Every Black Friday and Cyber Monday feels like a race. Brands compete for the same shoppers, the same attention, and increasingly, the same shrinking margins. But the retailers that finish strongest aren't always the ones with the biggest budgets or the deepest discounts. They're the ones that prepare better.
Our latest guide, Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2026: The Race for Revenue, explores how peak season has evolved and what enterprise retailers need to do to stay ahead in a more competitive, more fragmented marketplace.
One of the biggest shifts in retail isn't happening on Black Friday itself, it's happening long before it.
Today's shoppers begin researching products, comparing brands, signing up for offers, and building wish lists weeks before November's biggest shopping weekend. By the time Black Friday arrives, many purchase decisions have already been influenced. That changes the role of marketing teams.
Instead of treating BFCM as a four-day promotional event, leading retailers are using September and October to grow owned audiences, identify high-intent shoppers, and build relationships before competition reaches its peak.
The brands that wait until Black Friday to engage customers are already starting from behind.
As paid media becomes increasingly expensive, simply buying more traffic is becoming a less sustainable growth strategy. The bigger opportunity is making more of the traffic you already have.
Every anonymous visitor who leaves your website without identifying themselves represents potential revenue that disappears before a conversation can begin. Expanding your addressable audience early gives marketing teams more opportunities to personalise experiences, recover abandoned journeys, and continue engaging shoppers across owned channels.
The conversation is shifting from How do we acquire more visitors? to How do we convert more of the visitors we already have?
Cyber Week has never been noisier. Consumers are bombarded with emails, text messages, paid social campaigns, and promotional advertising from every direction. Simply increasing campaign volume rarely delivers better results. Relevance wins.
Retailers that coordinate email, SMS, onsite experiences, and behavioural triggers create journeys that feel connected instead of repetitive. Rather than relying on fixed campaign calendars, they respond to customer behaviour as it happens, delivering the right message, through the right channel, at the right moment.
The result isn't more marketing, it's smarter marketing.
All too many retailers treat Cyber Monday as the end of the journey. The highest-performing brands see it as the start of the next one.
BFCM often introduces thousands of first-time customers. The retailers that immediately follow up with personalised post-purchase journeys, loyalty programmes, relevant recommendations, and continued engagement are the ones that maximise customer lifetime value long after discounts have ended.
Holiday success shouldn't be measured by weekend revenue alone. It should be measured by the long-term customer relationships created during the season.
These insights are only part of the picture.
In Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2026: The Race for Revenue, you'll discover:
The race for revenue is becoming more competitive every year.
The brands that win won't necessarily be the fastest.
They'll be the ones that prepare the smartest.
Get your guide to explore the complete BFCM 2026 playbook and discover how your team can build stronger audiences, deliver more relevant customer experiences, and create sustainable revenue beyond Cyber Week.