Black Friday Without the Chargeback Hangover
- The HRG Team
- Sep 30
- 2 min read
Black Friday is supposed to be a sales rocket. For many suppliers, it’s also a deductions magnet. Why? Because promotions multiply risk. One mismapped offer code or a shelf tag that goes live 30 minutes late can result in thousands of incorrect scans across hundreds of stores.
That’s all it takes to set off a wave of pricing and compliance chargebacks.
Industry snapshots suggest promotion execution errors can erode 4–8% of margin on featured items during peak events. That’s not “cost of doing business.” That’s preventable leakage.
Here’s where it breaks:
Promo stack confusion. When MAP, price match, coupons, tickets, and digital offers stack, systems don’t always agree on priority.
Clock drift. A 6:00 a.m. price activation in the system vs. a 5:30 a.m. door opening in-store equals 30 minutes of bad scans.
ISP execution gaps. Missing or mistimed ISPs/tickets create mis-scans and compliance flags—even when your price file is perfect.
Data “surprises.” Post-event cleanses reconcile POS, ad proofs, and ticket prices. If they don’t line up, you get a deduction—not a conversation.
Fictional example (clearly hypothetical): A mid-size electronics brand runs a $99 doorbuster with a coupon stack. Five regions open early; signage in two districts lags by an hour. The systems show $119 at the POS for the first rush. The brand “sells out,” then gets a seven-figure pricing variance claim post-event. It wasn’t performance—it was timing and ticketing.
Your pre-mortem checklist (use it one month before BF):
One owner for the promo data room (ad proofs, price files, tickets).
Map live times by time zone; include early-open pilots.
Validate coupon + MAP priority rules with the retailer (in writing).
Dry run: test a “pre-open” scan on hero SKUs with the field team.
ISP/ticket packet: final art, planogram notes, and go-live timestamps.
Social/ad ops coordination to ensure paid ads don’t outpace store readiness.
Real-time variance watch: 15-minute POS and price exception alerts.
After-action holdback: delay the next promotion until the root causes are resolved.
What’s at stake: Reduce post-event pricing/compliance chargebacks by 25–40% on featured SKUs with better timing, ticketing, and validation. That’s pure margin you keep.
Take Action: Avoid the hangover. Run a Black Friday analysis with HRG.
