Black Friday 2025: Trust, Margins and the New Retail Reality

Black Friday and Cyber Monday might be over, but the real story is only just emerging.

Hi, I'm Clare Bailey, founder of Retail Champion.

In this episode, I'm reflecting back on Black Friday 2025 and Cyber Monday.

This year we saw shoppers spend £3.8B online, yet trust took a hit, margins suffered, and some of the UK’s most established retailers ended up in the headlines for the wrong reasons.

I dig into what Black Friday 2025 actually revealed about today’s shopper — from scepticism around fake discounts to the growing pressure on frontline staff and the operational cracks that show up every year.

If you want clarity on what really happened, how it affects the rest of peak season, and what retailers should change right now, this is the episode for you.

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