Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) aren’t just about doorbusters or digital flash sales anymore—they’re also about operational precision. With ad spend expected to increase during this BFCM season and the cost of acquiring new customers continuing to rise, brands and agencies face a pivotal question:
How do you scale profitably in a landscape that’s both bursting with opportunity and full of economic uncertainty?
The answer lies at the intersection of data-driven marketing, financial agility, and speed to execution. These are areas where your accounts payable (AP) process plays a critical role.
Let’s explore what’s changing this BFCM season, and how brands that optimize both their marketing and financial operations will come out ahead.
The Economic Landscape in 2025: High Intent, Lower Predictability
While the retail forecast remains strong, consumer behavior is being reshaped by macroeconomic pressures. Per Deloitte:
- 81% of consumers say inflation is impacting their purchase decisions.
- 82% plan to cut back on essentials to preserve budget for gifting.
- Yet 77% expect to spend the same or more than last year.
In short: Consumers are still eager to shop, but more selective than ever. This creates a paradox for marketers—a willing audience, but a higher bar to earn their click, add-to-cart, and loyalty.
Meanwhile, media costs are rising fast:
- Per The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s 2025 Outlook Survey, ad spend is increasing 7.3% YoY, and media budgets are increasing 28–35% in the same time frame.
- Cyber Monday 2024 was the single most expensive day to advertise on Meta platforms, according to Gupta Media’s State of Social Media CPM Report.
With tighter consumer wallets and inflated ad costs, every dollar must work harder and move faster.
What’s Changing for BFCM in 2025: Trends Marketers Can’t Afford to Ignore
BFCM continues to evolve year over year, so your approach should too. Here are a few trends to factor into that evolution.
The Holiday Shopping Window Has Shifted
The Black Friday day-of rush is no longer the focal point of the shopping season. According to The Bazaar Voice’s Holiday Consumer Shopping Report 2025, consumers are changing when they buy:
- Shoppers are increasingly moving their purchases to September and October to balance their budgets.
- Their projections indicate that September will experience a 6-point increase in shoppers starting their holiday shopping compared to 2024, while October is expected to see a 4-point boost.
- Meanwhile, December is expected to face an 8-point decrease, showing that the number of last-minute shoppers is continuing to shrink.
The takeaway: Start your paid campaigns, emails, and influencer activations in September and October or risk missing your audience entirely.
Mobile Continues to Be Dominant
Brands not delivering seamless, mobile-first experiences across multiple mobile-first channels will miss a majority of their customers.
- 56.5% of e-commerce sales will happen on mobile in 2025, according to BigCommerce.
- According to Salesforce, the percentage of mobile orders placed grew to 70% in 2024, an increase from 67% in 2023, and that trend upwards is expected to continue.
- A Basis Technologies survey found that 35% of Gen Z and 26% of Millennials plan to buy gifts via social media. In total, 18% of all respondents across all demographics said they would shop this way, mainly on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.
AI Is Still the Name of the Game
AI is doing more than just transforming how marketers run campaigns. This technology is also reshaping how consumers shop, which means it’s also affecting how brands must show up.
These AI shoppers are tech-savvy—faster, more decisive, and less loyal to brands that don’t meet their needs instantly. This shift introduces a new kind of pressure: your campaign assets must be AI-discoverable.
That means:
- Structured product data that AI engines can parse.
- Clear, compelling copy for search summaries and auto-recommendations.
- Consistent metadata across marketplaces, social shops, and your own site.
- Available inventory and accurate pricing.
Consumers are no longer browsing—they’re asking. Brands that can answer clearly, accurately, and instantly will win.
How Payment Speed and Cash Flow Impact Campaign Success
For some marketing teams, payments are just an afterthought. But during high-velocity shopping events like BFCM, slow or outdated payment processes create real bottlenecks.
Here’s why AP automation and cash flow visibility are essential in 2025, especially during the rush of BFCM.
Campaign Agility Depends on Payment Agility
Media buying windows are getting shorter, and delayed payments can negatively impact vendor relationships.
With AI-enhanced AP, marketers can fund fast-moving campaigns, test emerging platforms, and unlock placements that drive revenue without manual delays.
Real-Time Budget Visibility = Smarter Strategy
BFCM is no longer a weekend, it’s a 45+ day campaign sprint, starting as early as late September. In that time, spend is fluid, audiences evolve, and tactics pivot.
With manual AP, tracking campaign spend across suppliers, platforms, and partners is a constant challenge. But with automation, marketing and finance teams can:
- Monitor liabilities across every campaign.
- Forecast spend vs. actuals by channel.
- Adjust budget allocations before they cause friction.
Tip: Think of automated AP as your campaign’s financial cockpit—clear, connected, and fast.
Faster Supplier Payments Strengthen Partnerships
Creative partners, influencers, and media agencies are often juggling dozens of BFCM campaigns. Paying suppliers faster can mean:
- Faster turnaround on ad creative.
- First priority on high-performing media slots.
- Better rates due to reliability.
Smarter Media Buys Start With Smarter AP
First-Party Data and Predictive AI
Customers want experiences that feel specific and directed for them:
- 74% of consumers expect personalization from B2C brands in 2025, according to Klaviyo.
- Klaviyo’s s 2025 Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) Forecast found that 54% of consumers will use AI shopping assistants this BFCM season.
But here’s the catch: these systems require clean data for accurate assistance and connected backend operations. Manual AP processes often create data silos, delays in spend reporting, and blind spots in marketing ROI.
Retention > Acquisition
Campaigns focused on retention require speed, coordination, and reliable spend data—all of which are supported by real-time AP workflows.
- Customer acquisition revenue is expected to decline, with more brands focused on loyalty and retention.
- Early access perks, free shipping, and exclusive discounts are top-performing incentives.
Final Strategies: Connect Marketing and Finance for BFCM Wins
To pull it all together, here’s a potential go-forward strategy:
- Plan campaigns by early October.
- Use AI-enhanced AP to streamline payment approvals.
- Pay suppliers faster to help maintain healthy relationships.
- Build omnichannel journeys across mobile, video, email, and social.
- Use real-time spend data to shift budgets proactively.
This BFCM, success won’t just belong to the most creative or the biggest spender, it’ll go to the most agile.
Marketers who can pivot faster, pay faster, and prove ROI sooner will unlock more value from every dollar. With economic volatility likely to continue into 2026, operational efficiency will be your competitive edge.
Get Your AP Ready for BFCM
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The information presented on this page is based on research and intended for educational purposes only. Anyone seeking to follow the information contained herein should consult their own advisors and conduct their own research prior to doing so. AvidXchange, Inc. and its affiliates disclaim any and all liability resulting from reliance on the information contained herein.