Andy Squire, regional lead at Brave Ads, looks at why retailers concentrating their firepower on Black Friday could be overlooking some of the most valuable sales opportunities of the Christmas period.

It wasn’t so long ago that Boxing Day was the undisputed king of the British sales calendar. Shoppers queued outside department stores in the early hours, scrapped over discounted white goods, and descended on the high street to panic buy piles of cut-price clothes and Christmas stock. Next thing you know, Black Friday arrives from America and the party is over.

These days, Black Friday is an obsession for retail marketers, with huge budgets, months of planning and increasingly elaborate campaigns geared towards getting customers to part with their cash. And while there’s no questioning its importance, it’s worth considering whether all this attention is coming at the expense of other opportunities throughout the Christmas and holiday sales season. After all, there’s little point fighting tooth and nail for Black Friday customers if good sales opportunities are being missed later in the quarter. Because Boxing Day, despite playing second fiddle in the public’s cultural consciousness, still has plenty to offer.

Adobe reports that UK consumers spent £1.16 billion online during Black Friday 2025, making it the biggest online shopping day of the year. It’s an enormous opportunity, and understandably one that retailers are keen to capitalise on.

The danger comes when brands put too much faith in a single event. Consumer confidence remains fragile, spending is more considered and competition for shoppers’ attention is fierce, frantic and furious.

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