Blog post -
Black Week 2025: A closer look at this year’s performance
This month, we’re unpacking what happened during Black Week 2025.
From the sectors that picked up speed to the ones that hit a slowdown, the data shows just how fast consumer behavior is shifting. Shoppers were more intentional, more selective, and more responsive to the right offer at the right time.
For a full view of all 11 retail verticals, our updated Black Week 2025 directory has everything you need.
1. The week as a whole: A small dip, but a big story
Total consumer spend across the core retail industries landed at -1% YoY.
Friday and Saturday remained the strongest-performing days of the week, reflecting the continued importance of the traditional peak shopping window. However, the uplift these days generated was less pronounced compared with previous years, contributing to the small overall decline.
Cyber Monday, meanwhile, recorded the lowest YoY performance across the week. Rather than saving purchases for a final push, many shoppers appeared to make decisions earlier or distribute their spending more evenly across the week.
Total spend broken down by day:
- Monday (-5%)
- Tuesday (6%)
- Wednesday (4%)
- Thursday (2%)
- Black Friday (-2%)
- Saturday (-1%)
- Sunday (-9%)
- Cyber Monday (-13%)
Industries that held their ground (or even grew)
These categories kept things steady or pushed ahead:
- Pharmaceuticals & Health: +8%
- Hobbies & DIY: +6%
- Fashion – Brand: +5%
- Fashion – Premium Brand: +3%
- Home Decoration & Garden Supplies: +1%
Industries facing tougher headwinds
Not every sector enjoyed the same momentum:
- Furniture: -27%
- Beauty & Cosmetics: -14%
- Fashion – Reseller: -9%
- Sports & Outdoor: -3%
- Jewelry & Accessories: -2%
- Electronics: -2%
The big behavioral shift
The daily spend data tells a clear story: shoppers came out swinging early in the week.
All of which points to the fact that Black Week is not simply a weekend-first event. Instead, shoppers are hunting for deals the second they go live.
2. Black Friday 2025: Still big, still beloved
Black Friday continues to be the star of the show, but not for all of the 11 industries we tracked.
Strong performers on Black Friday
A few industries leaned in and saw solid YoY gains:
- Electronics: +4%
- Pharmaceuticals & Health: +4%
- Home Decoration & Garden Supplies: +3%
- Hobbies and DIY: +2%
- Fashion — Premium Brand: +2%
Industries that struggled to match last year’s pace on the biggest day of the week:
- Furniture: -26%
- Beauty & Cosmetics: -15%
- Fashion – Reseller: -11%
- Sports & Outdoor: -9%
- Jewelry & Accessories: -4%
What could be behind the slowdown?
- Early-bird shoppers grabbing deals before Friday
- Cautious spending on big-ticket items
- Overlapping campaign noise diluting attention
- Shoppers getting better at picking their moment, not your moment
The takeaway
Black Friday is still huge. But it’s no longer guaranteed. Retailers need to treat it as one strong lever, not the whole machine.
3. Cyber Monday 2025: A soft landing with one shining star
For many categories, Cyber Monday was the quietest major shopping day of the week.
The steepest declines appeared here:
- Furniture: -36%
- Beauty & Cosmetics: -32%
- Fashion – Reseller: -23%
- Electronics: -17%
- Fashion – Brand: -15%
- Jewelry & Accessories: -11%
Shoppers didn’t wait until Monday, and many don't appear to have circled back.
But there were bright spots:
- Fashion – Premium Brand: +30%
- Sports and Outdoor: +2%
Premium Fashion was the clear Cyber Monday hero, showing that shoppers still love a luxury moment when the timing and offer feel right.
Cyber Monday takeaway
It wasn’t a mass-shopping day this year. And that could indicate it’s becoming more of a niche conversion day, best suited for high-intent segments and premium price points.
4. Sector-by-sector: The Black Week performance map
Here’s the simplified picture for the full week (YoY):
Strong momentum
- Pharmaceuticals & Health (+8%)
- Hobbies & DIY (+6%)
- Fashion – Brand (+5%)
- Fashion – Premium Brand (+3%)
- Home Decoration & Garden Supplies (+1%)
Middle of the pack
- Jewelry & Accessories (-2%)
- Electronics (-2%)
- Sports and Outdoor (-3%)
Under pressure
- Furniture (-27%)
- Beauty & Cosmetics (-14%)
- Fashion – Reseller (-9%)
5. How shoppers split their spend: In-store vs online in 2025
This year’s channel mix shifted slightly, giving us a clearer view of how shoppers chose to navigate Black Week. Across all industries, online spend decreased -6%, while in-store spend saw a modest increase of +1%. It wasn’t a dramatic swing, but it does highlight some interesting movement in how customers approached the week.
In-store showed steady resilience
Several categories saw in-store growth, even when online spend for the same sector softened. A few examples:
- Fashion – Brand in-store up +12%, while online spend dipped by -9%
- Fashion – Premium Brand in-store up +17%, compared with a small online decline of -5%
- Home Decoration & Garden Supplies in-store up +6%, despite an -18% drop in e-commerce
- Jewelry & Accessories saw an 8% increase in-store, alongside an -11% decrease online
These shifts suggest that, for certain types of products, shoppers may have felt more comfortable or confident completing purchases in person.
Online performance varied by sector
While online spend decreased overall, the pattern wasn’t uniform. Some categories saw sharper declines, such as:
- Beauty & Cosmetics: -16% online (versus -12% in-store)
- Home Decoration & Garden Supplies: -18% online (versus +6% in-store)
- Sports and Outdoor: -11% online (versus +4% in-store)
- Fashion – Reseller: -9% online (versus –12% in-store)
Others remained closer to flat or saw minor growth, and only two categories saw an increase in both online and in-store:
- Pharmaceuticals & Health up by +8% in-store and +6% online
- Hobbies & DIY up by +6% in-store and +8% online
The overall takeaway is subtle but important. Instead, it showed that customers are comfortable moving between online and in-store depending on what they’re buying, the offer in front of them, and the experience they expect.
6. What retailers can take from Black Week 2025
1. Early week is the new battleground: If your campaigns aren’t firing by Tuesday, you’re already behind your customers.
2. Black Friday still matters but precision wins: You can’t rely on volume alone. Matching your offer to your audience is everything.
3. Cyber Monday needs a new role in your strategy: Think curated, high-value, and segment-specific. Not blanket promotions.
4. Essentials, wellbeing, and creativity are on the rise: The categories tied to lifestyle upgrades keep outperforming trend-driven items.
5. Big-ticket categories must rethink value communication: Furniture’s steep drop says it all: shoppers need clarity, confidence, and true value to convert.
