Ecommerce is an ever-changing world, and those slow to adapt to emerging trends often find it difficult to maximise their sales potential.
That’s why it’s hardly surprising that strategies that yielded remarkable results during Black Friday 2024 won’t be as effective this year.
The evident shift in consumer behaviour, emerging regulatory hurdles, and shrinking budgets are among the obstacles that online sellers looking to capitalise on Black Friday opportunities face.
Consequently, digital retailers must craft a strong strategy to overcome these challenges and attract shoppers to their stores.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to maximizing sellers’ sales during the Cyber 5 period. So, the most effective strategy for your online store will depend on your primary market, the online marketplace you’re using, and the product categories you offer in your store.
Our guide to Black Friday 2025 will help you prepare your online store for the most important online sales event of the year, so let’s dive deeper.
Key takeaways
- Despite the economic challenges, global spending on Black Friday in 2025 is projected to reach $80 to $82 billion.
- 71% of shoppers say that discounts and savings motivate them to purchase items during Black Friday.
- The most active shoppers during the Cyber 5 period are millennials and Gen Zers.
- Electronics and clothing will be the most popular product categories during Black Friday 2025.
- 73% of online shoppers think free delivery and returns would improve their shopping experience.
- 25% of digital retailers intend to implement new promotional activities this Black Friday.
- Buy Now Pay Later offers encourage 44% of shoppers to spend more during this period and consider Black Friday promotions.
- 64% of shoppers consider product reviews on social media before purchasing items they can find on Black Friday sales.
The overview of the most popular online marketplaces
Although it may seem insignificant, the platform a seller chooses as their primary online sales channel can affect their store’s Black Friday performance.
For instance, according to DHL’s recent 2025 marketplace trends report, only 16% of Black Friday shoppers search for items on eBay, while 65% use Amazon to find items they want to purchase on Black Friday or Cyber Monday.
What’s more, eBay is most popular among Baby Boomers, but only 38% of Baby Boomer shoppers say that they trust a retailer’s Black Friday offers.
These statistics indicate that eBay sellers must make a conscious effort to attract younger generations of shoppers to maximise their sales during the peak of the holiday sales season.
Conversely, six out of ten shoppers worldwide choose Amazon as their preferred online shopping destination. Hence, attracting the most active demographic groups on Black Friday may be much easier for sellers in this online marketplace.
The crucial challenges online sellers face ahead of Black Friday
In recent years, major retailers have expanded the Black Friday shopping window and started their promotional activities in early November to capture the segment of their audience that starts shopping early for the holiday season.
The so-called Black November campaigns enable sellers to increase sales by giving shoppers more time to discover the deals they’re offering. Moreover, Black November campaigns extend beyond Black Friday, throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, and typically end on Cyber Monday.
However, expanding the promotional period to the entire month of November also presents sellers with different challenges, as they must plan and prepare the special offers, discounts, advertising activities, and prepare for potential restocking issues months in advance.
Furthermore, recent changes to the US import rules have caused couriers to temporarily pause deliveries to the US, making it more difficult for retailers based in the US or other countries who sell their products in one of the largest markets in the world to meet the customer expectations in terms of pricing and delivery times.
This seismic change will have a major impact on international ecommerce as it forces sellers to increase the prices of their products and add tax and duty costs to the list of their expenses.
Moreover, the repeal of the de-minimis tariff can slow down the fulfillment process, which is why sellers must reassess their delivery times.
Rising prices and uncertainties surrounding the new import rules are causing online shoppers to reconsider their spending. Some shoppers may postpone their buying decisions while searching for the most favorable Black November deals.
As a result, sellers must rethink their approach to discounts and value deals to recapture this group of hesitant buyers.
Does Black Friday matter more than Cyber Monday?
One crucial question for sellers on domestic and international online marketplaces is whether focusing on Black Friday matters more than focusing on Cyber Monday.
The answer isn’t straightforward since the optimal approach to ad spending, discount duration, and other aspects of Black Friday sales depends on the seller and their business goals.
However, as online marketplaces become more competitive, sellers should try to capture the entire peak season. Ideally, sellers should create a promotional strategy that starts weeks before Black Friday and extends throughout the Cyber 5 period.
A highly efficient strategy shouldn’t focus on a single date. Instead, it should target the entire peak of the holiday sales season, and slowly transition toward the Christmas shopping season and events like Free Shipping Day, Super Saturday, and New Year’s Eve sales.
Stretching the promotional period is paramount for sellers to keep up with competitors, benefit from the early shopping trend, and capture the last-minute shopping peak.
Trust as the sales driver on Black Friday
The proposition of value is among the key reasons that major events like Black Friday attract vast numbers of buyers.
In other words, to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the spike in shopping activity during the Cyber 5 period and Q4 in general, sellers must create offers that provide value and enable shoppers to save money.
Consequently, trust is one of the key sales drivers, as shoppers are confronted with a wide range of offers during Black November and especially during Cyber Week.
Recent statistics published by DHL reveal that only 50% of shoppers trust the sellers’ offers and prices throughout this period, while 34% somewhat trust the Black Friday and Cyber 5 prices and offers.
Additionally, the same survey found that 16% of shoppers don’t trust the prices and offers retailers present during this time.
These figures indicate that a considerable portion of online shoppers don’t perceive value in the discounted prices and limited-time offers, which is why establishing trust with your target audience may be among the key factors to boosting your sales substantially during Black Friday 2025.
It’s also worth adding that cross-border shoppers are among the most skeptical about the value of Black Friday offers.
Only 56% of cross-border buyers say they trust offers entirely during this time. Still, this group is also among the most active throughout the period, as 42% of shoppers who purchase items from other countries do so during Cyber Week.
Preparing your online store for Black Friday
Understanding the current shopping trends, the motivation behind the shoppers’ buying decisions, and focusing on providing potential customers with real value are the pillars upon which online retailers should build their strategies for Black Friday 2025.
Most importantly, sellers must review their stores to prepare for the uptick in traffic and sales before employing their strategies for the peak season.
Let’s go through a few tips that will help you prepare your online store for Black Friday.
Audit your product listings
Analyze all listings in your store and search for those with incomplete product descriptions, vague or poorly formulated titles, or subpar pictures.
Each of these factors is a common reason shoppers return products, so the purpose of this exercise is to minimize the chances of a return rate spike during the Cyber 5 period.
Create clear and comprehensive titles and product descriptions that use keywords strategically while focusing on delivering valuable information about the product to potential buyers.
Additionally, you can leverage the power of video to give shoppers a full view of the product and encourage them to purchase it. Make sure to use seasonal keywords that help improve the visibility of your products during this time.
Restock the inventory
Stock shortages can limit your profits during the busiest time of the year. That’s why sellers must anticipate which products may see an uptick in sales in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and ensure they restock those items in time.
Predicting which products will sell out quickly is difficult, which is why many retailers use AI tools to determine the appropriate restocking frequency for their products.
These tools can also help sellers estimate the demand for certain products in different marketplaces and make it easier to prepare for the period of increased shopping activity.
Get your team ready for the increase in order volume
Delivery and free returns policies will be crucial in shoppers’ buying decisions during Black Friday 2025.
50% of shoppers claim they only purchase items from sellers offering free deliveries, while 82% abandon the shopping cart if their preferred delivery method isn’t available.
Moreover, 76% of online shoppers see free returns as a vital factor in their decision where to shop, which indicates that offering free returns during Black November could help sellers attract shoppers to their stores.
However, to keep up with the increase in sales, merchants must ensure that their fulfilment and reverse logistics processes are running smoothly.
Shoppers will also be looking for the best deals during Black November outside their domestic markets, further complicating the logistics for sellers on international marketplaces.
According to a recent study, 51% of online shoppers plan to purchase items from other countries to get the best deals.
Consequently, preparing the team for heavy traffic, minimizing the chances of late deliveries, and avoiding long returns processing times is paramount for sellers who want to maximize their profitability throughout the Cyber 5 period.
The best-selling products on Black Friday 2025
Products from only a handful of categories will dominate this year’s Black Friday sales.
Shoppers are predominantly looking for items from the electronics, clothing, footwear, and home furnishings categories, which suggests that online retailers offering products from these categories will likely benefit from promo codes, discounts, and limited-time offers.
Here’s an overview of the best-selling product categories:
- Electronics (37%)
- Clothing (32%)
- Footwear (26%)
- Home furnishings (23%)
- Sport, leisure, and hobby items (22%)
- Cosmetics and beauty products (22%)
- Toys and games (22%)
Knowing which products will attract the most attention in the weeks leading up to Black Friday can help sellers select products they want to offer discounts for and plan their promotional activities.
Sellers who don’t offer products from either of these categories can still benefit from offering Black Friday discounts and special promotions, although to maximize their profit, they must run highly targeted promotional campaigns.
Making the most of Black Friday sales opportunities
Despite the market fluctuations, declining purchasing power of shoppers worldwide, and changing regulations, Black Friday 2025 is still a major opportunity for online sellers to boost their revenues and end the year on a strong note.
Most importantly, cross-border shopping is gaining momentum as shoppers plan to explore offers from other countries in search of the best Black Friday deals.
Online sellers must prepare for the peak season, launch their promotional campaigns early, extend their discount windows, and offer a seamless shopping experience to stay toe-to-toe with the competition and capitalize on sales opportunities.
Webinterpret can help localize and optimize your listings for international marketplaces during this crucial time.
Schedule a call to find out how we can help you maximize your profits during Black Friday 2025.
About Webinterpret
Webinterpret supports merchants selling on eBay.
Our AI-based solutions enable more effective selling through automated listing localization, advertising, and returns and ensure all products placed on EU markets are GPSR-compliant.
By giving your international customers a full, end-to-end local shopping experience, Webinterpret improves your conversion and helps establish your business globally.
