Holiday shopping behavior is more complex than the traditional Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) rush, according to a new analysis of more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages sent globally through Intuit Mailchimp from Halloween through New Year's Eve 2025. The study, conducted with Datalily and released as part of Mailchimp’s Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report, uncovers surprising patterns in when consumers buy and what brings them back, offering critical insights for businesses planning their holiday marketing strategies.
One key finding is that quieter marketing days can still be strong shopping days. During the 2025 peak season, weekend order rates were twice weekday rates, even though brands sent roughly 60% fewer messages on weekends. On the Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brands sent 59% fewer emails and 82% fewer text messages than on Black Friday. This suggests that consumer shopping activity continues even when promotional messaging slows, and retailers may benefit from maintaining some level of communication throughout the weekend.
Text messaging emerged as a powerful engagement channel during high shopping periods. While email remained the larger revenue driver overall, SMS averaged a 15.7% click rate per message delivered during BFCM weekend, compared with 1.4% for email. At peak points, SMS generated up to six times higher order rates than email and three times higher revenue per message. These results highlight how consumers respond differently across channels during the holiday season, and businesses may need to diversify their outreach to capture attention.
The research also revealed that first-time customers spent more per order. During BFCM weekend, shoppers making their first purchase from a brand accounted for 59% of email-attributed orders and nearly 70% of SMS-attributed orders. Average order values for first-time buyers were 21% higher through email and 39% higher through SMS compared with repeat buyers. For businesses, this underscores the importance of holiday promotions not only for driving immediate sales but also for acquiring new customers who may become loyal in the long term.
Retention beyond the holidays is another notable trend. Among shoppers who made their first purchase during peak season, 16.6% purchased again during the first quarter of 2026, with a median of 26 days between purchases. This points to the potential value of post-holiday engagement strategies to nurture newly acquired customers and encourage repeat business.
Taken together, the findings suggest that holiday shopping is not confined to a few major promotional days. Shopping activity can remain strong on weekends, different communication channels yield varying results, and first-time customers often continue engaging with brands after their initial purchase. For businesses, understanding these patterns can inform how and when they communicate with customers throughout the holiday season and into the new year. The full report, including interactive charts, is available through the link above. This news was distributed by (NewsUSA).
