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Last week we brought together clients and friends at The Ivy Tower Bridge for Black Friday Unwrapped, a chance to step back from the noise and look clearly at what actually happened across Black Friday, Cyber Week and the wider November trading period.
This was not about hot takes or hype. It was about real data from IMRG, Google, Meta and Genie Goals client performance, and what it tells digital marketing managers and ecommerce leads at UK retail brands heading into 2026.
Here are my key takeaways:
The backdrop going into peak was intense competition and a cautious consumer. IMRG data showed muted year on year growth across Black Friday week, with clear pressure on revenue rather than traffic.
For Genie Goals clients, November told a familiar story. Sessions were up strongly year on year, averaging +31%, while sitewide revenue grew by a more modest +8%. Shoppers were browsing, comparing and waiting. They were not gone, they were just more deliberate
Genie Goals Black Friday Unwrap…
Across IMRG categories, average order value was down year on year almost everywhere, with the exception of womenswear, electricals and homeware. Revenue softness was driven by lower AOV, not a collapse in demand.
This matters because it changes how success should be judged. Teams that focused only on top line revenue missed the strength in order volume and new customer acquisition that will pay back later.
The idea of a clean Black Friday spike continues to fade.
IMRG data shows that last year around half of retailers were live with offers by week three. This year, for Genie Goals brands, around half were already live in week one. By the end of week three, 90% were on sale.
The result was a flatter, longer peak. Fewer fireworks, more endurance. Performance became about pacing budgets, managing fatigue and staying visible over weeks, not days.
November marked a clear shift towards brand search driving conversions. As more retailers launched early offers, CPC pressure increased sooner, particularly during what many now call Fake Friday.
Agency benchmarks showed CPCs up year on year through November, with Black Friday itself delivering only modest incremental growth. In other words, the competition arrived early and stayed late.
One important nuance was conversion delay. A growing share of sales attributed to Black Friday clicks actually converted days later. Peak is no longer a sprint, it is a marathon, and attribution windows need to reflect that reality.
One of the more interesting patterns we shared was the performance of an end of October three-day sale window. Compared to the Black Friday weekend average, CPCs were down significantly, costs were lower and conversion value held up better than expected.
This suggests some brands may find more efficient growth by leaning into earlier demand moments, rather than piling into the most crowded days of the year.
From September to November, Demand Gen campaigns showed strong growth in clicks and CTR year on year, with CPCs down despite higher CPMs. Discovery is increasingly where decisions begin, not just where awareness lives.
For teams still treating Demand Gen as a nice-to-have, this was a clear signal that the channel is starting to influence performance outcomes, not just upper funnel metrics.
On Meta, costs were kinder than last year. CPMs and CPCs fell year on year, while CTR edged up slightly. That said, efficiency came from focus, not volume.
Ad volume increased dramatically for many brands, but the top four ads consistently drove the majority of impact. More ads did not mean better results. Clear propositions, urgency and strong creative themes did.
We saw retailers lean into early access, price matching, founder-led messaging and creator content. The brands that stood out were the ones that knew what they wanted to say, and said it clearly.
Affiliates quietly delivered some of the most interesting results of the period. Multi retailers went big, with rotating rates, targeted products and alignment to wider market trends.
Cashback volumes were down, but commission rates were high. Performance PR-style content, particularly around sales launches, proved effective, with strong ROI and long consideration windows. Creators acting as personal shoppers worked best when treated as a long-term strategy, not a switch that gets flicked on for peak.
A few themes stood out as we wrapped up the session.
1. Peak will continue to stretch, not spike. Planning needs to start earlier and run longer.
2. Efficiency will come from timing and focus, not just bigger budgets.
3. Brand demand, creative clarity and diversification across channels are no longer optional for £10m to £500m ecommerce businesses.
4. And finally, success will increasingly belong to teams who measure the right things, not just the loudest ones.
If you would like to dig deeper into how your peak performance compared, or how to apply these insights to your own plans, we're always happy to talk.
