Patchworks, the integration platform for ambitious ecommerce and retail brands, is forecasting a sharp increase in demand for integration-first strategies this Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) and Christmas season.
This prediction follows a record-breaking performance during BFCM 2024, where Patchworks processed hundreds of millions of operations without downtime - marking a 310% year-on-year increase in volume. The data suggests that more retailers are turning to iPaaS (integration platform as a service) as their scalability layer during critical trading periods, allowing them to meet customer demand while avoiding costly and disruptive replatforming projects.
The data points to a clear shift towards a more connected, omnichannel retail experience. Retailers are managing higher order volumes, more frequent inventory syncing, and rising customer communications, all while handling greater operational demands across platforms and tools, powered by Patchworks.
Patchworks’ platform helps brands like Gymshark, Castore, Belstaff, Mint Velvet and BareMinerals connect ecommerce platforms, ERPs, WMS, marketplaces and third-party apps - all without interrupting the day-to-day. The flexibility of integration allows businesses to plug in new channels quickly, streamline operations and create better customer experiences without a full replatform.
“With consumer behaviour shifting, supply chain pressures persisting and digital teams spread thin, 2025 is the year ecommerce leaders move from firefighting to forward planning - and that begins with integration, " says Jim Herbert, CEO of Patchworks.
“Retailers often think peak trading demands a big technology overhaul, but it doesn’t have to. What we’re seeing is a shift in mindset. Businesses are getting smarter about using the platforms they’ve already got and connecting them in ways that deliver speed, stability and scale. Integration is the key differentiator.”
Chris Perrins, CTO at Gymshark said, “They turned around our launch in half the expected time, and our first Black Friday integrated with Patchworks ran so smoothly, I got 200% more sleep than the previous year!”
Last year, Patchworks saw a marked increase in new integrations ahead of BFCM, after previous painful peak seasons where legacy integrations failed under pressure. According to Herbert, CTOs and ecommerce directors sought greater control, visibility and peace of mind, prioritising robust connections between ecommerce platforms, ERPs, WMS, and 3PLs to ensure business continuity during the busiest period of the year.
At the same time, last year brands pushed to unlock new revenue streams, rapidly connecting to high-traffic marketplaces and social commerce platforms like TikTok. These automated integrations allowed them to scale quickly without overstretching internal teams, a move that’s fast becoming the new standard for modern commerce.
As the 2025 peak season approaches, Patchworks expects more ecommerce teams to adopt integration-first strategies to reduce risk, scale efficiently and deliver consistently strong customer experiences.
“The best time to get your stack in shape for BFCM is now,” added Jim Herbert, CEO. “Integration is how the most agile brands are preparing - and we’re here to help make that process faster, simpler and smarter.”
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