The hook
Black Friday is November 27. That's a little over three weeks away.
Every year it's the same scramble: hand-written price cards the night before, a poster from 2019 with tape marks, and a Facebook post somebody throws together at closing time.
This week, let's get the signs off your plate early, then look at three AI helpers that make the rest of your store ready for the rush.
Tip of the week: make your Black Friday signs with Canva AI
Canva's no-cost plan includes Canva AI, which turns a plain description of your sale into designs you can edit, download and print on your own printer. Make one window poster, then ask for matching price cards and a square social post, so the whole store looks like it belongs together.
Price: Canva Free costs $0 and includes up to 20 Premium AI uses a month, and "Generate a design with Canva AI" is one of those. Pro adds a bigger allowance if you outgrow it.
Try it in 20 minutes:
Sign in at canva.com and click Canva AI on the home page.
Pick Design, paste the prompt below and generate.
Choose the best result, swap in your logo, prices and dates, and download it as a PDF.
Ask for matching price cards and a square post for Facebook and Google.
Check every number before you print. AI designs sometimes change or mangle text.
Copy-paste prompt:
Design a Black Friday window poster (11x17 inches) for [STORE NAME], an independent [STORE TYPE] store in [TOWN]. Warm, friendly and easy to read from across the parking lot, not techy. Headline: "Black Friday at [STORE NAME]". Show 3 deals: [ITEM 1 + PRICE], [ITEM 2 + PRICE], [ITEM 3 + PRICE]. Add "Sale runs [DATES]" and "Local delivery available". Use [YOUR TWO BRAND COLOURS].
Not sure which items belong on the sale? Our how-to on letting ChatGPT pick your Black Friday sale items works from a plain stock and sales export and keeps every markdown above your margin floor.
A quick word on consent: if you send that sale post to customers by text or email, only contact people who agreed to hear from you, say who you are, and give an easy way to opt out. That's CASL in Canada and the TCPA (for texts) in the U.S. This isn't legal advice; check with your advisor or your texting provider.
Full walkthrough: Can AI make your Black Friday sale signs in 10 minutes?
3 more tools worth 20 minutes this week
1. Get found on Apple Maps and Siri. A shopper asks Siri for "a mattress store near me" and Apple shows a place card. If you never claimed yours, the hours and photos may be stale. Apple Business is Apple's no-cost tool to fix your hours, add Black Friday special hours and post a sale "showcase" on your card. Verification can take up to five business days and showcase review up to three, so start this week. How to claim your Apple Maps listing
2. Serve shoppers who speak another language. The free Google Translate app has a Live translate mode that listens to both of you and speaks each side aloud in the other language, in 70+ languages. Set it up on a floor phone, role-play delivery and warranty questions with a co-worker, and print a bilingual counter card with the prompt in the post. Free translator for your sales floor
3. Give new staff a product helper for the rush. Google's Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) is free. Upload your spec sheets, warranty PDFs and policies, and your seasonal help can ask questions on their phone and get answers that show where each one came from. Handy when the floor is busy and you can't answer every "is that covered?" yourself. Free product-knowledge helper for your floor
Your turn
Make one poster this week, even a rough one. Then hit reply and tell me how it went, or where you got stuck. I read every reply, and the best questions become future issues.
Know another dealer who's still hand-writing price cards? Forward this email to them. They can sign up at aitipsfordealers.com.
See you next Tuesday,
AL Ruttan
AI Tips for Dealers | Winkler, Manitoba