UK Cyber Monday online orders soar, eclipsing Black Friday by 70 per cent

UK online shoppers held out for last-minute deals this year, pushing orders on Cyber Monday sharply ahead of Black Friday, according to newly released data from Scurri.

Scurri’s data covering the period 28 November-01 December 2025 shows overall online order volumes rose +15 per cent year-on-year (YOY) during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) window. Every day of the period exceeded 2024’s daily volumes, with Saturday 29 November and Sunday 30 November delivering the biggest YOY increases at +19 per cent each.

However, the real standout was Cyber Monday; online order volume that day outpaced Black Friday by approximately 70 per cent, reflecting widespread consumer reluctance to commit until the final hours of promotional activity. The peak hour for conversions on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday was 5pm and a notable proportion of sales landed then.

MRI Software reported that visitors to high street stores were down 2 per cent on Friday and 7.2 per cent compared with the equivalent days last year. This contrasts with early online spend and it paints a different picture. On the day, live Nationwide data showed a 10.36 per cent increase in YoY transaction volume, further proving that the modern Black Friday is a digital-first peak.

According to Rory O’Connor, Founder & CEO of Scurri, said, “Retailers will welcome the boost to sales across Black Friday, especially after what looked like a lull after the burst of activity in early November. Savvy shoppers played a waiting game, holding out until they were confident of securing the best deal. Now the challenge will be sustaining that performance through the rest of the peak season. That will hinge on capitalising on Christmas demand and, crucially, delivering excellent post-purchase experiences, the point at which customers are often most engaged.”

Looking at delivery preferences during BFCM 2025, standard delivery grew in popularity; 25 per cent of all orders opted for standard delivery (up from 21 per cent in 2024). Meanwhile 29 per cent used express fulfilment (down from 36 per cent in 2024) and 19 per cent chose next day delivery (up from 16 per cent in 2024).

“This pattern underlines a key shift,” O’Connor added. “Consumers are increasingly expecting standard delivery to be faster, often around two days instead of three, and appear less willing to pay extra for express. For retailers, that means delivery networks must remain agile and efficient. Fulfilment can make or break customer loyalty and long term success.”

Overall, 2025 has been a good year for retail, but with plenty of ups and downs. While some sectors like beauty and gifting performed strongly, others struggled to find real YOY growth. The muted demand early in the season, followed by surges during peak promotional days, signals a shift to extended build ups to deeper discounts, followed by concentrated bursts of buying.

For retailers, this presents more opportunities than ever, from social commerce to the reuse economy, provided they recognise that how people shop is changing. Delivery remains a key differentiator and the retailers that succeed will be those adapting quickly to evolving customer expectations across existing and emerging channels.