Black Friday 2024 vs Black Friday 2025: What This Year’s Data Tells Us and How Brands Should Prepare for the Holiday Rush

November 28, 2025

Black Friday 2024 vs Black Friday 2025: How Performance Is Shifting and What Brands Must Do to Win This Year

Black Friday doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s the culmination of twelve months of shifting platform behavior, rising costs, new consumer expectations, and the subtle changes you feel long before the holiday discounts roll out.

If you look closely at the data brands generated in 2024 and compare it to the early 2025 industry performance benchmarks, a clear story emerges. The platforms that carried revenue last year aren’t behaving the same way this year. Some became more expensive. Some became more efficient. Some became harder to control. And some became absolute standouts.

This is the story of what changed between Black Friday 2024 and Black Friday 2025, and how brands can use that evolution to drive more revenue, protect margin, and build a smarter holiday strategy.

Google in 2024: Rising Costs. Strong Intent. Shrinking Margins.

The 2024 benchmark data shows a consistent theme across Google’s ecosystem. CPC increased by 1 percent, CPM increased by 7 percent, and conversion rates improved by 2 percent. Costs rose faster than efficiency. That created a year where Google still converted high-intent shoppers but punished advertisers who were not disciplined in their keyword targeting, bidding strategies, and product feed optimization.

When you carry that behavior into Black Friday 2024, the implications were clear. Brands likely saw record CPC spikes and more volatile competition, but still strong conversion volume for the advertisers who kept their targeting tight and avoided broad-match waste.

Now look at how that compares to early 2025 data across all industries. Beauty & Fitness, Home & Garden, Pets & Animals, and Computers & Electronics all show high median CPAs and elevated CPCs. Shopping CPC remains cheap, but nearly every other category carries meaningful cost pressure.

This confirms what many marketers already suspect. The rising cost curve wasn’t a seasonal anomaly. It’s becoming the norm.

For Black Friday 2025, winning on Google will require precision. Not scale. Brands should expect higher cost floors and should build strategy around efficiency, not brute-force budget.

Meta in 2024: The Most Improved Performance Channel

Meta’s 2024 numbers tell a different story. ROAS increased by 17 percent. Conversion rates surged by 32 percent. CPM rose just 2 percent. This is a platform that became significantly more efficient during 2024, largely due to improvements in Advantage+ programs, creative-driven optimization, and the growing influence of social shopping behaviors.

Black Friday 2024 likely reflected this improved efficiency. Meta retargeting audiences probably converted at some of the best rates in recent years. Broad targeting consistently outperformed interest-based setups. And because CPMs remained steady, brands were able to scale spend without the dramatic inflation they experienced on Google.

Now look at the 2025 vertical performance. Beauty & Fitness is overwhelmingly Meta-dominant at 90 percent of total spend. Shopping allocates more than 40 percent to Meta. Even high-cost categories like Home & Garden and Electronics rely heavily on Meta as their second largest spend channel.

The 2025 industry data shows brands allocating spend where the results already improved.

That means Black Friday 2025 will be the year Meta becomes the central engine of profitable scale. Not Google. Meta.

Bing in 2024: The Hidden Arbitrage That Becomes a 2025 Necessity

The biggest 2024 standout was Bing. ROAS increased by 36 percent. CTR jumped 29 percent. CPC decreased 9 percent. It was the rare channel where costs dropped while engagement and returns rose.

During Black Friday 2024, this likely created a calm, profitable environment for brands that leaned into Bing. Because Bing experiences less competition and softer auction inflation, advertisers who split budgets between Google and Bing probably improved blended CAC in ways they did not fully appreciate at the time.

Now look at the 2025 industry numbers. Verticals dominated by Google, such as Home & Garden (97.5 percent Google) and Pets & Animals (99.6 percent Google), show some of the highest CPCs and CPAs in the entire dataset. These verticals carry the heaviest cost burden and have the least diversification. They are perfectly primed for Bing to become a margin-saving channel.

Black Friday 2025 will reward brands who treat Bing as a core search platform rather than an afterthought. Even a 10 to 20 percent budget shift can stabilize CAC and offset Google inflation.

Shopping and Ecommerce: Higher Intent in 2024 Meets Higher Efficiency in 2025

The 2024 benchmark data shows Shopping performance improving. ROAS increased by 6 percent and conversion rates grew by 12 percent. Consumers were primed to buy. They were already acting like it was “mini Black Friday” throughout the year.

When you compare this to the 2025 industry report, the Shopping vertical stands out as one of the most efficient categories. CPC is just $1.49, conversion rates remain strong, and platform spend is balanced across Google, Meta, and TikTok. Shopping is the only category where TikTok spends 3 percent or more, signaling the rise of social commerce in this vertical.

That means Black Friday 2025 shoppers will behave differently than they did in 2024. They already expect personalized recommendations, dynamic pricing, and cross-platform deal discovery. They will move from TikTok to Meta to Google before deciding where to buy.

For brands, this means feed quality, creative clarity, and synchronized promotions across platforms will be the difference between a good year and a great one.

Display: Weak in 2024 and Even Weaker in 2025

Display performance declined in 2024 across both ROAS and conversion rates. The 2025 industry data reinforces this direction by showing better efficiency across virtually every alternative channel. By comparison, Display is losing ground to Meta, Shopping, TikTok, and even Bing when it comes to both cost and outcome.

Black Friday 2025 will not be the year to rely on Display for meaningful acquisition. Brands should move their Display retargeting budget into Meta, and their prospecting budget into TikTok, YouTube, or Advantage+ programs.

What Black Friday 2025 Will Require That Black Friday 2024 Did Not

Black Friday 2024 rewarded diversification, creative iteration, and smart feed optimization. Black Friday 2025 will require something even more specific.

Here’s what brands must do this year.

Use Meta as a primary acquisition driver, not just retargeting

Meta proved its efficiency in 2024 and the 2025 industry spend patterns show brands doubling down. Build strong creative concepts early and prepare to scale.

Reduce dependency on Google in high-cost verticals

Industries like Pets, Electronics, and Home & Garden will feel the most holiday inflation. Use Bing, Meta, and TikTok to stabilize CAC.

Make Shopping your most disciplined channel

Daily feed updates, accurate pricing, product reviews, structured data, and competitive promotions will determine who wins this year’s comparison shoppers.

Build cross-platform holiday experiences

Shoppers will discover on TikTok, evaluate on Meta, and buy through Google Shopping or retailer sites. Your promotions need to follow them across the funnel.

Treat Display as a supporting channel, not a core channel

Use Display only for top-of-funnel awareness or YouTube-style storytelling.

Final Thoughts: The Holiday Season Is Won Before It Starts

The shift from Black Friday 2024 to Black Friday 2025 is not a subtle one. The platforms that carried growth last year are behaving differently now. The verticals that were cheap last year are no longer cheap. The verticals that were expensive last year are even more expensive today.

If you understand how 2024’s platform-level performance evolved into 2025’s vertical realities, you have the roadmap for the season ahead. Brands who diversify early, build stronger creative, improve Shopping feeds, and lean into Bing and Meta will enter November with confidence and exit December with momentum.

The Data

1. Google: From “expensive but converting” in 2024 → to “more expensive and significantly more competitive” in 2025

What Google looked like in 2024

The 2024 platform benchmarks show clear cost pressure: CPC rose 1 percent, CPM rose 7 percent, and conversion rates improved modestly at 2 percent. ROAS slipped because costs climbed faster than performance improved.

Google was still a reliable conversion engine, but it punished inefficiency.

How that evolved in 2025

The 2025 industry reports reveal that the verticals most dependent on Google are experiencing the steepest cost structures:

Pets & Animals sits at 99.6 percent Google spend, with CPC at $71.45 and CPL at $1,256.77
Home & Garden spends 97.5 percent on Google, with CPC $12.60 and CPL $152.98
Computers & Electronics spends 64.7 percent on Google, with CPC $29.92 and CPL $1,025.72

Auction pressure intensified. Costs inflated. High-intent categories became some of the most expensive in the dataset.

What this means for Black Friday 2025

Expect Google to convert but at a premium.
Expect steeper CPC spikes leading into Cyber Week.
Expect the highest-cost verticals to face the greatest volatility.

What brands must do

Collapse keyword lists into high-intent clusters
Improve product feed accuracy and refresh daily
Use negatives in PMAX and constrain URL expansion
Move 10 to 20 percent of budget into Bing to stabilize CAC

Google remains essential, but only if you control the pressure valve.

2. Meta: From “the surprise efficiency winner” in 2024 → to “the core profit engine” in 2025

What Meta looked like in 2024

Meta’s performance surged in 2024. ROAS increased 17 percent. Conversion rates jumped 32 percent. CPM grew only 2 percent.

Advertisers benefited from more stable auctions and dramatically stronger conversion efficiency.

How that evolved in 2025

The 2025 industry data shows brands shifting spend toward Meta exactly where it makes sense:

Beauty & Fitness allocates 90.3 percent of its ad spend to Meta
Shopping spends 40.7 percent on Meta
Electronics spends 35 percent on Meta despite Google weight

Verticals with visual storytelling and impulse conversion patterns are placing heavy trust in Meta.

What this means for Black Friday 2025

Meta is poised to carry both upper-funnel scale and lower-funnel conversions.
Creative quality becomes the biggest differentiator.
Advantage+ will outperform manual segmentation.
Retargeting will convert at Black Friday–level efficiency all month long.

What brands must do

Produce 5 to 7 completely different creative concepts
Start scaling November 1, not November 24
Sync promotions across Meta, Google Shopping, and TikTok
Build strong first-party audiences for peak-season retargeting

In 2025, Meta isn’t a support channel. It’s the anchor.

3. Bing: From “underrated arbitrage” in 2024 → to “a necessary cost stabilizer” in 2025

What Bing looked like in 2024

The 2024 benchmarks make Bing the quiet MVP:

ROAS increased 36 percent
CTR increased 29 percent
CPC decreased 9 percent

It was the only platform where costs dropped while returns rose.

How that evolved in 2025

2025’s costliest verticals are overwhelmingly Google-dependent:

Pets: 99.6 percent Google
Home & Garden: 97.5 percent Google
Shopping and Electronics also lean heavily on Google

These categories are paying for it through dramatically inflated CPCs and CPAs.

This is exactly where Bing’s efficiency becomes strategically valuable.

What this means for Black Friday 2025

Bing will be the primary lever for reducing blended CAC.
Bing’s auctions won’t spike the way Google’s will in late November.
Older, higher-income shoppers (Bing’s core demographic) are ideal holiday buyers.

What brands must do

Shift 10 to 20 percent of search budget into Bing
Build Bing-specific creative and copy
Mirror keyword structure but not match type strategy from Google
Track incremental lift, not last-click attribution

Bing is not optional this year. It is foundational for margin protection.

4. Shopping & Ecommerce: From “elevated intent” in 2024 → to “high-intent and high-efficiency” in 2025

What Shopping looked like in 2024

The benchmark report shows Shopping campaigns improving:

ROAS increased 6 percent
Conversion rates increased 12 percent

Consumers were ready to buy long before Black Friday.

How that evolved in 2025

In the 2025 industry data, Shopping stands out as one of the best-positioned verticals:

CPC is low at $1.49
CVR is strong at 5.86 percent
Google accounts for 56 percent of spend, Meta for 40 percent, and TikTok for 3 percent

It is the most platform-balanced vertical in the entire dataset.

What this means for Black Friday 2025

Consumers will compare prices across Google, Meta Shops, Amazon, and TikTok before purchasing.
Shopping will deliver the highest-intent clicks, but only if feed accuracy is maintained.
Cross-platform consistency becomes the key to trust.

What brands must do

Update product feeds daily from November 10 to December 1
Use SKU-level promotions and avoid blanket discounts
Build price-matching or price-beating strategies
Sync Meta creatives and Google Shopping listings

2025 will be a comparison-shopping year. Your feeds and creative must match.

5. Display: From “weak and declining” in 2024 → to “non-essential in 2025 unless highly strategic”

What Display looked like in 2024

The platform benchmarks indicate Display performance fell in both ROAS and conversion rates. Costs rose while returns dropped.

How that evolved in 2025

The 2025 industry data shows strong performance across shopping, social, and search channels, while Display is absent from any of the strongest-performing ecosystems.

That means Display is losing out to YouTube, Meta video, and TikTok as consumers shift to visually-driven discovery.

What this means for Black Friday 2025

Display will not compete in performance environments.
Retargeting on GDN will lose to Meta Advantage+.
Prospecting on GDN will lose to TikTok and YouTube.