Every year after BFCM, we do an internal debrief across every account we manage. Not the polished version for QBRs. The honest version. What actually happened, what surprised us, what we'd do differently. This is that debrief, turned into something useful for brands planning their 2026 strategy.
These aren't industry averages from Shopify's press release. This is what we saw firsthand, across dozens of DTC brands, in the accounts we run every day.
The biggest shift: BFCM became a month, not a weekend
The trend toward earlier starts didn't just continue in 2025. It became the default. Roughly half of the brands we work with started their promotions at the top of November.
The result was predictable once you see it: the month of November as a whole was stronger year-over-year for most accounts, but the Cyber 5 period specifically felt softer. Performance wasn't worse, but it was redistributed. Brands that launched early pulled demand forward, so the traditional peak days didn't spike the way they used to.
The month was stronger than the weekend. If you're still planning your entire BFCM strategy around five days in late November, you're planning around the wrong window.
Black Friday itself still held up. Most brands saw growth year-over-year on that day. But Cyber Monday was softer than expected. It still met performance targets for most accounts, but there wasn't the same push on the day itself. The energy was already spent. The curve was flatter across the whole Cyber 5, without the dramatic peaks and valleys of previous years.
What offers actually worked
The offer structures that performed last year broke down into a few clear patterns:
Percentage-off with larger discounts. Brands that went with meaningful percentages like 30%, 40%, or higher outperformed those protecting margin with modest discounts. Premium brands could get away with 20%, but for most DTC brands the threshold for a "real deal" has gone up. If it doesn't feel significant, they'll wait.
GWP layered on top of an existing offer. GWP worked best when stacked on top of a percentage-off or BOGO, not as a standalone. Tiered structures performed well: spend $75 and get X, spend $125 and get Y. The GWP sweetens the deal and pushes AOV higher.
BOGO. One of our clients ran a BOGO that was essentially the same deal they offer year-round. It still performed exceptionally well during BFCM. The context of the sale event gave the same offer more urgency. If you already have a strong standing offer, you don't always need to invent something new.
Doorbuster-style single-product deals. 50% off one specific product, "12 days of Christmas" rotating deals. These create daily urgency and give you fresh content to post every day.
Urgency and exclusivity language. "You have $30 added to your account. Use it today only." "We never do this." "This is the first time ever." Scarcity and exclusivity messaging consistently outperformed generic sale language.
Consumer behavior shifted
One of the most important things we noticed: consumers were researching products well before November. By the time the sales actually launched, people already knew what brands they were planning to buy from. They were primed.
Early VIP access performed really well across our accounts. Giving loyal customers or email subscribers a head start before the sale went public created both urgency and reward. It also gave brands a read on offer performance before the broader launch.
This has huge implications for your pre-BFCM strategy. The months leading up to November are when CPMs are lower and consumers are actively researching what to buy. Pulling back too aggressively on spend during September and October means you're not top of mind when people are ready to purchase. The brands that stayed visible through brand campaigns, content, and upper-funnel creative had warmer audiences ready to convert when the sale dropped.
What ads looked like in the wild vs. what actually performed
There's always a gap between what the feed looks like during BFCM and what's actually driving results in the accounts. Last year was no different.
What we saw in the feed: Lots of statics. A significant increase in text-only statics. Bold text, no product image, just a statement or offer. For beauty brands, plenty of goop shots and texture photography. Lots of "abundance" layouts: multiple products lined up, colorway spreads, collage-style arrangements.
What actually scaled on our accounts: Video content. Statics with a straightforward offer presentation. Founder or team member announcing the sale. AMA-style and native-feeling ads that looked like organic content.
The disconnect is worth paying attention to. Just because everyone is running a certain type of creative doesn't mean it's working. The feed is full of mediocre ads at massive scale during BFCM. What cuts through tends to be either extremely simple (clear offer, clean design) or extremely authentic (real person, real energy, native format).
YoY comparisons: the honest picture
Most brands we work with were down year-over-year in total BFCM spend. The economy, consumer caution, and the fact that so many more brands were starting promotions earlier all contributed. Budgets were more conservative.
But revenue performance was more nuanced. Brands that leaned into early starts and had strong creative depth generally matched or exceeded their prior year numbers despite spending less. The efficiency was there. The volume question was more about brand-level investment decisions than channel performance.
Cyber Monday specifically felt pulled forward. Because so many brands launched early, consumers had already spent by the time CM arrived. Performance was flatter across the Cyber 5, without the huge peaks on Black Friday and Cyber Monday that used to define the period. It's becoming a steady burn, not a spike.
What this means for 2026
Start earlier, with intent. If you're planning a November 1st launch, your awareness campaigns should be running in September and October. Plant the seeds. Let people know your brand exists before asking them to buy during a sale.
Build more creative than you think you need. Creative fatigue during a multi-week sale is the number one performance killer. Have your launch set, your mid-promo refresh set, and your final push set all built before the sale starts. Check out our BFCM creative cheat sheet for the full breakdown.
Don't overthink the offer if what you have already works. If you have a strong standing offer, packaging it inside BFCM messaging might be all you need. The event creates the urgency. Your offer provides the reason.
Plan for the month, not the weekend. Structure your budget and campaign pacing around a 2 to 4 week promotional window. If you front-load everything into Cyber 5, you're competing in the most expensive auction window of the year with the least differentiation.
Use last year's patterns to plan this year's execution
BFCM 2025 wasn't dramatically different from 2024 in terms of consumer behavior. It was an acceleration of trends that were already forming. Earlier starts, flatter peaks, more creative fatigue, higher expectations on discount depth. The brands that performed best understood these dynamics in advance and built their plans around them. The brands that didn't were left optimizing in real-time during the busiest week of the year. You can use tools like LuckyMMM to understand your true channel contribution and allocate your BFCM budget where it actually drives incremental revenue.
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