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September 19, 2025
How SMEs can compete during Black Friday and Cyber Monday
September 26, 2025Black Friday in South Africa has gone from a marketing buzzword to one of the most profitable weekends on the retail calendar. Whether you’re selling clothes, electronics, beauty products, or even online courses, your payment system will be put to the test during this high-traffic period.
Getting ready for the spike in orders takes more than just checking stock levels or sprucing up your website. If your payment methods aren’t smooth-running and resilient, you risk losing customers at the final hurdle, the checkout stage.
Let’s unpack how to prepare for Black Friday 2025 to spot common pitfalls and make sure your business doesn’t just survive the rush but thrives through it with effective payment solutions.
Outperform the competition this Black Friday with a payment gateway built for high-traffic sales
Understanding Black Friday eCommerce trends
Every year, more and more South Africans turn to online shopping for their Black Friday deals. Part of that is convenience. No queues. No pushing trolleys through crowded stores. With just a tap, scroll, and swipe, customers can get their purchases delivered right to their doorstep.
But at the same time, something else is happening: shoppers are getting smarter. They compare prices to find the best deal, abandon carts if checkout is too complex, and expect to see payment methods they already trust.
According to recent data, 77% of South Africans use their phones for online shopping. And it’s not just with cards anymore. Payment preferences now include Instant EFTs, digital wallets, and QR code payments. Some even look for Buy Now, Pay Later options when the budget’s tight.
If you’re not catering to these preferences, you’re potentially losing out on lots of sales. It’s not enough to have a good deal; you need a frictionless way for people to pay.
The link between BFCM sales and payment success
You’ve probably already planned your Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts and stocked up for the rush. But here’s the thing: none of that matters if people can’t complete their payment swiftly and smoothly.
A slow or broken checkout experience turns eager buyers into frustrated browsers. When traffic spikes, your payment gateway must perform, because every failed payment is lost revenue.
Successful payments aren’t just about functionality. They’re a sign that your business is reliable, prepared, and professional. The smoother the payment process, the more trust you build, and the more repeat customers you’ll win.
To boost online sales, you need a seamless checkout experience; it’s that simple.
Most common payment pain points during BFCM
Let’s talk about what typically goes wrong. These are some of the pain points that cause sales to fall through during big events like Black Friday:
- Unexpected payment failures that aren’t explained to the customer
- Checkout processes that are too long or not mobile-friendly
- Limited payment options that don’t suit everyone
- Slow-loading pages or timeouts when traffic is high
- Poor communication when a transaction doesn’t go through
- Fraud filters that are too strict, accidentally blocking good customers
- Lack of real-time support when problems pop up
The good news? Each of these can be fixed with a bit of planning and insight.
Top tips to get payment-ready for Black Friday
Black Friday and Cyber Monday only come once a year, but this small window explodes into a retail spending spree that easily amounts to billions. You must be prepared. So, let’s take a closer look at how you can optimise your payment systems for seamless customer checkout.
1. Audit your current payment infrastructure
Before you tweak or improve anything, you need to know where you stand. Review last year’s performance if you’ve been through a Black Friday before. Ask yourself some questions: Where did things go wrong? Where did customers drop off?
If you’re new to Black Friday, test your site’s checkout experience from start to finish. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and ask: is this quick? Does it feel secure? Are the steps clear?
Additionally, verify that your payment gateway provider can handle a surge in orders. Ask your provider about uptime guarantees, horizontal scaling, and how they handle peak load.
2. Offer a mix of local and global payment methods
This might sound strange if your primary customer base resides in South Africa, but over two million South Africans live abroad, many of who still have family and friends in the country. This overseas audience may have the advantage of a favourable exchange rate. This means they can splurge on early Christmas gifts for their loved ones during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Back home, not everyone pays the same way. Some shoppers still prefer cards. Others might rely on EFTs or digital wallets. The more options you offer, the less likely people are to abandon their cart. Popular choices in South Africa include:
- Visa and Mastercard
- Instant EFT
- QR payments (like Zapper or SnapScan)
- Wallet-based payments
- Buy Now, Pay Later options, such as Payflex
Pro tip: Make sure your checkout lets customers choose what suits them best.
3. Enable mobile-friendly and one-click payments
More than half of Black Friday shoppers in South Africa use their phones to browse and buy. If your site isn’t optimised for mobile, you’re making things harder than they need to be.
With one-click payments, you reduce friction in the checkout process, allowing customers to make purchases without having to input payment and shipping details on every site repeatedly.
Your payment flow should be mobile-first. That means:
- Touch-friendly buttons
- Minimal typing required
- Auto-filled form fields where possible
- One-click payments for repeat buyers
Anything that saves time will help you close more sales.
4. Reduce cart abandonment with seamless checkout
There are few things more frustrating than a complicated checkout. And on Black Friday, patience runs even thinner.
Keep things simple. Don’t force customers to register for an account before they can pay. Offer guest checkout. Pre-fill shipping info if they’ve shopped with you before. And make sure the final cost, including delivery, is clear from the get-go.
People abandon carts for all kinds of reasons. But clunky checkout design shouldn’t be one of them.
Read Next: Black Friday Marketing: Payment Tips to Avoid Cart Abandonment
5. Ensure your payment gateway can handle traffic surges
One of the biggest risks during Black Friday is a crash. Too many people trying to pay at once can overwhelm systems that aren’t built to scale. Find out whether your payment provider has built-in load balancing or automatic scaling.
Some systems do this in the background. Others need manual adjustments. Ask all the necessary questions upfront to give yourself that competitive edge when Black Friday comes.
After all, you’ve worked hard to attract this traffic. So, don’t let a preventable issue stop it from converting into sales.
6. Minimise fraud without disrupting genuine customers
Fraud prevention is a must. But here’s the catch: if your filters are too strict, you’ll end up rejecting real shoppers along with the suspicious ones. Ensure your fraud detection tools are set up properly.
Use 3D Secure. Monitor patterns. But also allow flexibility, especially for repeat customers who’ve already been verified. Strike the right balance between protection and practicality.
7. Optimise payment success rates with smart retries
Sometimes payments fail because of temporary issues, like a bank being slow to respond or a glitch in the system. In many cases, a second attempt works. That’s where smart retry logic comes in. It automatically attempts the transaction again without annoying the customer.
If your platform or payment provider supports this, be sure to switch on that functionality. It can quietly recover failed payments and boost your conversion rate without you even lifting a finger.
Handle soft declines correctly
Use issuer/response codes to trigger the right retry: instant re-attempts for timeouts, delayed retries for issuer downtime, and a friendly “try another method” nudge after 2–3 failures.
8. Communicate payment failures clearly and helpfully
Ever seen a “Payment Failed” message with no explanation? That’s enough to make anyone abandon a purchase.
If a payment doesn’t go through, tell the customer why, if you can. Maybe their card was declined, or the payment timed out. Offer helpful suggestions, such as trying a different method or checking for typos.
Most importantly, make sure they know they can reach out for help. Clear guidance can turn a failed sale into a recovered one.
9. Run pre-BFCM load and stress tests
Your website and payment flow might work well right now. But how will they perform under pressure? Run a test before the big event. Simulate high volumes of traffic. See how your checkout pages respond. Do payments go through fast? Does the gateway slow down or crash?
Catching these issues in advance gives you time to fix them before they cost you real money.
10. Provide real-time support for payment issues
No matter how well you prepare, there’s always the chance that something will go wrong on the day. The key is how quickly you respond. Set up a live chat, WhatsApp support, or dedicated hotline for payment-related queries.
Make sure your team is trained to handle common issues like failed EFTs, card errors, or confirmation delays. Even a short delay in support can cost you a sale. Be available and visible.
Pre-BFCM payments readiness checklist:
- Run load + stress tests on checkout and gateway
- Enable multiple methods: Cards, Instant EFT, QR (Zapper/SnapScan), Wallets, Payflex
- Turn on smart retries + clear failure messaging
- Optimise 3D Secure flows for mobile
- Add guest checkout + one-click for logged-in users
- Publish fees, delivery, and returns early in the flow
- Set up a payments status page or banner for incidents
- Staff a live chat/WhatsApp line for payment issues
- Monitor real-time dashboard: success rate, decline codes, method mix
11. Monitor transactions with real-time dashboards
On a normal day, you might check sales reports once or twice. On Black Friday, you’ll want a live view of what’s happening. Use a payment dashboard that shows real-time transaction data. That way, you can spot issues early, like a spike in failures or a high drop in conversions.
Data isn’t just for reporting. It helps you make better decisions in the moment, as it happens.
12. Integrate with reliable payment service providers
Look for a payment provider that understands the South African market and has a strong track record during high-volume periods. A good provider, like Netcash, offers flexible payment methods, from traditional card transactions to Scan-To-Pay, Vouchers, and even Buy Now, Pay Later.
You want a payment partner that offers:
- Stable infrastructure
- Fast settlement
- Local support
- A wide range of payment methods
- Easy integration with your platform
If you’re with a provider that ticks those boxes, great. If not, now’s the time to look at your options.
13. Analyse post-sale data to improve future campaigns
Black Friday doesn’t end when the last order is placed. In fact, some of your most valuable insights come after the rush. Review what worked, and what didn’t. Look at your payment success rates, top-performing methods, peak failure times, and abandoned carts.
This data will help you optimise not just for next year, but for every future campaign.
Turn every click into a sale with fast, secure checkout options your customers trus
FAQs about the best payment gateway in South Africa for Shopify
How Netcash supports BFCM readiness
Netcash is built to support South African businesses through high-pressure periods like Black Friday. With flexible payment options, from card payments and instant EFTs to QR codes and recurring billing, you’re covered, no matter how your customers want to pay.
What makes the difference is more than just the technology. Netcash offers dedicated support, real-time dashboards, and secure processing to help you maximise every opportunity. You can also run pre-sale tests, track payment activity live, and get help when you need it most.
Whether you're a growing store or an established brand, Netcash gives you the tools and confidence to face the Black Friday rush and come out on top.
Don’t lose customers at checkout — upgrade to a gateway that handles the Black Friday rush
Author:
Candice Sergeant
Product Manager
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Candice Sergeant is a digital dynamo at Netcash, where she’s on a mission to help South African businesses level up their online game. As an eCommerce Product Owner, she’s got her finger on the pulse of the latest trends and technologies, constantly seeking out ways to boost sales and streamline operations. With a knack for spotting opportunities and a passion for innovation, Candice is your go-to guide for taking your e-commerce business to the next level.
