By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Executive at IMRG This blog looks at early Black Friday insights, helping you spot emerging trends and see how retailers are approaching the season. Read on to find information on:

• Early IMRG insights
• Campaign launch timings
• Approaches to discounts
• Marketing experiences
• Post-purchase trends

Early IMRG insights:

Source: IMRG's Online Retail Index, 2025

November total market weekly data has been negative Year-on-Year (YoY), that is according to IMRGs Online Retail Index that is representative of £30bn+ in online spend. The first week was down -1.6% YoY, the second week was almost flat at -0.2% YoY, and the third week was down -1.9% YoY.

Source: IMRG's Online Retail Index, 2025

While many Electricals retailers decided to launch early, performance throughout the month so far had been ultimately negative. In a worse position are Clothing retailers, who have had a difficult year all round. More positively, Sports & Outdoors had a fantastic start to November, and we saw strong performances across Health & Beauty. During our most recent webinar, we shared exclusive Black Friday week insights. We revealed that Monday 24^th November was down -1.7% YoY. And as were feeling generous, heres some exclusive data for the readers of this blog: Tuesday was up +4.4% YoY which brought promise for the rest of the week. Did the momentum continue? Or did it drop away? Keep an eye out for our upcoming events which will reveal all

Campaign launch times:

Numerous retailers started their campaigns earlier this year, with some as early as the second week of October. We have seen the trend for starting campaigns earlier for many years now, where customers are growing used to a Black November rather than a Black Friday. Deann Evans, Managing Director, EMEA at Shopify also have noted how retailers are starting earlier; Black Friday momentum is shifting earlier. Shopify research shows 29% of UK shoppers plan to start their holiday shopping earlier this year. Spending is also up, rebounding to £181 this year from £159 in 2024. Deann shares, Our research shows a shift change among businesses too, with 76% expecting to start promotions before Black Friday week. For example, World of Books is offering promotions on its membership scheme, with extended deals on over seven million titles. AI integration is also critical. 27% of shoppers intend to use it to help them find deals, so merchants can get ready to make AI-powered commerce easy. Similarly, Andrew Scanlon, Head of Sales and Marketing at Staci notes the trend for early campaigning; 'This peak season, brands are starting campaigns early to build anticipation and hype.' 'They are teasing offers and sales weeks in advance to build excitement and capture early sales. Some are even using countdown timers on websites, socials and emails to create urgency.' Andrew describes how 'brands are building a community around their products - rewarding loyal customers and email subscribers with early access to deals or exclusive discounts. This sense of exclusivity encourages retention and repeat purchases.' 'By displaying real-time stock information on product pages, brands are setting clear expectations and helping prevent disappointment when popular items sell out.' Experts at Prisync raise an interesting point, Due to the major uncertainty in the economy caused by tariffs, many consumers have been encouraged to spend more and earlier, as they think prices might increase later on. As pricing is one of the most important factors in purchasing, this uncertainty led retailers who have closely monitored their competitors and the stock information, and put together a solid pricing strategy throughout the holiday season to start their campaigns earlier as well. Prisync say, For example, Amazon leads an early Black Friday week campaign that allows customers to take advantage of limited-time deals and early Black Friday discounts on several products. There are several tactics that work well, such as creating a sense of urgency, extending the promotion periods, offering free shipping, emphasising that this will be the only discount customers will receive, or extending the return period without lowering prices, especially for luxury brands.