Thriving during Black Friday & Cyber Monday: the power of tax automation in retail

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two pivotal days in the competitive retail landscape. They serve as the kickoff to the holiday shopping season, offering customers the enticing allure of significant discounts. For retailers, they promise the potential for not only increased sales but also a considerable impact on their end-of-year revenue. 

With a variety of ways to buy, this high-sales and high-stakes weekend can be more challenging than ever for retailers. The expansion to more channels has made it evident that tax automation is necessary to provide consistent tax calculation across all platforms.  

During the last shopping frenzy, Vertex proudly helped support a record-breaking number of transaction requests – marking a 51% increase from the previous year. Upon reflection, this is a testament to the scale and efficiency with which our services facilitate seamless retail operations.  

The crucial role of tax automation 

As Black Friday and Cyber Monday represent the apex of prolific shopping days, operational efficiency becomes a retail imperative. With a heightened volume of transactions, taxes – a complex, ever-evolving terrain – can become a daunting prospect for retailers. Additionally, customers expect (and deserve) a seamless experience, regardless of the channel business is conducted (in-person, online, mobile, etc.).   

Tax automation alleviates this pressure significantly. Routinely keeping up to date with real-time changes in tax law across various jurisdictions, automation helps ensure accuracy and compliance without overbearing the retailer with manual oversight. 

Maintaining regulatory compliance, ensuring accuracy, surviving audit scrutiny and enhancing customer satisfaction by helping to eliminate errors or surprises at checkout are just a few ways in which a proper tax automation tool supports retailers during the many critical shopping events throughout the year. 

Vertex solutions provide heightened precision in tax calculations, integrated into your online shopping cart system. Our system is designed to handle massive influxes of transactions, regardless of how busy your online storefront becomes. 

As we wrap up reflections on the successful shopping season, we look forward to upcoming industry events to further share how Vertex is developing technology solutions to transform taxation in retail. Specifically, we're excitedly preparing for the National Retail Federation’s 2024: Retail’s Big Show. 

Our participation in the retail industry’s top event underscores our commitment to defining and driving forward retail evolution in an increasingly digital and complex tax landscape. In the coming weeks, I will share more information about our involvement and how to connect with us on-site.