Most showrooms plan their year-end around Black Friday. For made-to-order furniture, the date that matters falls weeks earlier, and it's the best reason you'll get all year to contact your customers.
Every November the same thing happens. The chains start "Black Friday" weeks early, the inbox fills with 40% off, and independent showrooms feel pushed into running a sale of their own just to keep up.
But for anyone selling made-to-order upholstery, there's a problem. A sofa ordered on Black Friday usually won't arrive for Christmas. The customer who wants a new sofa before the family comes round needed to order it in October.
Last year, the Christmas order-by dates published by UK furniture makers looked something like this:
2025 Christmas delivery deadlines as published by a UK furniture retailer, subject to stock. Your suppliers' 2026 dates will differ, so check them now.
Every one of those cut-offs came before Black Friday. Some came a full month before. A showroom that waits until late November to start its Christmas push has already missed the customers who most wanted something delivered in time.
Shoppers have grown wary of Black Friday. Which? found that most of the "deals" it tracked were the same price or cheaper at another point in the year, and people have noticed. A countdown timer on a sale that comes back every month doesn't convince anyone.
"Order by 3 November for Christmas delivery" is different. It's true, it's specific, and it matters to exactly the person you want to reach: someone who's been meaning to replace the sofa and has family arriving in December. You don't need to give away any margin to make it work. The deadline does the job a discount would.
The people most likely to act on a Christmas deadline are people who already know you:
Old quotes. Anyone who priced up a sofa or a dining set this year and didn't go ahead. A lot of them haven't bought elsewhere. They're waiting, and a real cut-off gives them a reason to decide.
Past customers. Someone who bought a dining table two years ago might be ready for the chairs, or the living room. A personal note about the Christmas cut-off for the range they already own lands far better than a generic newsletter.
Recent showroom visitors. Anyone who came in, sat on things and left a name. They were close. Remind them of the date.
If you've never contacted your old customers before, this is the easiest first message you'll ever send. You're not asking them to buy; you're giving them information they'd be annoyed to miss. We've written more about bringing past customers back if you want the longer version.
This week: ask each supplier for their 2026 Christmas order-by date. Pull your list of past customers and open quotes.
Mid to late October: send an "order for Christmas" message to past customers and old quotes, built around the real dates. Follow up the high-value quotes personally, with a phone call if you can.
A few days before each cut-off: one short reminder. "Last few days to order the [range] for Christmas." Nothing more.
Black Friday week (27 November this year): use it for what you can actually deliver quickly: in-stock pieces, ex-display and end of line. That's where a Black Friday offer makes sense, because you can keep the promise.
For made-to-order furniture, the Christmas cut-off is the deadline that matters, and it lands weeks before Black Friday. Find your suppliers' dates, tell your past customers and old quotes before anyone else does, and keep Black Friday for stock you can deliver. You'll fill October without cutting your prices, and you won't spend December apologising for sofas that arrive in January.