Black Friday and Cyber Monday may dominate holiday shopping headlines, but new research reveals that consumer purchasing activity extends well beyond those major promotional events. The findings, drawn from an analysis of more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages, suggest that businesses may be missing opportunities by focusing too narrowly on the biggest shopping days.
The research comes from Intuit Mailchimp’s Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report, developed with Datalily. It analyzed messages sent globally through Mailchimp from Halloween through New Year’s Eve 2025, providing a comprehensive look at consumer behavior during the busiest shopping period of the year. The report, available at Mailchimp’s Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report, includes interactive charts and full findings.
One of the most striking findings is that some of the season’s strongest shopping activity occurred when brands were sending fewer messages. Weekend order rates were twice weekday rates, even as message volume fell by roughly 60% on weekends. On the Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, brands sent 59% fewer emails and 82% fewer text messages than they did on Black Friday. This suggests that holiday shopping activity can remain robust even when promotional messaging becomes less frequent.
Text messaging also emerged as a powerful engagement tool. While email remained the larger revenue driver overall, SMS generated strong engagement during periods of high shopping activity. During BFCM weekend, SMS averaged a 15.7% click rate per message delivered, compared with 1.4% for email. At peak points during the season, SMS generated up to six times higher order rates than email and three times higher revenue per message. These results highlight differences in how consumers respond to marketing channels during the holiday shopping season.
The holiday season also brought new customers to brands. During BFCM weekend, shoppers making their first purchase from a brand accounted for 59% of email-attributed orders and nearly 70% of SMS-attributed orders. First-time customers also had higher average order values. Through email, average order values for first-time buyers were 21% higher than those of repeat buyers. Through SMS, they were 39% higher. For businesses, this suggests that holiday promotions can drive purchases and reach consumers who are shopping with a brand for the first time.
Some of those first-time customers returned after the holidays. Among shoppers who made their first purchase during peak season, 16.6% purchased again during the first quarter of 2026. Those who returned made their next purchase after a median of 26 days. This points to the potential importance of the weeks following the holiday season as businesses continue communicating with newly acquired customers.
Taken together, the research offers a broader look at how consumers shop during the holidays. Shopping activity can remain strong beyond the biggest promotional days, consumers may respond differently across communication channels, and first-time customers can continue engaging with brands after their initial holiday purchase. For businesses, understanding these patterns can help inform how and when they communicate with customers throughout the holiday season and into the new year.
