Black Friday is being turned into Double 11 by Chinese cross-border e-commerce.

Similar to Singles' Day in China, Black Friday also involves extended periods of time.

Recently, Temu officially announced that its Black Friday sale in the US will start its pre-sale on October 9 and continue until November 29, lasting a total of 51 days, once again breaking Temu's record for the longest Black Friday sale.

TikTok's Black Friday campaign runs from late October to early December, spanning multiple markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Mexico.

AliExpress announced that the pre-sale period for its 2025 overseas Double 11 shopping festival will begin on November 8 and continue until December 3, overlapping with Black Friday promotions, for a total period of one month.

Following the extended Black Friday and Cyber Monday events on Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, Amazon has officially announced that its 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday will take place from November 20 to December 1, lasting 12 days, making it Amazon's longest Black Friday ever.

Rewriting the rules of Black Friday

Black Friday was originally the peak of the annual sales promotion in the US retail industry, a retail extravaganza dominated by Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, and others. However, with the global expansion of Chinese cross-border e-commerce, this shopping festival has become an arena for competition between Chinese and American e-commerce platforms.

Especially in 2025, Black Friday has become a crucial battleground for almost all Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms, and the entry of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms is rewriting the rules of the game for Black Friday.

First, extend the battlefront.

Traditionally, Black Friday falls at the end of November. However, Chinese platforms begin their pre-event promotions as early as the end of October, or even earlier. Through endless coupons, mini-games, and social media sharing, they extend Black Friday from a single peak into a continuous campaign.

This approach naturally dilutes the uniqueness of Black Friday. If consumers have already bought discounted goods in October, will they still be excited about the promotions at the end of November? Therefore, e-commerce platforms such as Walmart and Amazon have to start their promotions earlier, and the entire month of November, and even October, is gradually turning into the Black Friday promotion period.

Second, it increases the marketing costs of all e-commerce platforms.

Compared to last year, Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms have spent more on online marketing than their American competitors. Temu, SHEIN, and others have purchased ads on search engines, targeting consumers searching for popular keywords such as "Walmart Black Friday Sale" and "Zara jeans," driving up online advertising costs for all retailers.

This year, affected by tariff policies, Temu slowed down its advertising spending in the US market in the first quarter. However, starting in June, Temu ended its months-long pause in US marketing spending and began advertising on Meta and Google again.

This move has yielded significant results, with American consumers gradually resuming their shopping on Temu. A survey in September showed that the number of shoppers making at least one purchase per week on Temu increased by 13% compared to April. According to Consumer Edge, Temu's online market share in the US rose by 10 basis points to 1.1% between early July and mid-August.

Therefore, it can be expected that Temu will likely restart its high-density advertising campaign during Black Friday this year in order to boost traffic and market share in the United States. This also means that the customer acquisition cost for all e-commerce platforms will be further increased.

Third, content-driven e-commerce is changing traffic entry points and pathways.

On TikTok, the hashtag #blackfriday2025 has already generated over 30,000 videos, with brands and merchants starting early to generate buzz for Black Friday through short videos and live streams. For consumers, Black Friday is no longer just a traditional advertising-driven promotional event, but is gradually becoming a content-driven frenzy fueled by algorithmic recommendations and KOLs.

This shift is reshaping the Black Friday traffic flow. Previously, traffic was concentrated on the homepages and advertising entry points of platforms like Amazon and Walmart. Now, many consumer decisions also occur on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. Content-driven e-commerce has a greater emotional impact; products are no longer just searched, but scrolled through.

A survey reveals that platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are enabling consumers to discover the best Black Friday deals through bloggers, brand accounts, and advertising content. 61% of respondents indicated that social media is their primary source of Black Friday discount information.

Overall, as Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms join the Black Friday battle, the Black Friday promotional cycle is getting longer year by year, and the pace and gameplay are gradually converging with those of China's Singles' Day (11.11).

American domestic e-commerce platforms were diverted.

The rules of the game have changed for Black Friday, and American e-commerce platforms such as Amazon are showing signs of being diverted to other platforms.

First, price-sensitive consumers are being diverted.

U.S. consumer spending expectations are declining. Deloitte's 2025 Holiday Retail Survey, released in October, shows that 57% of respondents expect the economy to weaken in 2026—the most pessimistic forecast since Deloitte began tracking consumer economic confidence in 1997. Consumers across almost all age groups and income levels plan to reduce spending this year, with respondents expecting a 14% year-over-year decline in retail goods spending and a 6% year-over-year decline in experience spending. 89% of consumers will actively seek out discounts and deals.

Furthermore, according to McKinsey data from August, 65% of American adults plan to begin holiday shopping before Black Friday this year. Temu has launched an extended 50-day promotional period, which will divert a large number of price-sensitive consumers before Black Friday.

Previously, some analysts suggested that the tariff war might affect Black Friday prices on cross-border e-commerce platforms. However, a CFRA analyst stated, "Most holiday inventory is already in the US, so the recent tariff escalation shouldn't disrupt the crucial shopping season. If the tariff escalation continues, prices may rise next year."

Secondly, beauty and personal care products have been diverted to content e-commerce.

Content drives transaction volume for low-priced, high-frequency categories, with TikTok Shop showing higher conversion rates in impulse-buying categories such as beauty and personal care, health and wellness, gadgets, and fashion accessories.

A report by digital marketing firm The Short Media shows that TikTok Shop leads Amazon (2.6%) in conversion rates for impulse-buying categories such as beauty and health (3.2%). While Amazon's AOV (average order value) remains higher, content e-commerce is rapidly gaining market share in terms of transaction volume and penetration into new categories.

How should overseas e-commerce retail platforms respond?

First, the sales start earlier and last longer than in previous years. For example, Amazon's Black Friday this year lasts for 12 days, making it Amazon's longest Black Friday ever; Best Buy's early "Black Friday" promotions will begin on October 31 and continue until November 19, with the full sale starting on Thursday, November 20, a full week earlier than Thanksgiving.

Secondly, it caters to the demand for extremely low prices. Amazon has created a dedicated section on its platform to meet the needs of consumers seeking low prices, preventing this traffic from flowing entirely to Temu and Shein. Moreover, using a separate section to meet the demand for low prices also maintains the fast and high-quality brand image of Amazon's main site.

Finally, they had to learn from China's content operation logic. For example, Amazon launched Amazon Inspire, strengthened Amazon Live shopping, encouraged sellers to use short videos on product detail pages, and collaborated with influencers to showcase products on the platform.

Black Friday is undergoing a comprehensive upgrade, characterized by a longer promotional period, dedicated low-price zones, and content-driven operations. For sellers, this means more meticulous planning in inventory management, pricing strategies, and content marketing. This includes stocking up in advance to cope with the extended promotional period, setting reasonable prices to attract price-sensitive consumers, and leveraging short videos and live streaming to improve conversion rates. Otherwise, it's easy to fail to achieve significant sales volume during Black Friday and miss out on the most important growth opportunity of the year.