Getting your online shop ready for Christmas: the October to December calendar
Every year, it is the same story. An online shop wakes up in mid-November, rushes out a promotion, and runs out of its best-selling product on December 12.
For a small Wix or Shopify shop, Christmas is prepared in October. Here is the calendar we follow with our clients, month by month, without losing sleep over it.
Why October, not November
The numbers do not lie. According to the Fevad and Toluna Harris Interactive study published on November 27, 2025, 78% of French consumers planned to shop online for Christmas, with an average online budget of 291 euros, up 38 euros in one year.
And 70% of them intended to use Black Friday for their gifts. This year, Black Friday falls on Friday, November 27, 2026, Black Week starts around the 23rd, and Cyber Monday closes the show on November 30.
In other words, a large share of your year-end sales happens in ten days. Whatever is not ready by November 20 will not be ready at all.
A home decor shop we work with learned this the hard way. In 2025, it launched its gift selection on November 18. By December 10, its most popular gift boxes were out of stock, with no restock possible before January.
We estimated the lost sales at around 2,500 euros on a monthly revenue of 9,000. This year, the stock was ordered at the end of September. That is the whole difference between enduring Christmas and preparing for it.
October: stock, product pages and shipping
October is for fixing everything that nobody sees but that costs a fortune when it breaks. Three jobs, in this order.
Stock first. Pull last year's November and December sales from Wix Analytics or your Shopify reports, spot your ten best sellers and order them in volume right now.
Turn on pre-orders for products that will arrive late: Wix Stores and Shopify both allow it in two clicks.
Turn on the "notify me when it is back" alert: a stock-out becomes a free follow-up email.
Set a safety threshold per product, five units for example, below which you reorder.
Product pages next. A clean photo on a neutral background, a text that answers the customer's three questions (who is it for, what size, when is it delivered) and a clear delivery time.
Count one hour for ten pages using the AI tools built into Wix or Shopify for a first draft, then a human proofread. Nobody wants to give a gift described by a robot.
Shipping last. Along with price, it is the number one reason carts get abandoned. Settle it once and for all in October, not the day before Black Friday.
Our rule: a free shipping threshold set 10 to 15 euros above your average basket. On a 45-euro basket, offer free shipping from 60. The customer adds one item, and you fund the carrier.
November: honest promotions and automatic reminders
November is promotion month. One rule before anything else: since the European Omnibus directive, any displayed discount must refer to the lowest price charged in the previous 30 days.
The French consumer watchdog, the DGCCRF, reminds everyone of this every year and runs checks. A "40% off" computed on a price inflated in October means a fine and a damaged reputation. Keep your price history.
On Wix Stores as on Shopify, create your coupon codes and automatic discounts from November 1, with start and end dates. On the day, you have nothing to touch.
Then, reminders. Wix cites a survey in which 87% of shoppers say a discount is the top reason not to abandon their cart. Turn on the abandoned cart email, one hour after the abandonment, with a reminder of the delivery time.
Finally, email marketing. Three sends are enough for a small shop, and they can be scheduled in one afternoon:
Mid-November: the gift selection, no discount, for early shoppers.
November 26 in the evening: the Black Friday offer, sent to the whole list.
Around December 12: "last order date to be delivered before the 24th".
One of our clients, a coffee roaster, sends these three emails to 1,400 contacts. In 2025, they generated 18% of his December revenue. Cost: zero, the tool is included in his Wix subscription.
December: last orders, in-store pickup and gift cards
In December, everything hinges on the cut-off date. Display a banner at the top of the site: "Order before December 18 to be delivered before Christmas". Update it every week.
If you have a physical store, turn on in-store pickup. According to the holiday checklist published by Wix on September 4, 2026, nearly one holiday order in five is picked up in store, and one in three in the last five days before Christmas.
For a neighbourhood shop, this is the best weapon against the big platforms: the customer orders on the evening of the 23rd and picks up the parcel on the 24th at 10 am.
And for the December 24 latecomers, there is the gift card. Wix Gift Cards and Shopify gift cards are delivered by email in seconds, with no stock and no shipping.
Among our clients, a gift card featured on the home page from December 15 to 24 often brings 5 to 10% in additional sales. For ten minutes of setup, it is the best return of the month.
After the 25th, do not switch everything off. Gift cards get spent in January, and the winter sales are coming. Keep the gift selection online for a week, then switch.
Where to start
This week: pull your November and December 2025 sales and order your ten best sellers in volume.
Before October 15: set your shipping fees, your free shipping threshold and the delivery times you display.
Before October 31: review your twenty most viewed product pages and turn on pre-orders where useful.
Before November 15: create your promotions, turn on abandoned cart emails and schedule your three campaigns.
Early December: install the cut-off date banner, turn on in-store pickup and feature the gift card.
What we take away
Christmas is not won with the best discount, but with the best-prepared shop. Stock, shipping and product pages in October. Promotions and reminders in November. Cut-off date and gift cards in December.
Everything we describe already exists in your Wix or Shopify subscription. There is nothing to buy, only settings to open. A small team spends two afternoons on it in October and gets that time back tenfold in December.
A little clearing of the ground upfront, and the year-end goes by without nasty surprises.
No time to set it all up yourself? We will install it for you. les défricheurs agency configures your shop for the holidays in one week: stock and pre-orders, shipping fees, promotions, abandoned cart, emails and gift cards.
Book a 30-minute slot and let's be ready together for November 27.
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