MDT Crash The Site Sale!

Black Friday (or Boxing Day, depending on where you call home) has always felt a little strange, according to Maarten Van Ruitenburg, CEO of MDT. People line up outside stores before dawn, fighting through crowds for discounts that often aren’t much of a discount at all. Too often, it feels like a sale for sale’s sake—an event rather than a genuine opportunity to save money. (Who remembers people camping out at Best Buy for Black Friday?)

A NEW APPROACH

That mindset is one reason MDT approached Black Friday differently. The company doesn’t run major discounts year-round, so when it puts products on sale, the goal is to offer meaningful savings on gear that shooters actually want. In the first year MDT launched its Black Friday promotion, the response was overwhelming—in a good way. The sale—and the website—ran smoothly.

Well, then, people caught on.

In the years that followed, MDT’s Black Friday sale became an event many customers planned for months in advance. The problem was that the website wasn’t prepared for the flood of traffic. For many customers, the website crashing became almost as much a part of the tradition as the sale itself.

The culprit wasn’t the products or the demand—it was the technology behind the scenes. At the time, MDT ran on BigCommerce, and the combination of heavy traffic and numerous applications pushed the platform beyond its limits. The strain forced the team to disable nonessential features just to keep the site operational during the sale. It worked, but it fell far short of the experience MDT wanted for customers.

THE FIX

The move to Shopify helped resolve many of those performance issues, but it introduced a new challenge. Shopify flagged several MDT products under policies related to firearms and firearm accessories. Fortunately, after reviewing the situation, Shopify recognized that the products were legal and removed the restrictions, allowing MDT to continue selling them without interruption.

Now, with a completely overhauled website and a stronger foundation, MDT is preparing for another Black Friday season. Before the big event arrives, however, the company wants to put the new system through its paces.

Think of it as a soft opening before the main event in November.

CRASH THE SITE SALE

MDT is planning a smaller promotional sale to stress-test the platform and gather customer feedback. If you're interested, sign up for notifications on the MDT website to avoid missing it. The sale will be brief (and I mean brief). 10 minutes, and everything is 30% off. Get your keyboards revved up.

Once you’ve completed your order, let the team know how the experience went. MDT wants honest feedback—what worked, what didn't, and where improvements are still needed. The goal isn't just to survive the next Black Friday rush. It's to create the best possible shopping experience for the shooters who support the brand.

See you on June 23rd.