Black Friday 2026 Marketing Strategy: What We Learnt from 2025
Discover what Black Friday 2025 taught us about UK consumer behaviour and how to use those insights to build a stronger Black Friday 2026
Discover what Black Friday 2025 taught us about UK consumer behaviour and how to use those insights to build a stronger Black Friday 2026 marketing strategy, from Meta Ads and creative testing to budgeting and conversion optimisation.
Black Friday is one of the biggest opportunities in the UK retail calendar, but generating profitable sales during the busiest promotional period of the year takes more than offering a discount. With businesses competing for attention across Facebook, Instagram, Google, email and other digital channels, having a clear marketing strategy is essential.
To understand what businesses should prioritise this year, we’ve analysed Adobe’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Report and turned its key findings into practical recommendations for Black Friday 2026.
The report highlights how much UK consumers spent during the 2025 festive shopping season, the growing importance of mobile shopping and the opportunities available to retailers. But how can businesses translate these trends into better advertising performance?
Here are six lessons from Black Friday 2025 and how to apply them to your Black Friday 2026 marketing strategy.
1. Black Friday Is a Shopping Season, Not Just One Day
What we learnt from 2025
Adobe’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Report recorded £26.9 billion in UK online spending between 1 November and 31 December 2025, representing a 4.1% year-on-year increase. Black Friday alone generated £1.16 billion in online spending, making it the biggest online shopping day of the year.
These figures highlight the scale of the opportunity, but they also demonstrate why businesses should look beyond Black Friday itself. Consumers research products, compare prices and make purchasing decisions throughout November and December, meaning a single-day promotional campaign could miss valuable opportunities to generate sales.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Black Friday falls on Friday 27 November 2026, followed by Cyber Monday on 30 November. Rather than waiting until the final week to launch your advertising, build a campaign that generates interest before the main promotional period and converts that interest when your offer goes live.
Consider structuring your Meta Ads campaign around four stages:
Early November – Build awareness: Introduce your brand, reach new audiences and begin communicating the benefits of your products or services.
Mid-November – Generate consideration: Test different creative approaches, highlight your upcoming offers and encourage potential customers to explore what you sell.
Black Friday weekend – Drive conversions: Focus on your strongest offers, clear calls to action and campaigns designed to generate purchases.
Cyber Monday and beyond – Extend the opportunity: Continue promoting relevant offers where commercially viable, while preparing to transition into Christmas marketing.
The exact timing will depend on your audience, product and sales cycle. The important thing is to give customers multiple opportunities to discover your offer rather than relying on one busy day.
Planning ahead also gives you time to test your messaging, check your tracking and identify which campaigns are generating results before competition intensifies.
2. Your Black Friday Offer Needs to Communicate Value
What we learnt from 2025
Black Friday is synonymous with discounts, but consumers are increasingly familiar with the promotional messages brands use every year. When businesses are all advertising percentage discounts and limited-time deals, competing on price alone can make it harder to stand out.
Adobe’s analysis of UK online spending during November and December 2025 highlighted that shoppers were willing to trade up to more expensive products when discounts and perceived value justified the purchase.
This suggests that the cheapest option isn't necessarily the most attractive. Customers need a compelling reason to choose your business, whether that comes from the product itself, the offer or the overall buying experience.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Before launching your campaign, consider what makes your offer genuinely worthwhile.
Depending on your business, this could mean:
Product bundles: Combine complementary products to increase perceived value and potentially improve average order value.
Early access: Give selected customers an opportunity to shop before the main promotional period.
Premium products at a more accessible price: Highlight the benefits of higher-value products with a compelling, commercially sustainable offer.
Exclusive incentives: Give customers a clear reason to purchase from your business rather than a competitor.
Clear product benefits: Demonstrate what makes your products different and why they're worth buying.
For Meta Ads, your offer needs to be immediately understandable. Customers should be able to identify what you're promoting, why it matters to them and what they need to do next.
However, don't assume a bigger discount will automatically generate better results. Before finalising your promotion, calculate your profit margins and establish the maximum cost per acquisition your business can afford.
More sales don't automatically mean more profit. Your Black Friday marketing strategy should be built around commercially viable results, not just the volume of orders generated.
3. Start Planning Your Advertising Budget Earlier
What we learnt from 2025
The scale of Black Friday spending demonstrates the opportunity available to retailers, but high consumer spending doesn't guarantee profitable advertising results for every business.
Competition, product demand, audience behaviour, conversion rates and the strength of your offer can all influence campaign performance. Businesses that leave their advertising plans until the last minute have less time to test their approach and make informed decisions.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Start by reviewing your previous advertising performance and setting clear commercial targets for the upcoming campaign.
Consider the following steps:
Review your previous campaign data: Look at how much you spent, which campaigns generated the strongest results, your cost per purchase and your return on ad spend (ROAS). Identify what worked, what underperformed and where there is room to improve.
Set realistic performance targets: Decide how much revenue you want to generate, how many additional customers you need and what level of profitability you want to maintain. Establish your allowable customer acquisition cost before committing your budget.
Allocate budget across the campaign: Rather than committing everything upfront, plan how your budget will support testing, audience development and the main promotional period. Early activity can provide useful performance data, while additional investment can be directed towards campaigns that demonstrate strong results.
Monitor performance and adapt: Track purchases, revenue, cost per acquisition and ROAS rather than relying on impressions or clicks alone. Use this information to make informed decisions about where to allocate your remaining budget.
Adobe’s report also recorded £16.5 billion in UK online spending via mobile devices during November and December 2025, reinforcing the importance of considering the full customer journey when planning your advertising investment.
There is no universal budget that guarantees Black Friday success. Your spend should reflect your business objectives, profit margins and previous campaign performance.
4. Invest in Creative That Makes Your Ads Stand Out
What we learnt from 2025
During Black Friday, consumers are exposed to countless advertisements promoting similar products, discounts and limited-time offers. A compelling promotion can help attract attention, but your creative still needs to give people a reason to stop scrolling.
On platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, your ads compete with content from friends, creators and other brands. Repeating the same discount graphic throughout the campaign can limit your opportunities to discover which messages resonate with your audience.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Treat creative testing as an essential part of your Black Friday advertising strategy, not something to leave until the campaign is live.
Prepare a range of creative variations, testing different formats, visuals and messages.
Short-form video: Demonstrate your products, show them in use or communicate their benefits quickly.
Customer testimonials and reviews: Use genuine customer feedback to help establish trust, where appropriate permissions have been obtained.
Product-focused creative: Highlight the features and benefits that make your offer valuable.
Offer-led adverts: Make your discount, bundle or incentive easy to understand at a glance.
Lifestyle imagery: Help potential customers understand how your product fits into their lives.
Different messaging angles: Test whether your audience responds more strongly to convenience, quality, exclusivity, price or another relevant benefit.
Your creative should also reflect the stage of the campaign. Earlier advertising may need to introduce your brand and explain why someone should consider your products. Closer to Black Friday, your messaging can focus more directly on the offer, its benefits and the action you want people to take.
Monitor performance throughout the campaign and introduce new variations when needed. Don't assume one creative approach will work equally well for every audience or stage of the customer journey.
The earlier you begin testing, the more prepared you'll be to make informed decisions when the busiest part of the sales period arrives.
5. Use Retargeting to Reconnect with Interested Customers
What we learnt from 2025
Not everyone purchases the first time they encounter a brand. Some customers need time to compare products, read reviews or consider whether an offer is right for them. Others may already know your business but need a timely incentive to make a purchase.
This makes audience strategy an important part of Black Friday advertising. Reaching new customers is valuable, but businesses should also consider how to reconnect with people who have already demonstrated an interest.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Meta Ads can help businesses reach new audiences and reconnect with previous website visitors, social media engagers and customers, depending on the data available and the campaign setup.
To make better use of your audience data:
Build relevant retargeting audiences: Where tracking consent and platform requirements allow, use eligible website visitors and people who have engaged with your brand to inform your campaigns.
Tailor your messaging: Someone who has already visited a product page may respond to a different message from someone discovering your business for the first time. Consider using retargeting creative to reinforce product benefits, answer common questions or communicate a genuine promotional deadline.
Re-engage previous customers: Black Friday can provide an opportunity to encourage repeat purchases or introduce existing customers to complementary products, provided the offer makes commercial sense.
Measure the contribution to sales: Review how your prospecting and retargeting campaigns perform, while recognising that customers may interact with several channels before purchasing.
Your own advertising and customer data can help identify where the greatest opportunities exist. Before November, check that your tracking is configured correctly and that you can measure the results that matter to your business.
Don't overlook your Meta Pixel, Conversions API and relevant website integrations. Accurate conversion tracking helps you make more informed decisions about campaign performance and budget allocation.
Ensure your use of customer data complies with applicable privacy requirements and platform policies.
Want to know more about how to re-engage interested customers? Keep an eye out for our next blog: Event Retargeting: How to Turn Browsers into Ticket Buyers
6. Optimise Your Website for Mobile Conversions
What we learnt from 2025
According to Adobe’s 2025 Holiday Shopping Report, mobile devices accounted for 61.5% of UK online spending during November and December 2025, representing £16.5 billion in sales.
For businesses investing in paid advertising, this matters because the customer journey often starts on a mobile device. Someone might discover your offer while scrolling Instagram, click through to your website and expect to complete their purchase without friction.
If your website is slow, your offer is unclear or your checkout process is complicated, you risk losing customers after already paying to attract them.
How to apply this to Black Friday 2026
Before launching your campaigns, review your website from the perspective of a potential customer using their phone.
Check your landing pages. Make sure the offer advertised is immediately visible and that the landing page matches the message in your ad.
Simplify the checkout process. Review the number of steps required to complete a purchase. Make delivery costs, payment options and returns information easy to find.
Test your website speed and usability. Check that pages load properly, images display correctly and important information is easy to navigate on smaller screens.
Complete a test purchase. Follow the customer journey from clicking an advert through to checkout. Identify any errors or unnecessary obstacles before spending more on advertising.
Keep your messaging consistent. Your ad, landing page and checkout should communicate the same offer and terms, avoiding confusion that could prevent customers from completing their purchase.
Finally, consider what happens after the sale. A positive buying experience can support repeat purchases, customer reviews and longer-term relationships beyond the Black Friday period.
The takeaway is simple: don't focus exclusively on driving more traffic. Make sure your website is ready to convert the traffic your advertising generates.
Getting Your Black Friday 2026 Marketing Strategy Ready
Black Friday 2025 showed that UK consumers continue to spend heavily during the festive shopping season, with mobile shopping and major promotional dates creating opportunities for retailers. To learn how to make the most of your advertising budget while maximising your marketing results, keep an eye out for our upcoming blog: Winter Event Marketing Budget: How Much Should You Spend on Ads?
However, turning that demand into profitable sales requires more than launching a discount and increasing your advertising budget.
The businesses best positioned to make the most of Black Friday 2026 will be those that use previous performance data to make informed decisions, communicate a compelling offer and prepare their advertising and website well in advance.
Before Friday 27 November, make sure you've:
Planned your campaign around the wider Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.
Developed an offer that balances customer appeal with profitability.
Established a realistic advertising budget and clear performance targets.
Tested creative variations that communicate your offer effectively.
Prepared relevant prospecting and retargeting audiences.
Checked your conversion tracking and optimised your mobile customer journey.
At Driven By Digital, we help businesses use Meta Ads to reach relevant audiences, optimise paid advertising campaigns and drive measurable results. Whether you're looking to attract new customers, improve your advertising performance or prepare for a busy promotional period, a clear strategy can help you make better use of your budget.
Planning your Black Friday 2026 campaign? Get in touch with Driven By Digital to discuss how a tailored paid advertising strategy could help your business make the most of the sales period.
