INVENTORY PREP LIST
PEAK SEASON
IS COMING
Find out if your inventory is ready.
Checklist and 16 inventory tips
for Black Friday, Christmas, and more
Get the checklist
With exclusive order data from 850+ global SMBs
Black Friday order volume, compared to a normal day
Cyber Monday order volume, compared to a normal day
How far above normal the pre-Christmas ramp runs, day to day
How do you prepare for Peak Season?
Inventory plans are built for whatever an average day looks like. Peak season is nothing like an average day. To help you get ready, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on what to watch for and what to fix before the rush, covering forecasting, safety stock, supplier lead times, stock allocation, and returns.
Before the rush: two very different curves
Black Friday and Cyber Monday inventory management deals with a sharp, sudden spike in demand. The weeks before Christmas behave completely differently: a slow, uneven climb that can swing day to day. Two different challenges, both fixable with strong, adaptable forecasting.
- A single percentage forecast can’t represent both the sharp spike of Black Friday and the slower build-up to Christmas.
- Safety stock sized for a normal week will run out right when the cost of running out is highest.
- A quoted lead time assumes normal order volume on both sides, and that doesn’t apply once your order size grows and everyone else is also ordering for the holidays.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: the pressure test
The holiday shopping season’s first test is often the hardest. Without proper planning, stockout and oversell risks rise with order volume, especially when selling across multiple channels and locations.
- Instead of many customers ordering a bit more, the surge often comes from a few active accounts placing much bigger orders.
- A stock transfer between locations can pull from the same units a sales order already reserved. During peak season, both processes run close together often enough for that collision to actually happen.
- A backlog without set order priority sends stock to whichever order is processed first, which may not be your biggest or your best customer.
After Christmas:
the long tail after the spike
Christmas inventory management doesn’t end on December 25. Returns follow the sales surge well into January, and land in a much shorter window than the season itself.
- About one in seven holiday returns land in the six days right after Christmas (Adobe, 2026).
- Return volume runs 16% higher across November and December than the rest of the year (Seel, 2025).
- Many major retailers extend return windows for holiday purchases through late January, which means restock capacity needs to stay in place well past the holiday rush.
Peak season won’t wait for a plan.
Build one now.
Katana keeps forecasting, safety stock, supplier lead times, stock allocation, and returns in one system, tied to your real inventory data. Whatever your business looks like next quarter, it scales right alongside it.
