Black Friday may have passed this year, but the pressure on customer experience is far from over. What was once a 24-hour mad rush, this peak trading season now stretches across November into December through to Christmas and the new year.
Retailers are now increasing their Black Friday offers across the festive season, using ongoing discounts to encourage purchases during a time when expectations are at their highest.
This shift gives businesses new opportunities to engage customers but also places pressure on them to deliver consistently throughout a longer sales period.
As the peak trading season unfolds, the real test is not how businesses coped on Black Friday itself, but how they continue to show up for customers in the weeks that follow.
Businesses recognise that to drive success during peak trading season they must find the balance between driving sales and delivering experiences that bring customers back long after the sales are over.
Customer experience as the real differentiator
When competition peaks, the experience customers receive matters more than the discounts they find. Research from Ipsos shows that 70% of consumers choose brands based on their expectation of good service. Our partners at Zendesk also reports that over half of customers will switch to a competitor after just one poor interaction.
These findings reinforce what many CX leaders already understand: lasting loyalty depends on a balance of people and technology. Automation supports efficiency, but empathy and understanding create connection. At CPM CX Centre, both play an essential role in how we help global businesses perform at their best when pressure is highest.
Scaling support when it matters most
With sales events now extending across several weeks rather than days, support teams must manage sustained demand while keeping quality high. Agility and preparation are key.
CPM have experience of growing teams by +60% across key retail, consumer electronics and eCommerce. Within six weeks, 160 multilingual agents recruited and trained, facilitating extended service hours, handling 300% more customer interactions across voice, chat and WhatsApp and generating more than €9 million in sales for our clients.
Thoughtful planning alongside intelligent automation and human expertise, keeps customers supported when it matters most.
Training, tools and teamwork
When delivering at scale, pace and detail count. Specialised training is tailored so seasonal agents can get to the core of a problem and resolve it first time.
AI-enabled workflow tools and omnichannel communication platforms like Genesys Cloud give managers full visibility across multiple channels. In turn, queries are resolved quickly and customers receive accurate updates at every stage.
Learning from insight
Each Black Friday and peak trading season provides valuable data that informs how businesses approach the year ahead.
Behind the scenes, organisations face intense pressure – not just to maximise sales but to protect margins which can have a direct impact on overall service experience offered to customers and in turn, reputation.
Through CPM Insight, our continuous improvement framework, we identify where processes need to evolve and how to manage the balancing act between short-term revenue and long-term customer loyalty.
In one recent case, a client faced supply chain bottlenecks that delayed product delivery. Operational insight identified alternative sourcing options within nearby regions, significantly reducing waiting times supported with proactive customer outreach.
In another case, analysis of sales and topic mining data helped a client identify top-performing SKUs, allowing better stock forecasting and enhanced sales opportunities for the following year.
Turning pressure into progress
Black Friday and the following peak trading season ultimately reveal how prepared a business is to scale, adapt and improve. The businesses that succeed are those that see these events not as short-term campaigns but as overarching opportunities to redefine how they operate.
This means making tough calls:
- Should you invest in additional support staff, or embrace CX workflow automation capabilities?
- Can you maintain high service standards when budgets are tight or do you need to revise KPIs to set realistic goals during peak?
- How do you ensure every customer interaction strengthens, not undermines your company reputation?
At CPM CX Centre, we help businesses navigate these challenges. Our approach combines predictive insights and technologies with proven peak management expertise.
Seasonal trading periods are ultimately a chance to strengthen partnerships, apply insight and demonstrate the value of connected, human-centred customer experience.
To learn more about how we help businesses deliver customer experiences that create lasting value, get in touch with our team.
Experience smarter. Operate better. Grow faster.
3 minute read
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