Industry experts examine the impact of Black Friday on cyber resilience and the measures that need to be put in place to prevent cyber-attack overload.
As the countdown to Black Friday begins, the retail industry is once again gearing up for one of its most intense trading periods. But the event has evolved beyond just a discount for shoppers, and now serves as a test of resilience.
Consumers are more connected and demanding than ever, with the ability to easily move between digital and physical channels.
For retailers, operational resiliency is essential. Every link in the retail chain is tested during peak season, from employee coordination to inventory management to the ability to withstand potential cyber-attacks.
True stress testing for retail systems
This year, British shoppers are expected to spend nearly £4 billion over the Black Friday weekend, making it a lucrative opportunity for retailers but also a logistical nightmare.
Trevor Jordaan, senior industrial strategy director at Blue Yonder, said: “Inflation, tightening budgets and changing loyalty habits are making demand much more difficult to predict. 77% of UK consumers say inflation has affected the way they buy, 35% have switched to value brands and almost one in five say they will only buy if they see a discount.” This instability “makes even the most mature business operations difficult,” Jordaan warns.
Stressed supply chains mean visibility and coordination are essential. “One disconnect between forecasting, fulfillment, and returns can have ripple effects on profits and customer experience alike,” Jordaan explains.
Synchronization within one cognitive ecosystem is the key to thriving during Black Friday.
Jordaan explained, “Rather than rewarding those who sell the most, Black Friday rewards those who coordinate the best. Success depends on visibility, agility, and the courage to plan wisely in an unpredictable world.”
But the influx of customers isn’t the only stress retail systems face on Black Friday. Patrick Meehan, senior sales and solutions engineer at HackerOne, warned 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 organizations are under the greatest operational pressure and response teams are stretched thin,” he said.
According to HackerOne’s latest report, vulnerability disclosures in the retail industry are up 42% year-over-year, with an average breach cost of $3.54 million.
To reduce risk, Meehan recommends businesses prioritize security. He advises: “Ahead of peak season, retailers must redouble their aggressive security measures, real-time system monitoring, and rigorous third-party risk management.”
Smart staffing: Empowering the front line
The human workforce keeps retail businesses running, and as demand soars, the workforce must be prepared to meet the growing demand.
Mark Williams, EMEA managing director at WorkJam, said staffing remained one of the biggest challenges during the Black Friday period. “To cope with the increased workload, we need to put more employees on shifts to maintain efficient operations and provide excellent customer service.”
Williams believes flexibility is the key to success. “Smart workforce management tools make scheduling simple and adaptable,” he said. “Technology that enables self-service scheduling allows employees to choose shifts based on their availability, while ensuring staffing levels meet business needs.”
He added, “‘Open Shift Marketplace’ goes a step further by tailoring available shifts to employee skills, preferences and location, allowing nearby stores to share staff quickly and efficiently. With these tools and technologies in place, retailers can face Black Friday with confidence.”
Edge advantage: Stay connected
The continued rise in online shopping is increasing performance pressure on retailers. Bruce Kornfeld, chief product officer at StorMagic, warns that downtime during peak periods can be catastrophic.
A 2024 study found that cart sizes for online transactions around Black Friday were four times larger than for in-person transactions. “To avoid this, retailers are increasingly deploying hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI), which combines storage, compute, and networking into a single system onsite,” Kornfeld said.
By keeping applications and data local, HCI protects stores from “Black Friday cloud risk” due to internet or cloud outages. These systems are often built with robust security in mind, offering integrated encryption, authentication, and compliance features to protect against holiday cyber threats.
Ensuring customer experience
Customer experience isn’t just about convenience. It’s also about trust. As more shoppers flock to websites and contact centers in search of the best deals, retailers need to be prepared to respond quickly and efficiently.
Richard Buxton, Technology Director of Collaboration at Node4, believes integrated CRM and contact center solutions are key to meeting these expectations. “An integrated CRM and contact center solution powered by AI gives customer service agents instant access to customer information and a summary of previous service interactions, eliminating the need to start from scratch.”
These systems not only solve current problems, but also provide long-term insights and allow process improvements for future peak periods. Buxton added, “The integrated solution also allows retailers to monitor call performance, perform analytics, and identify common customer pain points.”
When delivering a seamless experience, it’s essential to keep all systems consistent throughout the customer journey. Abdelkader Kedari, vice president of global strategic solutions at Fluent Commerce, echoed Buxton’s sentiments, saying, “Today’s shoppers move seamlessly across channels, from online to in-store to emerging agent-driven shopping, often within the same transaction, creating a need for systems that can recognize and respond in real-time.”
A consistent experience is a smooth experience. “The winners will be those that can deliver consistency and innovation at scale and win consumer trust,” said Kedari.
In a time marked by rapid change, Black Friday is more than just a sales event. This is a real-life experiment in resilience, innovation and reliability. From resilient infrastructure and flexible staffing to sustainable fulfillment and safe operations, retailers will need careful planning to succeed during this year’s peak season.
Source link
