By Ellie-Rose Davies, Content Executive at IMRG As retailers review Black Friday performance, focus is also turning to how new and existing customers can be retained, as well as how to re-engage shoppers who chose competing retailers during the peak trading period. This blog explores key post-Black Friday opportunities to support customer retention strategies, including:

• Pricing and discounting
• Brand partnerships and affiliate channels
• Personalisation and AI

Pricing and discounting:

Following Black Friday, customers may carry new expectations around pricing and the overall shopping experience. Industry experts suggest that retailers can view this as an opportunity for growth by meeting these expectations in a considered way, balancing customer preferences with the need to protect margin. Dan Bond, VP of Marketing at RevLifter shares, Retention isn't complicated. The reasons customers make their second and third purchases are the same as their first: you had what they wanted at the right price. Black Friday proves you can deliver both. The mistake is overcomplicating what happens next with loyalty schemes or different tactics for different segments. Instead, retailers can keep doing what worked. Dan recommends retailers to Show them products they actually want based on what they bought. Price them fairly “ not necessarily at a discount, but competitively. Use Black Friday behavioural data to understand their preferences, then consistently meet those preferences. Retention happens when you reliably solve the same problem you solved on Black Friday. Experts at Prisync explore how retailers can meet expectations, perhaps not at a discount, but competitively, as exclaimed above. They say, This year, with customers' tight budgets, discounting and price are the most compelling factors in future purchases. Of course, customers expect to receive some level of discount during the Black Friday season and compare prices before purchasing. After you have ensured you have tracked your competitors and offered the best possible price, then there come other strategies to encourage customer loyalty. Prisync note, If merchants can apply a second purchase discount, it will increase the likelihood of a third or fourth purchase, since people will remember the good customer experience they already had and further strengthen customer loyalty. Another example could be sending a discount code for related products to customers after their initial purchase. It all comes down to making customers feel like they are receiving great value for their money. Hemang Nathwani, CEO and Co-Founder at Price Trakker further explores how pricing strategies can aid growth in the new year. He shares, Customer retention after peak season starts with transparency. Retailers who maintain consistent pricing and communicate value honestly tend to see repeat purchases into the new year. We have seen strong results from brands that use their post-Black Friday data to understand who bought for need versus impulse. Those insights allow for tailored follow-ups that feel relevant rather than generic. Price Trakkers experience suggests that loyalty grows when shoppers trust that a brands pricing remains fair even after the sale ends. Consistency and clarity can be more persuasive than deeper discounts.

Brand partnerships and affiliate channels:

Retailers can also build on customer preferences through affiliate channels and brand partnerships, which are increasingly forming a core part of strategies to improve performance and support long-term customer retention. Bhavesh Patel, Head of Global Key Accounts at Awin explores this, revealing building retention after Black Friday can be done through smart, data-led targeting, especially in saturated sectors. Understanding the typical time between first and second purchase helps retailers close that gap with tailored outreach. The affiliate channel offers strong tools for this. Bhavesh provides the example of cashback partners who can re-engage customers who purchased specific products during Cyber Week by offering a category-focused incentive a few months later. Brand partnerships and non-endemic retail media add another lever by keeping retailers visible in trusted, complementary environments. Advertisers such as MyProtein, Naked Wines and Currys use these tactics to reinforce recognition and drive repeat purchasing.