Black Friday 2025: Shopping spree without loyalty

E-commerce without Black Friday is hardly imaginable today and has become a firmly established sales event. Consumers flock to online shops in large numbers, while retailers attract them with spectacular discounts.

There is no denying that an enormous number of consumers shop online on Black Friday and that sales figures skyrocket. But what do the key metrics such as traffic, conversion rate, and cart abandonment rate actually look like? And do consumers return to shop again after Black Friday, or do they visit only for the discounts?

Black Friday brings massive increases in visitors

One thing is clear: on Black Friday, online shops experience peak activity. No other day of the year sees as many consumers hunting for deals online. While a typical online shop can expect around 1,999 visitors on an average day, that number jumps to 4,062 on Black Friday, representing an increase of 103%.

The doubling of visitor numbers shows the immense attraction this sales event has on consumers. For many shops, this also means an influx of new visitors who need to be convinced and retained. One of the key challenges of Black Friday is to turn these new customers into long-term buyers rather than converting them only once with a heavy discount.

Record levels in conversion rate

The event day not only attracts large numbers of visitors but also strongly motivates them to buy. The conversion rate on Black Friday is drastically higher than on a normal day. A typical online shop can expect 3.4 conversions per 100 visitors, compared to only 1.92 on an average day.

The 78.94% increase proves that the often spectacular discount campaigns have a significant impact on purchasing behavior. Black Friday thus converts attention directly into sales and confirms its position as the most profitable day of the year.

Cart abandonment rate drops only slightly

While the conversion rate rises sharply, the cart abandonment rate decreases only marginally. On an average day, 71.65% of customers abandon their purchase, compared to 70.91% on Black Friday. This reduction of 1.03% seems disproportionate to the much higher conversion rate.

This result shows that the strong increase in conversion rate is primarily driven by higher purchase intent among visitors, not by a significant reduction in abandoned carts. Even though discounts are highly persuasive, many core reasons for cart abandonment remain, such as technical barriers, missing payment options, shipping costs, or lengthy checkout processes.

To fully unlock the potential of Black Friday, existing weaknesses should be specifically addressed, and effective measures for cart recovery should be implemented.

Only few customers make another purchase after Black Friday

Many visitors discover a shop for the first time on Black Friday, and many are persuaded to buy by the discounts. But how many of them actually return later and buy again?

The analysis shows that only a small fraction of customers remain loyal to the shop. Of those who made their first purchase on Black Friday, only 22.59% make another purchase within the following 12 months. In contrast, 77.41% bought only because of the discounts and never returned.

For shop owners, this means that the new customers acquired through high marketing costs and heavy discounts are not retained effectively. To benefit from Black Friday in the long term, it takes more than good deals. Shops must also establish effective strategies to retain new customers.

Expert-Commentary

Conclusion

Black Friday remains one of the most important and highest-revenue days of the year for e-commerce. The data clearly shows that the combination of strong purchase intent and attractive discounts leads to significantly more traffic and higher conversion rates. However, it also becomes clear that short-term success does not automatically translate into long-term growth.

Most shoppers who make their first purchase on Black Friday do not return afterward. As a result, a large part of the marketing effort invested in acquiring new customers loses its long-term impact. For retailers, this means that those who truly want to benefit sustainably from Black Friday must think beyond the event itself.

The focus should be on customer retention, trust, and repurchase strategies. Only those who manage to turn the shopping frenzy into lasting customer relationships will gain long-term value from Black Friday.