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By Prem Gupta · December 8, 2025 · Curated by George's Blog
As the BFCM sale event ends, there were several things that felt different this year. The 12-day sale window almost felt like a regular period because traffic was low on most days and customers didn’t seem as engaged. In many categories it was business as usual until November 28, the actual Black Friday. Interestingly, we noticed that some categories performed better on Sunday, November 30, compared to Black Friday itself.
There were no clear trends or patterns this year. Dayparting predictions based on previous days did not hold true. The only consistent pattern was an increase in CPC and a decrease in CVR across ad types and placements because sellers were aggressively competing under the assumption that BFCM would deliver strong results.
I also came across the concept of promotion fatigue. This happens when shoppers are exposed to constant discounts and stop reacting because promotions do not feel special, urgent, or valuable anymore. I think we are very much in that phase now.
Some sellers may say they saw strong results, but that number feels significantly smaller. 2 years ago, when BFCM lasted only 5 days, nearly 90% of sellers experienced strong sales and conversions. That no longer seems to be the case. A few evergreen categories like electronics still respond well because whenever there is a discount on headphones or gadgets people tend to buy instantly.
For most categories, price reduction now seems to be the only reliable lever to drive volume. Amazon is also moving in that direction by highlighting price history in Rufus, giving shoppers prompts to compare prices with competitors. This pushes sellers to maintain aggressive pricing and offer frequent deals.
As we move into the new year, it is clear that Amazon advertising is changing rapidly. Competition is becoming tougher and pricing pressure is increasing. The only sustainable differentiators going forward will be stronger creatives, improved brand messaging, and a clear value narrative because these are the elements that will set you apart when everything else starts to look similar.
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