Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day have been key promotional moments for years. This period not only influences consumer behavior but also redefines how brands and agencies plan, optimize, and deploy their campaigns.
1- Consumer Behavior
- In-store Spending is Dominant
After a significant drop in 2020 due to the global pandemic, in-store shopping accounts for 57% of holiday purchases. In this context, physical stores remain a crucial touchpoint for converting intent into a purchase. However, during Black Friday, digital campaigns and websites play a strategic role, allowing consumers to discover products, check availability, and plan their in-store visit.
Source: Deloitte Survey, 2025
- The Smartphone is Omnipresent in the Purchase Journey
Approximately 70% of Canadians use their device to search for products, compare prices, or make purchases during this period. Therefore, it’s essential for websites to offer a seamless and optimized mobile experience to facilitate browsing and increase conversion rates by reducing cart abandonment.
- Looking for Convenience
Consumers are seeking faster and easier ways to shop, as evidenced by the significant increase in “click-and-collect” services over the last few years. Fast and free delivery services are key factors in the decision-making process. According to a Google “Conversion Rate Experts” report, an online flower merchant saw a 27% increase in orders by adding a mention about the speed of their delivery.
- Discounts Start Earlier and Earlier
In 2024, 38% of promotions began as early as October, compared to 24% in 2023. This trend is strongly supported by Amazon, which launches “Early Black Friday Deals” ahead of Black Friday. 70% of retailers feel pressure to start their promotions earlier to avoid losing market share.
- Downward Trend in Spending
In recent years, due to economic, social, and ecological factors, holiday shopping spending has been declining. In 2024, spending in Canada was $1,478, whereas it was $1,709 in 2019.
What is the Holidays budget for Canadians?
Source: Holidays Report, Deloitte, 2025
- A More Responsible Consumption
A 2024 PwC study, “Voice of the Consumer Survey,” reveals that 80% of Canadians state they are willing to pay more for goods produced in a sustainable or eco-friendly manner. Sustainability is becoming an important factor.
- Clothing, Electronics, and Toys Remain the Most Popular Categories
These three major categories can guide advertising investments and business priorities, depending on the client.
Main products that Canadians are planning to buy during BF or CM (2023)
Sources : Deloitte’s annual holiday retail outlook (2024) + PayPal Canada, Holiday Shopping Study (2023) + Retail Council of Canada, Holiday Shopping Trends (2023) + Accenture Canada, 2023 + Léger, Canadian Press (Novembre 2023).
2- Getting Prepared to Maximize Sales Opportunities
From a Media Agency’s Perspective
Early preparation allows agencies to maximize campaign performance and drive results by combining quick execution with strategic agility during this highly competitive period. Here are a few key strategies:
- Upfront: Develop Prospecting and Nurture Audiences
Launching an engagement campaign a few weeks in advance helps feed the advertising platforms’ algorithms and engage audiences. This strategy can reduce the cost per acquisition once promotions go live, particularly by retargeting audiences that are already engaged. According to internal Google data (2025), shoppers begin to determine their preferences and considerations about four weeks before Black Friday.
Source: Internal Google Data (2025)
- Re-engage Existing Audiences and Leverage Dynamic Campaigns
Audiences that have been previously engaged, such as past customers or newsletter subscribers, tend to respond better to ads than prospecting audiences. Campaigns targeting these groups have been shown to generate higher ROAS than acquisition audiences (Source: Meta Business Insights, 2023).
To further drive action and maximize performance, our advice is to use dynamic campaigns like carousels featuring products that were viewed or abandoned in a cart.
- Multiply Tests of Formats, Creatives, and Offers to Increase Campaign Success
We recommend testing several variations of offers (e.g., free shipping vs. x% off), different tones or creatives, or even various formats (e.g., UGC content, static images, GIFs) to optimize toward the best-performing option. According to Kantar, 75% of an ad’s effectiveness comes from the creative itself (Source: 2024 North America Creative Effectiveness). As for video ads that capture attention and emotion, they achieve a +25% increase in memorability and an +18% increase in purchase intent (Source: YouTube Works Canada Report, 2022). This makes video an interesting format to deploy, especially pre-Black Friday to boost consideration, and then to complement more conversion-focused formats during the promotional period.
- Tips to Automate Your Campaigns
Automation and platform intelligence help you gain efficiency and maximize performance. Our experts particularly recommend using this intelligence to: Feed algorithms with quality signals by integrating customized audiences from the client’s CRM and setting up a clear product feed for dynamic campaigns. Structure campaigns by isolating certain products or categories into distinct campaigns for better budget control. Detect the best audiences or purchase intents and adapt bids based on the probability of conversion.
From a Brand’s Perspective: Focus on Optimizing the Customer Experience
- Price Remains the Most Important Factor
A Deloitte Canada study revealed that 85% of Canadian consumers consider promotions and discounts to be key factors in their purchasing decisions (Source: Deloitte’s annual holiday retail outlook 2024). It’s therefore crucial to carefully calculate discounts and margins and adjust them as needed during these periods. Competitive monitoring is essential during Black Friday to quickly adapt your offers and stay competitive in a market where every discount counts.
- Clear and Simple Return Policies
A majority (57%) of Canadian consumers say that return policies directly influence their purchase decisions. Transparency regarding timelines, fees, and ease of returns is therefore a significant marketing lever. Tip: Offering an extended return period can be a conversion argument to consider.
- Focus More on Sustainable, Local, and Responsible Products
Focusing on sustainable, local, and responsible products meets a consumer expectation: 55% are willing to pay more for these types of products, and 70% believe that brands have a role to play in designing sustainable products (Source: Deloitte’s annual holiday retail outlook 2024). Transparently highlighting these commitments can positively influence the purchase decision.
- Beforehand, Encourage Product Reviews to Build Trust and Drive Sales
Reviews reassure potential buyers and increase the likelihood of conversion. In fact, a product with five reviews is 270% more likely to be purchased than a product with no reviews (Medill Spiegel Research Center). Tip: Encourage satisfied customers to share their experience with incentives (e.g., a coupon for a future purchase).
- Anticipate the Logistical Pressure
Forecasting delivery times, website traffic peaks, and managing inventory well, along with other logistical aspects, allows you to handle potential issues and thus improve customer satisfaction and conversion.
- Black Friday Checklist for Brands
To avoid any surprises and maximize your sales, here are some essential items to check before the campaign kicks off:
- All destination URLs are functional.
- The website is mobile-optimized, fast, and able to handle higher traffic.
- Inventory and the product feed (prices, availability, images) are up-to-date.
- Promotions, discounts, and promo codes have been tested and work correctly at checkout.
- The purchase journey is smooth and has been tested (cart → payment → confirmation).
- Return policies and delivery times are clear and visible.
- Conversion tracking (GA4, pixels, etc.) is properly configured.
At Espace M, we help many brands across different categories each year prepare and implement their media strategy for the holiday season. This step often requires time and proper planning, which is why we recommend starting early to maximize results. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like a strategic perspective on your next campaigns.
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