Holiday shopping starts before Black Friday, Attentive says

Attentive has published new consumer research showing that most holiday shoppers plan and buy before Black Friday, suggesting the shopping season now stretches over a longer period.

The survey found that 83% of consumers begin planning holiday purchases before Black Friday, while 71% expect to start shopping before the event. The second figure is up 12 percentage points from a year earlier.

The data points to a shift away from Black Friday as the single focal point for holiday spending. Nearly half of shoppers, 46%, start purchasing before November, even though many still associate major holiday discounts with the weeks immediately before Black Friday.

At the same time, 84% of consumers expect Black Friday Cyber Monday deals to begin before Black Friday itself. Most anticipate those offers in early November or during the week leading up to the event.

This creates a gap between when people begin shopping and when they expect broad promotional activity to start. For retailers and consumer brands, it means purchase decisions may increasingly be shaped well before the traditional peak trading days.

Economic pressure

The research also found that consumer caution remains high. Some 87% of respondents said the economy will change how they shop during the Black Friday Cyber Monday period.

Many plan to take a more deliberate approach to spending. The survey found that 42% expect to compare brands and retailers more before buying, 41% plan to focus on needs over wants, and 39% intend to stock up on everyday items while they are discounted.

These responses suggest that value matters more than waiting for the steepest possible price cut. Four in five consumers said a discount of 40% or less would be enough to prompt a purchase.

That finding indicates shoppers may respond to offers they see as timely and relevant, rather than only to the deepest markdowns. It also suggests consumers are making purchase decisions earlier, even in a pressured economic environment.

Personalised offers

Marketing tied to specific products and shopping behaviour drew the strongest response in the survey. Price-drop alerts on products of interest appealed to 90% of respondents, while 88% responded to discounts on products they had recently viewed or added to their basket.

Relevant product recommendations also performed strongly, with 73% saying they respond to that form of outreach. The results reflect a preference for targeted messages over a higher volume of generic promotions.

Separate findings from Attentive's 2026 Personalization Trends Report showed that 65% of shoppers are open to receiving messages more frequently if those messages are relevant. That points to a narrow path for marketers during the holiday season: consumers are willing to engage more often, but only if the contact matches their interests.

Jema Birkmeyer, Vice President of Strategic Sales at Attentive, said Black Friday's role in the retail calendar had changed as shopping behaviour spread over a longer period.

"Brands are used to treating Black Friday as the starting line for holiday marketing. This year, it will be the continuation of months of customer engagement," said Jema Birkmeyer, Vice President of Strategic Sales at Attentive.

Birkmeyer linked that shift to the way shoppers now research products and compare options before the holiday rush. Consumers are deciding earlier which brands they trust and where they expect to spend.

"Consumers are discovering products, comparing options, and deciding which brands they trust long before the holiday rush. The retailers that win this holiday season will be the ones using AI to understand and deliver on individual customer preferences, serve timely, personalized experiences across every channel, and strengthen relationships well before promotions begin," Birkmeyer said.

The findings add to evidence that the year-end shopping period is becoming more spread out, with decisions taking shape over weeks or months rather than around a single discount event. For retailers, the challenge is not only pricing but also timing, as 84% of consumers expect holiday deals before Black Friday and 71% plan to start shopping before the event itself.