Black Friday, Friday 28 November 2025, is a Global Business Opportunity — are you Prepared?
Black Friday is a huge global sales opportunity, but how customers engage with it varies significantly by country, culture, and language. Pro tip! Start localisation early. Shoppers in some regions begin comparing deals weeks in advance, and late preparation can make your brand look unprepared and out of sync.
Understanding Local Shopping Culture
Black Friday is (almost) a global shopping event, but it doesn’t look the same everywhere.
In the USA, it’s closely tied to Thanksgiving traditions, while in Europe it has become a retail-driven event. In Latin America, it sometimes overlaps with events like “Buen Fin”, or connects directly to the Christmas shopping season. In China it overlaps with “Singles’ Day”.
This means your business needs to start by understanding how customers in each region actually view Black Friday — whether they expect steep discounts, loyalty rewards or extended promotions (like Cyber Monday or Singles’ Day).
Research & Planning
- Identify which markets celebrate or recognise Black Friday.
- Research local shopping habits: do customers want steep discounts, loyalty perks, or bundles?
- Check competing events and adjust timing if needed.
Localise Promotions and Messaging
Once you’ve considered the local shopping culture, the next step is tailoring your promotions and messaging.
Avoid word-for-word translations — direct translation isn’t enough; campaigns should be adapted to reflect cultural nuance. For instance, American customers may respond well to “doorbuster deals,” while German and Nordic shoppers might prefer straightforward “early access savings” with transparent terms. Whereas in Japan, shoppers might value exclusive loyalty perks more than aggressive markdowns.
Visuals also need attention — colours, imagery, and product selection should feel familiar and relevant to local audiences.
Offers & Messaging
- Translate and localise campaigns with cultural nuance.
- Consider promotional styles.
- Adjust visuals, colours, and product images to match cultural preferences.
- Ensure pricing feels local (round numbers, familiar discount patterns).
Related topic: Understanding (and meeting) new customer expectations
Localize Digital Touchpoints
Digital touchpoints are critical during Black Friday, and these too should be localised. Your website and app should display local currencies, taxes, and units of measurement (for example: kg vs. lb, cm vs. inches, or size 38 vs. 10 vs. 8!).
Ideally you should create country-specific landing pages (for example, “Black Friday España” rather than a generic English version).
Search optimisation (SEO) also plays a big role: Spanish-speaking audiences are more likely to look for “Black Friday ofertas,” while English-speaking shoppers search for “Black Friday deals.”
Consider that payment preferences vary widely as well; offering Klarna in Germany, Pix in Brazil, or Alipay in China can make or break conversions.
Website & App Readiness
- Localise currency, taxes, and units of measurement.
- Create local landing pages.
- Optimise for local search keywords (“ofertas” vs. “deals”).
- Offer region-preferred payment methods.
- Test checkout flows in each market to ensure smooth conversions.
Localise Logistics and Customer Support
Logistics and customer support are incredibly important. In some regions, fast delivery is critical — a key differentiator — while in others free shipping is more attractive.
Return policies also vary — local laws may dictate minimum return periods, with some countries having stricter consumer laws around returns and refunds.
Customer support should ideally be multilingual — especially payment, customer reviews and FAQ pages. You should plan for surge capacity in fulfilment and support during the sales period. If you can’t scale local teams in every market, AI chatbots or outsourced multilingual agents can help maintain responsiveness.
Logistics & Customer Support
- Align delivery options with local expectations (fast delivery vs. free delivery).
- Review return/refund policies to comply with local consumer protection laws.
- Provide multilingual support (chat, FAQ, email).
79% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, yet 55% say it generally feels like they’re communicating with separate departments rather than one company.
— Salesforce: What Are Customer Expectations, and How Have They Changed?
Localise Marketing Channels
Marketing channels should also be adapted to local habits. An email campaign written in English with a sense of urgency may work in the U.S., however in other regions a softer, value-driven tone resonates better.
Social platforms differ too: WhatsApp is essential in Latin America, LINE dominates in Japan, and TikTok is increasingly powerful in Europe and the US.
Partnering with local influencers can sometimes add authenticity, and localised content can help your brand stand out amid a flood of sales promotions.
Marketing & Outreach
- Localize email subject lines and copy (tone varies by region).
- Adapt campaigns to regionally dominant social media platforms.
- Partner with local influencers.
- Set up retargeting ads with localized messaging and currencies.
Test & Optimise by Market
Finally, success comes down to testing and optimising.
Running A/B tests for messaging, discount types, and visuals in each market can uncover surprising insights. Plus, monitoring performance in real time allows you to make mid-event adjustments if one strategy is underperforming. For example, you might want to extend hours, increase discounts, or change or adjust creatives.
After the event, gathering market-specific insights on which payment methods, shipping options, and campaign styles worked best will strengthen your playbook for next year.
Testing & Optimisation
- Run A/B tests for messaging, discounts, and visuals in each market.
- Monitor traffic, conversions, and abandonment rates in real time.
- Adjust promotions if necessary.
- Collect market-specific performance insights.
Finally…
In short, making the most of the sales opportunities offered by Black Friday (and other promotional events) requires more than just translation — it requires effective localisation. By adapting your offers, marketing, and customer experience to align with local cultures, languages, and shopping behaviours, your business can maximise conversions, build trust, and — importantly, if your customer base is young — avoid appearing out of touch!