Learnings from Black Friday UK vs US: What Brands should learn before 2026

By a Brit now living stateside

Black Friday might share a name across the Atlantic, but its reality in the UK versus the US reveals two very different retail cultures and two very different consumer mindsets.

In the UK: Black Friday is retail and travel led, but the hype is fading

In Britain, Black Friday has long since morphed from a one day event into a long, drawn out season. Many major retailers now start promotions well before the actual Black Friday date, sometimes running offers throughout most of November. By the time the day arrives, the messaging can feel stale and many shoppers tune it out. Anecdotally, a lot of UK consumers say the constant discount messaging becomes boring.

Recent evidence supports the scepticism. A comprehensive study by Which? found that for 175 widely bought home, tech, and health products, 83% were cheaper or the same price at another point in the year, and none was at its lowest price on Black Friday itself.

Source: ITV reporting on Which?

For some major retailers, including John Lewis, the study found that 94% of Black Friday deals were matched or beaten outside the Black Friday window.

Source: ITV reporting on Which?

This has contributed to rising Black Friday fatigue in the UK. Shoppers often question whether the deals are real or simply marketing tactics.

When UK shoppers do respond, the mindset is functional and practical. The attitude is clear: if it is a real deal, they will buy it. The decision is rational rather than emotional.

In the US: Black Friday is cultural, high impact and full of energy

In the US, Black Friday is not just a sale period. It is a cultural moment that sits immediately after Thanksgiving and carries a sense of tradition and anticipation. For many Americans, Black Friday is something they prepare for and look forward to.

I've noticed that sales tend to be shorter and higher impact, examples like Walmart running sales over each weekend in November known as 'pre-BF' sales. The creative is louder, the urgency feels real and the whole event has more emotional weight. This drives impulse purchases and a wider spread of spending, from retail to subscriptions to services. Anecdotally, living in the US makes it clear that Black Friday is treated as a holiday moment, not just a discounting exercise.

The Key Difference: Motivation

• UK shoppers buy when something is discounted, although they increasingly question whether the discount is genuine.

• US shoppers buy because it is Black Friday and they feel part of the moment.

• The UK is value led and rational. The US is event led and emotional.

It's not the end of the year yet. These observations matter, but there is still a huge opportunity in December and early January to set your brand up for a stronger 2026.

Q5 (Dec - Jan) is one of the highest performing periods in paid media, and the work you do in this last stretch can shape your results for the year ahead.

Here is what you can do right now to put your brand in the best position moving into 2026:

1. Capture and grow your first party data. Black Friday brings a surge of traffic. Turn it into longer term value with email sign ups, loyalty joins and SMS lists. Stronger owned data = cheaper and more efficient paid performance next year.

2. Improve your product pages and checkout flow. Conversion improvements made in December will pay off immediately. Clean PDPs, faster mobile UX, clearer offer logic and fewer clicks to checkout all create measurable uplift.

3. Analyze what actually worked. Black Friday is a gift when it comes to insights. Identify which hooks, formats, creators and messages drove the most efficient revenue. Use that intelligence to shape your 2026 creative strategy, not just next week’s ads.

4. Prepare properly for Q5. Q5, the period between Christmas and mid January, is one of the highest return windows in paid media. Build campaigns around new year behaviors, gifting, self improvement and reactivating recent customers.

5. Build a 2026 test and learn roadmap. Brands that win Black Friday prep way in advance. They test all year. Map out what you want to learn in Q1, Q2 and Q3, so that by next November you are scaling proven creative, not experimenting under pressure.