brown (Growth Executive at LTVplus) with guest speakers Greg Bauman (Sr. Strategic Partnerships at Kustomer) and Lissa Fryxell (Channel Partnerships Director at Easy Pay Direct) shared the strategies that today’s fastest-growing brands use to maximize conversions, reduce friction, and build loyalty during Black Friday-Cyber Monday.
From blending AI with human expertise to optimizing payments and returns, their insights reveal exactly how businesses can stay resilient and profitable during the most intense shopping season of the year.
You can watch the full fireside chat here. Meanwhile, we’ve summarized the key points here.
Key point #1: Here’s how AI levels up your BFCM preparedness
BFCM pushes eCommerce systems to their limits, but AI can play a transformative role in managing the surge. Instead of overwhelming your support team, Atiya shared that AI-powered tools can absorb the bulk of repetitive, high-volume inquiries. These can be everything from order status checks to basic product questions.
This frees up human agents to focus on what really matters during the busiest time of the year:
- High-value customers or first-time shoppers
- Emotionally charged interactions
- Complex interactions that require critical judgment
- Customers who need personalized guidance
Blending automation and human support for a high-impact hybrid model
Once AI handles the repetitive work, you can build a hybrid support system that’s fast, responsive, and personalized. Here are some ways to divide and conquer support tasks:
Let automation handle:
- Routing order updates
- Return and exchange initiation
- Common FAQs
Let human agents handle:
- Frustrated or confused customers
- Nuanced issues that require empathy and reassurance
“Automation gets you to the door, human agents then open that door.”—Atiya Brown
A hybrid experience delivers the best of both worlds: speed at scale with personal care where it counts. With support running smoothly, the next major opportunity for boosting revenue lies in the checkout experience.
Key point #2: A smooth checkout experience drives more conversions
Even the best marketing and support efforts fall apart if checkout is clunky. Greg pointed out how brands often obsess over collecting more data, but that focus can unintentionally create more steps, more forms, and more hesitation. The smoother the checkout experience, the higher the conversion rate. Especially during peak periods.
The goal is simple: make buying effortless.
Here’s a real-world example from Lissa: Customers increasingly use ChatGPT to explore products. If the AI pulls up a product, the user clicks, and lands directly on that product’s checkout page. You’ve just reduced the customer journey to a few effortless steps.
Strategies for creating a truly seamless checkout
Delivering this kind of frictionless experience depends heavily on the partners behind your payment flow. Choosing the right payment processor ensures your business won’t get slowed down or blocked when traffic peaks.
Here are some quick guidelines when choosing your payment processor:
- Select a payment processor that aligns with your business model
- Work with providers that offer full underwriting to avoid disruptions
- Choose a payment partner that understands your brand, your audience, and your risk profile
- Ensure good “Know Your Customer” practices so your provider can support you during high-volume periods
Smart ways to prevent and manage chargebacks
Chargebacks often stem from unclear communication. Before disputes even happen, clear information helps ensure customers choose to reach out to you and not their bank. Start with three basics:
- Make your return policy easy to find and simple to understand.
- Display your customer service number clearly so customer can reach you quickly
- Tell customers exactly what their return or exchange options are (refunds, exchanges, store credit)
Key point #3: No eCommerce store looks forward to returns, but these returns can be opportunities.
Returns don’t have to be the end of a customer relationship. With the right approach, Greg assured that returns can become retention and upsell opportunities. Here are some key principles you can follow when handling returns:
- Learn why a customer is returning something as it helps you offer the right alternatives or incentives.
- Turn returns into brand moments. Suggest exchanges, offer store credit bonuses, or personalize solutions that show you care.
- Most importantly, move quickly. Slow refunds damage trust and suppress repeat purchases.
“If it takes a week or longer to get a return or refund, the likelihood of a customer coming back, especially for a first-time customer, will be very low.” —Greg Bauman
Prevention is always better than cure. So here are some quick tips on how reduce your BFCM returns:
- Build transparent return and refund policies. Don’t forget to communicate policies across all channels.
- Set up proactive customer support teams.
- Focus on shipping accuracy and work with reliable fulfillment partners
- Invest in accurate product descriptions and images.
- Offer personalization to reduce returns. Streamline the return process for better customer satisfaction.
Key point #4: It’s crucial to cultivate customer loyalty throughout the entire journey
Loyalty is built across every touchpoint, not just a checkout. AI can quietly elevate this journey by helping your team respond smarter and faster.
- AI flags high-value customers instantly so agents can prioritize their concerns
- It surfaces intelligent cross-sell or upsell recommendations tailored to each shopper
- It helps your team act proactively, solving issues before they escalate
Best billing practices to support loyalty
Billing might seem like a backend function but it directly affects how much trust customers place in your brand, especially during peak season. A few smart adjustments can significantly improve the customer experience and reduce churn.
- Bill subscribers only when the product ships, not at sign-up. This avoids early charges that create frustration and helps build trust with new customers.
- Choose a billing or payment provider who truly understands your business. A partner familiar with your industry and holiday surge patterns can better support high-volume periods, prevent unnecessary holds, and reduce false declines.
- Use proactive billing communication. Simple reminders about renewals, shipping timelines, or backorders help set expectations and prevent surprises that lead to disputes or cancellations.
Turn peak season pressure into peak performance
Winning BFCM is all about mastering the details across AI, payments, support, and customer experience. Ultimately, brands can unlock more revenue while building long-term loyalty by blending automation with human insight, removing friction at checkout, and strengthening the post-purchase journey.
Want to hear the full conversation? Watch the full fireside chat here.
