Black Friday starts earlier than ever
- So does consumer research
Black Friday is no longer a single-day event, and it isn’t even a single-week event. Retailers that align promotions with how consumers actually research and buy products are more likely to win Black Friday.
Marketing Specialist
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For years, retailers have treated Black Friday as the moment consumers make buying decisions. Campaigns launch, discounts go live, advertising budgets increase, and the focus shifts to converting demand into sales.
But our 2025 data suggests the buying decision often happens much earlier.
Across the UK, Germany and Benelux, the deepest discounting activity occurred during the week before Black Friday rather than during Black Friday week itself (2025 Black Friday data). Retailers that entered the market early gained visibility while consumers were still researching products, comparing prices and evaluating alternatives. Those who waited until Black Friday week often found themselves competing for shoppers who had already decided what to buy.
This shift reflects a broader change in consumer buying behaviour. Black Friday remains one of the most important retail events of the year, but it increasingly marks the end of the purchasing journey rather than the beginning.
Consumer buying behaviour has fundamentally changed
Consumer buying behaviour during Black Friday looks very different from just a few years ago.
Consumers are researching for longer
Economic uncertainty and rising living costs have made shoppers more cautious. Consumers are spending more time researching before they buy. Rather than making impulse purchases during a single promotional weekend, shoppers now compare products across multiple channels, monitor prices over time and actively search for the best value.
In the UK, Barclays reported that transaction volumes during the Black Friday period fell by 8% in 2025, while average spend per shopper increased by 12% to £430. Consumers are buying less frequently, but when they do buy, they are making more deliberate decisions.
AI is expanding the consideration phase
One of the biggest changes in consumer buying behaviour is the role AI now plays in product research.
Alongside organic Google results, Google Shopping, YouTube and review sites, consumers are increasingly using AI-powered tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI shopping assistant to compare products, summarise reviews and evaluate alternatives.
As agentic commerce develops, consumers are becoming more comfortable relying on AI to help find products, compare prices and identify the best offers. Research that once took hours can now happen in minutes.
Many buying decisions are made before Black Friday
For retailers, this creates a significant shift.
Visibility during the research phase is becoming just as important as visibility during the purchasing phase. If consumers start comparing products in early November, retailers that wait until Black Friday week are entering the conversation late.
The data suggests that many shoppers have already formed preferences before the biggest promotional week even begins.
When are prices cheapest during Black Friday?
What PriceShape analysed
To understand how retailers are responding, PriceShape analysed Amazon bestseller data across the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The analysis covered Electronics, Home and Garden, and Health and Beauty categories from October through December in both 2024 and 2025.
Key findings from our Black Friday 2025 data
- The highest level of discount activity occurred during the week before Black Friday.
- All analysed markets showed the same overall pattern.
- Early movers gained bestseller visibility before Black Friday week.
- Brands that waited until Black Friday faced more competition and lower visibility.
- Strong Black Friday performance often translates into stronger Q4 performance.
The week before Black Friday had the biggest increase in discounts
The pattern was consistent across all markets. Discount activity surged during the week before Black Friday, declined during Black Friday week itself, and then increased again in the weeks that followed.
In the UK, the number of discounted products appearing on Amazon bestseller lists grew from roughly 150 in 2024 to more than 1,000 in 2025. Germany saw Home and Garden promotions increase by more than 1,000% year-on-year, while Belgium’s Electronics category recorded growth of more than 1,700%.
The important takeaway is not simply the size of the increase. It is when that activity happened. Across every market analysed, retailers were competing hardest before Black Friday arrived.
Want the full dataset?
This analysis is based on a 40-page Black Friday report covering Amazon bestseller trends across the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, alongside consumer research and marketplace data from external sources.
The retailers who moved early won
The data highlights a clear difference between retailers that entered the market early and those that waited.
German kitchenware brand WMF moved early and won
In Germany’s Home and Garden category, our data shows that WMF had limited bestseller visibility in 2024. In 2025, resellers began promoting WMF products from the beginning of November.
The result was a significant increase in visibility. WMF led the category before and after Black Friday, while many competitors only began increasing promotional activity later in the month. Consumers encountered the brand during the research phase rather than at the point of purchase.
The late movers lost ground
Black Friday week became more crowded
Many retailers still build their promotional calendars around a traditional Black Friday launch date. The problem is that consumers are no longer following the same timeline.
By Black Friday week, shoppers have already spent weeks researching products, comparing prices and evaluating alternatives. Competition becomes more intense while opportunities to influence buying decisions become smaller.
Consumers had already formed preferences
The data suggests that many consumers enter Black Friday week with a shortlist already established.
At that stage, a retailer is no longer competing to be discovered. They’re competing to change a decision that may already have been made. That is a much harder position to be in.
What does this mean for your Black Friday campaign start date
If consumer behaviour has shifted, Black Friday planning needs to shift with it.
The most successful retailers in our dataset were active from the beginning of November rather than the final week. That doesn’t mean discounting every product immediately. It means aligning your promotions with the way consumers evaluate different purchases.
Start with higher-ticket products
Higher-value products generally involve longer research cycles.
- Consumers compare more options.
- Consideration periods are longer.
- Price monitoring begins earlier.
Philips resellers in the Netherlands, for example, started promoting televisions well before smaller Health and Beauty products. The timing reflected how consumers research expensive purchases.
Use older inventory as value plays
Consumers aren’t always searching for the newest product.
They’re searching for the best value.
- Older products often carry stronger perceived value.
- Promotional pricing creates a compelling alternative to newer launches.
- Inventory clearance becomes easier without positioning products as outdated.
During Black Friday 2025, the iPhone 12 outsold the iPhone 16e on Amazon UK. Shoppers weren’t necessarily looking for the latest release. They were looking for a deal.
Protect margins with pricing rules
Early discounting doesn’t require sacrificing profitability.
Retailers can remain competitive by building dynamic pricing strategies around clear rules rather than manual reactions.
- Set minimum margin thresholds.
- Automate pricing adjustments.
- Avoid blanket discounts across entire catalogues.
- Prioritise products with the highest revenue potential.
→ More real use cases and examples of dynamic pricing
Adapt your strategy to the market
Black Friday doesn’t work the same way everywhere.
- UK: Amazon remains a dominant marketplace.
- Benelux: Bol plays a significant role.
- Germany: An omnichannel approach remains essential because physical retail still represents a large share of transactions.
Understanding where consumers shop is just as important as understanding when they buy.
Key takeaways
- Consumer buying behaviour now involves longer research and consideration periods.
- The deepest discounting activity occurred before Black Friday week.
- Retailers that moved early gained visibility while consumers were still deciding.
- Brands that waited until Black Friday week faced more competition and lower visibility.
- The most successful retailers in our data were active from the beginning of November.
- Timing increasingly matters as much as discount depth.
How to increase Black Friday sales
The simplest way to increase Black Friday sales is to be visible while consumers are deciding, not just while they’re buying.
That requires a clear understanding of competitor pricing, category trends, historical performance and margin performance across channels.
Retailers that have access to that information can identify which products to promote first, how aggressively to discount and when to enter the market. Our 2025 data points to a clear conclusion: Black Friday is no longer a single-day event, and it isn’t even a single-week event.
Ultimately, understanding consumer buying behaviour is becoming just as important as understanding competitor pricing. Retailers that align promotions with how consumers actually research and buy products are more likely to win Black Friday.
Wondering what this means for your Black Friday strategy?
We’ve turned the findings into a practical Black Friday Playbook that helps retailers plan promotions, protect margins and identify the right products to push during Black Week.
FAQ
When should retailers start their Black Friday campaigns?
Retailers should start Black Friday campaigns from the beginning of November, especially for higher-ticket products with longer research cycles. PriceShape data shows that the highest level of discount activity occurred during the week before Black Friday, not during Black Friday week itself. Those who discounted earlier gained valuable space in bestseller lists.
When are prices cheapest during Black Friday?
PriceShape’s 2025 Black Friday data found that the deepest discounting activity across the UK, Germany and Benelux happened during the week before Black Friday. This suggests that many retailers are now competing earlier to capture shoppers during the research phase.
Why do consumers research before Black Friday?
Consumers research before Black Friday because they are more cautious, compare products across several channels and monitor prices over time. AI has made it easier for consumers to compare products before buying.
How has consumer buying behaviour changed during Black Friday?
Consumer buying behaviour has shifted from impulse buying during a single promotional weekend to longer research and comparison periods. Many shoppers now form preferences before Black Friday week, which means retailers need visibility earlier in the buying journey.
How can retailers increase Black Friday sales?
Retailers can increase Black Friday sales by being visible while consumers are still deciding what to buy. This means starting promotions earlier, prioritising high-value products, using older inventory as value plays and protecting margins with pricing rules.
Why is early discounting important for Black Friday?
Early discounting helps retailers gain visibility before shoppers make buying decisions. Retailers that wait until Black Friday week often face heavier competition and have fewer chances to influence consumers who have already compared products and shortlisted alternatives. Those who discounted earlier also gained valuable space in bestseller lists.