For businesses, this means both a tremendous opportunity and an operational challenge. How do brands and retailers stand out in a sea of offers, capture attention early, and convert it into long-term value? 

Image 1: The current reality of Black Friday shopping for consumers

This year's Black Friday comes at a time when consumers are more selective and value driven. A more cautious approach to seasonal spending is expected, with budgets tightening and purchases concentrated in shorter, high-impact periods.

More than half of gifting budgets will be spent between 11 of November and Cyber Monday, underscoring the need for strong multi-channel strategies. Shoppers are stretching budgets, actively seeking deals, and prioritising value over deep discounts. This heightens the need for precisely timed acquisition, promotions, and fulfilment. 

Consumers expect messaging, payment options, and delivery experiences to reflect their local context, especially in economically sensitive times. So, local relevance is non-negotiable. 

Success now hinges on three forces: 

• Multi-channel shopping demands seamless journeys across search, marketplaces, social media, and stores.

• Localisation ensures content, offers, payments, and fulfilment feel relevant in each market and channel.

• Agility as survival with a short impact period means retailers must adjust pricing, inventory, and content in real time. 
  

Against this backdrop, Black Friday is less about “who discounts the deepest” and more about “who connects the smartest.”

What to consider while preparing for Black Friday 

The following framework breaks down Black Friday preparation into five critical phases, each designed to maximise impact while maintaining agility and protecting margins.

This isn't about doing everything everywhere. It's about doing the right things at each moment, in each channel, for each audience. Each phase demands specific actions and capabilities:

1. Acquisition

Black Friday starts with visibility and creating awareness. Before purchase intent solidifies, shoppers are exploring options, and this is where brands must make themselves seen and remembered. 

Social commerce entry points: Use platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and live shopping to spark discovery and create interactive paths to purchase. 

Early activation: Launch teasers and “save the date” campaigns weeks before the event to build anticipation and gain leads. 

Creative localisation: Adapt editorial content to culture and context, going beyond translation to reflect regional values, visuals, and shopping behaviours.

Targeting precision: Use AI-driven audience segmentation to reach shoppers who are most likely to convert.

2. Consideration 

Once shoppers know the brand, the challenge is to earn trust and move them closer to purchase. 

Product listing page (PLP) optimisation: Structure categories, filters, and search results so shoppers can quickly find what they need. Use localised language, relevant sorting options, and compelling imagery to keep them moving deeper into the funnel. 

Product detail page (PDP) optimisation: Ensure accurate, localised descriptions and clear specs that address consumer questions upfront. 

Channel integration: Orchestrate a seamless experience across email, search, social, retail, and marketplaces, ensuring consistent messaging and frictionless movement between touchpoints. 

Optimise commercial strategy: Align offers with browsing history, purchase intent, and local preferences. 

3. Conversion 

Conversion peaks when shoppers are ready to act. Seamless, frictionless experiences are critical to capturing the moment. 

Checkout experience 
Simplify the path to purchase with minimal steps, trusted payment options, and clear signals of reliability, including returns, exchanges and secure transactions 

Timing and urgency 
Drive momentum through structured product drops, limited-time offers, and countdowns that create urgency and accelerate decision-making. 

Dynamic markdown: Protect margins and boost basket size by optimising discounts per market and channel. Use tiered offers instead of deep, one-size-fits-all cuts to balance value with profitability. 

4. Post-purchase 

Winning the order is just the beginning. Post-purchase speed, reliability, and frictionless returns are now essential to drive satisfaction and retention. 

Agile fulfilment: Leverage AI-powered forecasting to optimise inventory across channels and regions. Smart allocation minimises delays, protects margins, and ensures fast, reliable delivery. 

Delivery transparency: Provide updates, accurate delivery windows, and real-time alerts when delays occur. 

Customer service readiness: Anticipate demand spikes by scaling support teams and deploying AI-powered chatbots or self-service tools to ensure fast, consistent issue resolution. 

Returns management: Position returns as a strategic loyalty driver. Offer simple, localised return options that reduce friction, reinforce trust, and turn post-purchase interactions into opportunities for repeat business. 

5. Retention 

The ultimate Black Friday win is not a single transaction, it is a lasting relationship. Strong retention strategies transform seasonal shoppers into loyal, year-round customers. 

Remarketing campaigns: Segment audiences by behaviour and channel. Customise messaging for new vs. existing customers to guide them toward their next purchase and deepen brand connection. 

Post-event engagement: Move beyond transactional follow-ups. Use personalised thank-you messages, quick surveys, and exclusive member offers to keep customers engaged across channels. 

Loyalty programs: Reward repeat buyers with tailored perks like early access or personalised discounts that drive long-term value and cross-channel retention.

What’s needed to succeed

To win Black Friday 2025, brands must move from reactive execution to proactive enablement. This shift is not just about a single week of sales; it is about building a sustainable, agile framework for the entire period and beyond. Success will hinge on four core pillars: 

1. Strategic planning 

The first step is aligning digital commerce goals with broader business objectives. Keep in mind that shoppers move fluidly between platforms looking for deals, so timing and positioning is essential. To make the Black Friday as smooth as possible you must build in advance cross-functional collaboration between sales, marketing, merchandising and operations. When you have this all in place, define clear KPIs for each channel, category and market so that you can see the impact of your strategy to recreate or improve on the next year.

2. Digital enablement 

Black Friday moves fast and puts pressure on every part of your operation. Deploying GenAI tools is a true asset to automate and optimise localised product content. However, you must ensure compliance of any digital tool with your channel’s requirements. Success also depends on adapting content, promotions, and payment options. Invest in enriched content that fits each channel and category, because customers expect personalised experiences when they’re flooded with sales messages during the peak season.

3. Localisation at scale 

Localisation is no longer optional; it’s a performance driver. Brands that localise effectively see stronger engagement, higher conversion, and better performance. So, invest in tailoring messaging and assortment by market and channel. Use insights to adapt pricing and promotional strategies. These tailored offers help meet demand without defaulting on deep discounts. This level of precision requires operational readiness, so make sure your systems can handle rapid content updates and file delivery.

Unlike physical retail, constrained by static price tags and printed promotional materials, eCommerce can instantly adapt to market shifts and consumer behaviour. This flexibility allows us to execute strategies such as flash sales, dynamic pricing, and A/B testing. 

4. Conversion and retention 

Customers who shop during Black Friday are more likely to return if the experience feels smooth and easy.Customer trust can be gained by something as simple as promoting an extended return policy during the period or improving the checkout experience by implementing features like address autocomplete, guest checkout, and wallet payments. You can also use transactional emails and SMS to suggest related products or encourage referrals after purchase. It's also important to test capacity and failover paths well in advance of major events to prevent system failures.

Why proactive agility wins Black Friday

Black Friday in 2025 will reward brands that combine strategic foresight with operational excellence. Retailers and brands are shifting from reactive execution to proactive enablement, accelerating Black Friday preparations through early activation, localised content, and demand forecasting by channel. Agility is now a competitive advantage, enabling fast, data-driven decisions as the season intensifies.