Ok, you made it through Black Friday. Now what?
Maybe it was solid. Maybe it was underwhelming. Maybe it was chaos in the morning and crickets by mid-afternoon. However it went, one thing is true for every firearms retailer right now:

Black Friday is not the finish line. It is the opening shot of the rest of the holiday season.

This is where the retailers who think strategically pull ahead. Not just with discounts, but with smart follow-up, better storytelling, and creative ways to move product, build loyalty, and set themselves up for next year.

Let’s walk through some practical, creative, and very “firearms-world” ways to capitalize on what just happened and make the rest of the season count.

1. Take Ten Minutes To Capture What Really Happened

Before you race into the next promotion, grab a notebook or jump into your point of sale reports and capture the truth while it is still fresh.

Ask yourself and your team:

• What moved fast that surprised us?
• What sat that we were sure would fly?
• Where did customers seem confused or hesitant?
• Did we get jammed up anywhere in the process? (Paperwork, background checks, web orders, phone calls, etc.)

You do not need a boardroom strategy meeting. Just get honest notes. Think of it as your “Black Friday After Action Review.”

Because in two weeks, the memory will get fuzzy. Right now, you remember the exact moment someone walked out without buying, the accessory you kept reaching for, and the question you answered ten times. That is gold.

2. Read Your Scoreboard, Not Your Feelings

Feelings say “it was busy” or “it was slow.” Your system tells you what actually happened.

Pull a quick set of reports:

• Top sellers by unit and by margin
• Items with high traffic but low conversion
• Average ticket size, compared to a normal Friday
• Performance by channel: in-store, online, phone, special orders

For firearms retailers, this might look like:

• AR lowers flew out, but optics barely budged
• Ammo sold, but cleaning kits and slings hardly moved
• Safes got lots of questions, not a lot of commits

Once you see the truth in black and white, you can build the rest of the season around it. The goal is not to beat yourself up. The goal is to say, “Alright, here is the field we are actually playing on. Now how do we win from here?”

3. Turn Slow Movers Into Holiday Heroes

Every store has those products you believed in that just sat there staring at you all day.

Instead of slashing prices and hoping, get creative.

A. Intelligent Bundling

Take underperforming items and bundle them with winners in a way that makes sense for your customers’ real lives.

Examples:

• “Home Defense Starter” bundle
◦ Firearm or shotgun
◦ Appropriate ammo
◦ Safe storage solution (small safe or lock)
◦ Basic cleaning kit

• “Range Ready” bundle
◦ Pistol
◦ Extra magazines
◦ Eyes and ears
◦ Range bag

• “Hunter’s Last Minute Upgrade” bundle
◦ Optic that did not move on Black Friday
◦ Rings or mounts
◦ Cleaning cloth and lens pen

Price the bundle so the customer clearly sees the value, but you are still protecting your margins overall. The “slow” item gets carried across the finish line by the hero product.

B. Gift Ready Packaging

Sometimes the difference between “maybe later” and “ring it up” is how easy it is for someone to gift it.

• Pre-box a few bundles with tissue paper or simple branding
• Add a “Gift Ready” tag
• Train your team to say, “If this is a gift, we can have it ready to hand straight over to them, no extra work on your part.”

This is not about fancy, it is about frictionless.

4. Give Black Friday Shoppers a Second Shot

Anyone who bought from you, browsed your site, signed up at the counter, or asked for a quote on Black Friday just raised their hand and said, “I am a buyer. Maybe not today. But I care.”

Do not let that fade.

A. Follow Up on Quotes and “Almosts”

• Send a quick, direct email or text to customers who requested quotes on firearms, optics, or safes and did not pull the trigger.
• Keep it simple:
◦ “You were looking at X. We still have it. If you are still interested, we can [hold it for 24 hours / set up layaway / add a small bonus like a free cleaning kit].”

Even a handful of these turning into sales can make a noticeable difference.

B. Invite Browsers Back With a Purpose

Use your list from Black Friday to invite people back for something specific, not just “come shop more.”

Ideas:

• “Holiday Sight-In and Setup Weekend”
Invite customers who bought rifles, optics, or mounts to come back for discounted or complimentary mounting and basic zeroing help at the range.

• “Gear Check Night”
Bring your everyday carry or hunting setup to the store. Staff helps check holster fit, belt selection, slings, lights, and other accessories. While they are there, you highlight the pieces they are missing.

You are not just asking them to shop. You are giving them a reason to interact.

5. Create a Holiday Story, Not Just Random Sales

Customers respond to stories much more than they respond to a parade of percent-off signs.

For firearms retailers, your story might be:

• Helping families feel safer at home
• Getting hunters ready for the season
• Equipping responsible new gun owners
• Supporting local shooting sports and training

Now let the rest of the season ride that story.

Examples:

• “Gift Safety, Not Just Stuff”
Pair every gun or safe purchase with a small safety upgrade. Maybe a discounted lock, or a small credit toward a safety course.

• “Equip Their First Season Right”
Run a small promotion around youth hunting gear and accessories. Highlight the idea of passing on traditions, not just selling gear.

When your emails, in-store signs, and social posts all connect to the same story, your promotions feel intentional instead of random.

6. Focus on High Margin Add-Ons Instead of Deep Discounts

If Black Friday did not hit your numbers, the temptation is to start cutting deeper and deeper into price.

Careful.

Instead of giving away your margin on big ticket items, look for ways to attach profitable add-ons that also make sense for your customers.

Examples:

• Offer a discounted “setup package” with each firearm
◦ Mount and bore sight an optic
◦ Install sling, lights, or basic accessories
◦ Quick cleaning demo

• Promote profitable accessories at the counter
◦ Magazines, ammo, cleaning supplies, targets, hearing protection

• Offer “buy a safe, get X% off accessories to organize it”
◦ Dehumidifiers, racks, hangers, lights

You are increasing the average ticket and actually making their life easier. They leave ready to use what they purchased, not searching online for the rest of what they need.

7. Make It Easy For Families To Buy For “Your” Customer

A lot of your regulars are very hard for their friends and families to shop for. They like “gun stuff,” but their loved ones do not know what that means.

Fix that for them.

A. Wish Lists and “Tell Them To Come See Us”

Offer a simple system, even if it is low tech:

• Customer comes in and fills out a “Gear I Would Love” card
• You keep it on file with their name
• They tell their spouse, kids, or friends, “Go to [your store], ask for my wish list, and they will help you pick something in your budget.”

You are turning confusion into a guided experience.

B. Make Gift Cards Feel Less Boring

Gift cards are great, but they can feel impersonal. Add a twist:

• Branded “Range Day on Me” cards
• “Build Your Own Setup” card with a fun sleeve or insert
• Small bonus balance for buying a gift card over a certain amount

You are still selling a gift card, but it feels like an experience.

8. Run Small, Focused Events Between Now and Christmas

You do not need another “Black Friday level” event. You need small, targeted moments that keep people coming through your door.

Ideas that fit the firearms world:

• “Ladies Night: Gifts and Gear”
A relaxed evening where women can ask questions, handle firearms safely, and get gift ideas for the gun owners in their lives, not just themselves.

• “Last-Minute Stocking Stuffers Night”
Focus on low price point but high value items. Range passes, cleaning kits, AR tools, mag loaders, small lights, hearing protection, hats, patches.

• “New Owner Basics” micro-session
Short sessions on safe storage, cleaning, and basic handling. Attach discounted gear or class coupons to attendance.

Each of these becomes content for your email list and social media, and keeps the energy up long after Black Friday.

9. Tighten Up Your Online and Local Pickup Game

If Black Friday taught you that people like browsing online but buying in person, lean into that.

• Highlight “Buy Online, Pick Up In Store” if you offer it
• Promote local pickup deadlines when shipping gets tight
• Make sure product data, images, and pricing are accurate so people can confidently send a link to a family member and say, “This one”

A lot of holiday shopping now starts on the couch and finishes at your counter. Make that bridge as smooth as possible.

10. Talk With Your Team Before You Move On

One of the most valuable things you can do right now costs nothing.

Gather your staff, even if it is just for fifteen minutes, and ask:

• What did you notice yesterday that we need to fix?
• What questions did you hear over and over?
• What do you wish we had set up ahead of time?
• Where did customers seem delighted? Where did they seem frustrated?

Front line observations often fuel your best ideas for the rest of the season. You might hear something like, “Everyone wanted help choosing gifts under a certain price,” or “People kept asking for range membership gift options.”

Take those signals seriously. Build at least one new promotion or small change based directly on what your team noticed.

11. Set Yourself Up To Be Stronger Next Year

Finally, do your future self a favor.

Open a document or grab a folder and label it “Black Friday Playbook.” Drop in:

• Screenshots of your best-performing emails or posts
• A list of what sold, what did not, and why you think that happened
• Notes on staffing levels and hours
• Ideas you did not get to try this year, but want to test next year

Next year, you will not be starting from a blank page. You will be starting from lived experience.

12. Keep the Momentum Going

Black Friday is loud. The rest of the season is where the real pros quietly separate themselves.

You do not need to overhaul everything. You just need to take what you learned, get a little creative, and stay intentional from now until the last week of Christmas shopping.

Look at your numbers. Listen to your customers. Use the tools you already have in your point of sale and e-commerce setup. And keep taking small, smart swings.

If your Black Friday felt great, this will help you carry that energy forward.
If your Black Friday felt flat, this is your chance to write a better ending to the year.

Either way, you are not done yet.

Next week, we’re taking this conversation one step further. In our upcoming session, From Pennies to Presents: Maximize Your Year-End Sales, we’ll break down what the penny phaseout really means at the counter and then zero in on the biggest opportunity still ahead.

The stretch between Cyber Monday and Christmas is one of the most powerful selling windows of the year, and we’ll show practical, real-world ways to pull in last-minute shoppers, create urgency, and recover revenue that might have slipped away.

Join us live on December 4th at 1:00 PM EST and learn how to finish the year strong.

👉 Register here