In 2014, nearly 90% of the season’s UK search interest in Black Friday fell in the eight days up to and including Cyber Monday. By 2025, two-thirds came before Black Friday week had even started.
That change says a lot about how Christmas shopping works now. Black Friday hasn't gone away. It has spread out.
We pulled daily UK Google Trends data for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and five popular Christmas gifts. We looked at 2014, when Black Friday took off in the UK, 2020, the lockdown Black Friday, and 2025. Google Trends measures relative search interest. The shares and comparisons below are based on those index values.
The day is still the biggest
Black Friday 2025 was the UK's biggest online shopping day of the year, with £1.16 billion spent online. Barclays' card data shows that retail transactions that day were 62.5% higher than on an average day in 2025. Adobe Digital Insights, Barclays figures reported by Sharecast.
Across November, Barclays found that UK card spending fell 1.1% year on year, the biggest drop since February 2021. The British Retail Consortium reported that retail sales grew by 1.4%. Barclays figures reported by Sharecast, BRC retail sales monitor.
So the day is still the peak. What has changed is everything around it.
How we got here
Black Friday began in the US on the Friday after Thanksgiving, when shops cut prices to start the Christmas rush. Cyber Monday followed in 2005. Ellen Davis, who helped coin the term at the US National Retail Federation, recalled that many people waited until they were back at work on Monday because they had a faster internet connection there. Fast Company interview with Ellen Davis.
Amazon ran Black Friday deals in the UK in 2010. Other retailers soon joined in, and within a few years it was a fixture of the British shopping calendar.
Black Friday has become an entire month of sales
We looked at when UK search interest in Black Friday fell between October and December. The shift is hard to miss.
- 2014. 10% of the season's search interest came before Black Friday week. Almost all the rest fell in the eight days ending on Cyber Monday.
- 2020. 57% came before Black Friday week.
- 2025. 66% came before Black Friday week.
The four days from Black Friday to Cyber Monday accounted for 15% of the season's search interest in 2025, down from 47% in 2014.
Retailers have helped push this along by starting deals earlier. The British Retail Consortium said 2025's deals started earlier than usual. The search data suggests shoppers are looking earlier too, even though spending still peaks on the day. British Retail Consortium.
What five popular gifts tell us
To see what this means for actual products, we tracked daily UK search interest for five popular Christmas gifts. TVs, perfume, LEGO, trainers and headphones.
All five peaked on Black Friday in 2020 and 2025. In 2014, TVs, perfume and headphones peaked on the Friday, while LEGO and trainers peaked two days later, on the Sunday.
But the spike has flattened
What has changed is how much Black Friday stands out. We compared search interest on Black Friday with an average October day in the same year.
- TVs. 6.7 times an average October day in 2014, compared with 2 times in 2025.
- Perfume. Down from 4 times to 2.9 times.
- Headphones. Down from 3.5 times to 2.1 times.
- LEGO and trainers. LEGO went from 1.8 to 2.4 times, and trainers from 1.7 to 1.9 times.
By 2025, all five sat between 1.9 and 2.9 times an average October day. TVs were the classic Black Friday buy. Today, the spike for TVs is about the same as it is for trainers.
Why shoppers take their time
One possible reason people spend weeks looking is that they've learned to check how good the deals really are.
Which? tracked the prices of 175 products at eight UK retailers for a year. It found that 83% were the same price or cheaper at some point outside the four-week 2024 Black Friday sale. None was at its cheapest on Black Friday itself. Earlier studies found much the same. Which? price tracking study.
After years of headlines like that, it makes sense that shoppers compare first and buy later. A clear offer they can check gives them more to go on than a big “up to 70% off” banner.
What about service businesses?
We checked UK search interest in mortgages, accountants and solicitors. On Black Friday 2025, all three were at or just below an average October day. Interest fell during Christmas week.
For solicitors, the bigger swing was the weekend. Search interest roughly halved on Saturdays and Sundays. That's worth more of your planning time than Black Friday.
What it means for your Google Ads
If you sell products, Black Friday still deserves its place in the plan. Give the weeks leading up to it some attention too.
- Plan for November. Two-thirds of Black Friday search interest came before Black Friday week in 2025. Be in front of those shoppers while they compare, and build the audiences you'll want to reach again later.
- Make sure the budget is there on the day. Black Friday was the peak for all five gifts we tracked in 2025. Use your own account's hourly performance to plan when you'll need that budget.
- Keep the offer clear across the four days. One offer from Black Friday to Cyber Monday is simpler for shoppers and for your team.
- Allow for higher click costs and look beyond the first sale. If competition pushes click prices up, the day may be less profitable than you forecast. A customer you break even on can still be worth winning if they come back and buy again. Use your repeat purchase data to work out what you can afford to pay.
- Check your own pattern. Look at when searches and sales for your own products peak before you decide where the budget goes.
The short version
Black Friday was still the UK's biggest online shopping day in 2025. Search interest was already building weeks earlier. Give November its own plan and keep enough budget for the day itself.
Planning your Black Friday Google Ads? Tell us what's working, what isn't and what you'd like to change.