Saturday 29 November is shaping up to be peak season’s biggest stock crunch, as pent-up consumer demand, AI-assisted deal-hunting and surging Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) activity combine to create a ‘Stockurday’ squeeze.

Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows UK retail sales growth slowed to just 1.6% in October, the weakest since May, as shoppers held back purchases in anticipation of BFCM weekend deals.

BFCM 2025 will also be the first peak shopping event where consumer searches for products and deals on AI platforms reach critical mass with shoppers using AI tools to set price alerts and surface the best offers across the weekend.

This, alongside the growing popularity of Cyber Monday (1^st Dec) as a mega sales event, piles pressure on ecommerce retailers and brands to rapidly restock SKUs while fulfilling Black Friday orders at the same time, creating a 24-hour crunch point being dubbed ‘Stockurday’. 

Ecommerce fulfilment company Staci UK saw BFCM sales rise by around 115% last year compared to 2023, while logistics company Active Ants reported that ecommerce brands sold 40% of November’s total stock inventory during last year’s BFCM weekend.

Data from delivery management platform, Scurri shows Cyber Monday sales volumes outpaced Black Friday demand in both 2023 and 2024, with Cyber Monday volumes up 78% last year.

Consumer uncertainty ahead of the Autumn budget (26th November) is also expected to see shoppers hold tight for peak season discounts, driving a surge in BFCM sales squeezing stock inventories and intensifying the ‘Stockurday’ pressure point.

Recent years have seen a growing trend of BCFM shoppers waiting until the last possible opportunity to purchase, noted Andrew Scanlon, Sales and Marketing Director at Staci UK.

“They hang fire for the best money-off deals and lowest prices, leading to a growing spike in Cyber Monday ecommerce orders. It can be great for the bottom line but risks creating a stock void, as there’s still huge demand on Black Friday.

“Millions of customer orders will leave fulfilment centres across the U.K. on Saturday 29th November and inventory must be replenished on the same day, ready for satisfying Cyber Monday demand, which can start as early as Sunday,” Scanlon added.

Ecommerce retailers and brands are increasingly turning to AI and automation to solve the ‘Stockurday’ dilemma.

David Fowler, UK-EU Business Development Manager at Active Ants, explains: “Saturday 29^th November looks like it’ll be the busiest day for inbound and outbound stock inventory during this year’s peak. Dispatch and arrivals at fulfilment centres must run like clockwork and there are razor-sharp margins for saving precious seconds and minutes that can make all the difference.

“Intelligent machine learning and robotics are being deployed to effectively predict stock levels and the positioning of inventory in warehouses to optimise order picking and packing. These are marginal gains that all add up to deliver truly efficient Just In Time stock management. It can help retailers and brands to avoid out of stock scenarios, as well as bottlenecks and delays with customer orders to capitalise on the popularity of BFCM.”