Gameball Black Friday 2025: What the Data Actually Tells Us

While most retailers were bracing for the usual Black Friday chaos, we were watching something different unfold. This year gave us a clearer picture of how customer behavior is evolving during peak shopping season, and the numbers tell a story that might surprise you.

The Scale of What Happened

Let's start with the headline numbers:

• $1 billion in order value processed (11.4x growth vs. last year)
• 5x normal monthly order volume
• Millions of customers across 75+ countries
• Zero downtime, zero performance issues during peak season

But here's what caught our attention: loyalty program signups jumped 45% compared to October, and a full 74% compared to last November. Brands weren't just processing transactions. They were actively growing their customer base during the most competitive shopping window of the year.

Black Friday isn’t necessarily ‘on Friday’

There's this assumption everyone makes: Black Friday itself is the peak day. The data says otherwise.

This year's highest order day was Sunday, November 30th:

• 1.5 million orders in 24 hours
• 6.3x increase over the same day last year (225,600 orders)

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Why Sunday? Possibly the urgency of the month ending, extended sales windows giving people time to consider their purchases, or early Cyber Monday anticipation. Whatever the reason, the pattern is clear: peak shopping has spread beyond Friday itself.

What consumer behaviour tells us

Does loyalty actually play a role during BFCM?

One question we wanted to answer: are customers genuinely engaging with loyalty programs, or just cashing in offers and leaving?

The engagement data is clear:

• 5.8 billion loyalty points earned in November
• 5.8x increase from last year
• Points earned through orders, challenge completions, and tier welcome bonuses and more ways

Here's the compelling part: 20% of total November orders came from customers who had redeemed rewards earlier in the year. These weren't people hunting for the deepest discount. They'd already engaged with the brand, already had a positive experience, and came back ready to buy.

This matters for your margins. When a fifth of your Black Friday orders come from already-engaged customers who don't need steep discounts to convert, you're protecting profitability during the most competitive pricing period of the year.

The implication: successful Black Friday performance starts months earlier. By rewarding customers throughout the year and encouraging redemptions before November, you build affinity that carries through to peak season. They buy because they want to, not just because the price dropped.

Infrastructure That Holds Up

The technical side tells its own story:

• 961 million reward transactions processed (10.3x vs. last year's 93.1 million)
• 1.06 billion requests served without performance degradation
• 11 million messages sent, with 10% achieving their goal
• 15x normal automation volume compared to regular November days

When you're operating at this scale during the highest-stakes shopping period of the year, system stability isn't optional. You don't get a second chance if your loyalty program crashes on peak day.

Insights: How Different Industries Performed

The category-level data shows wildly different customer behavior:

Cosmetics and Beauty had the most balanced performance:

• +81.66% order volume vs. October
• +10.73% average order value growth to $96.99
• Strong interest in bundles, holiday sets, and premium skincare

Home and Electronics was pure deal-driven volume:

• +450% order volume vs. October (highest growth)
• -44.73% average order value drop to $77.42
• Customers waited for discounts, then flooded in

Sports and Fitness showed strategic buying behavior:

• +14.69% order volume vs. October
• $232.86 average order value (highest of all categories)
• Investment purchases: gym equipment, memberships, premium gear

Toys, Games and Entertainment:

• +80.97% order volume vs. October
• Solid growth as families prepared for holiday gifting

Pets and Pet Supplies:

• +98.65% order volume vs. October
• Stocking up on bulk supplies and holiday treats

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Where the Traffic Came From

November's geographic distribution:

• Saudi Arabia: 25% of global traffic
• Egypt: 21%
• USA: 19%
• France and Germany: 18%
• The remainder split across Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Italy, the UK, and Argentina

What This Means for 2026

A few clear patterns emerge from this year's data:

Your peak day probably isn't Friday. It might be Sunday, Wednesday, or the last day of the month. Plan your inventory, staffing, and promotional calendar accordingly.

Loyalty protects margins. When 20% of your orders come from customers who redeemed rewards earlier in the year, you're not racing to the bottom on price. Pre-event engagement preserves profitability.

Mobile is dominant. 70% of sales happened on mobile devices. If your mobile experience isn't optimized, you're leaving money on the table.

Identity resolution matters. You need to connect anonymous browsing, known customer sessions, retail interactions, mobile app usage, and website visits into a single customer view for effective retargeting.

Category behavior varies dramatically. Beauty shows balanced growth, electronics is deal-driven, sports requires strategic timing for high-value purchases. Your strategy should match your category reality.

Infrastructure is non-negotiable. When you're processing billions of orders, requests, and transactions, you need systems that won't fail. Technical instability during peak season wastes all your preparation.

Building What Comes Next

Black Friday 2025 proved a few things worth remembering:

Stop relying on static campaigns. Start automating behavior-based rewards. Combine deals with genuine engagement. Measure loyalty ROI alongside discount ROI. Build for repeat behavior, not one-time sales.

That's the roadmap for 2026.

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