Black Friday and Cyber Monday continued attracting millions of consumers worldwide this year. Alongside the enthusiasm, significant distrust in offered discounts has surfaced – Lightspeed Commerce's global study revealed that 84% of consumers believe retailers inflate prices before sales to showcase exaggerated discounts, with the percentage even higher among younger demographics at 87% for those aged 18-24.
Nevertheless, consumers aren't retreating, with 48% intending to participate in sales, and younger shoppers are even more committed, as 68% plan to spend their money.
Last year's Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw AI involvement in $60 billion of sales, with expectations for dramatic growth this year. Autonomous chatbots, also known as "agents," are designed to execute purchases on users' behalf, alongside cutting-edge recommendation systems that enable surprisingly personalized deals and products, reducing decision overload, and optimizing the shopping experience.
"In an era where consumers can compare prices with a button click, the genuine battle unfolds beneath the surface, in the subconscious," Itai Aniel, a brain and memory researcher pursuing his doctorate at Bar-Ilan University, explained. "The question becomes how to make customers linger longer in stores, purchase unplanned products, and forge emotional brand connections. The experience builds not merely through attractive promotions but also via space design, music, scents, and visual language speaking to the brain. Future advances in understanding neural purchasing mechanisms will enable crafting more personalized experiences that excite and convince consumers from store entry through their eventual return."
Discount distrust also surfaces in purchase regret – the study found that 32% of consumers anticipate regretting purchases within a day, with particularly elevated rates among Generation Z. Furthermore, one-third of buyers, predominantly younger ones, plan to return portions of their purchases.
Many purchase decisions stem from desires for belonging, prestige, or self-expression – successful brands translate this into campaigns that sell not merely products, but identity and significance, particularly around major consumer holidays. "Holiday advertising presenting warm family imagery doesn't just market products or services," Aniel explained. "It reinforces belonging values, family connections, and shared memories. This represents an emotional marketing strategy addressing our most fundamental psychological needs."
Priority-wise, the study showed 23% of consumers concentrate Black Friday spending on essential products, while 47% allocate portions of their budgets to premium items alongside everyday purchases. "Recent years have witnessed profound shifts in Israeli consumer shopping behavior as buyers investigate, compare, and pursue genuine added value," explained Yaniv Feinschneider, CEO of Seven Stars Shopping Centers Group. "In competitive markets, especially surrounding prominent sale days like Black Friday, attractive pricing alone no longer suffices – it's a baseline expectation. Our genuine challenge involves creating additional attraction anchors, providing real added value beyond the seller. Consumers seek integrated shopping experiences that are convenient and especially ones delivering worthiness and overall value sensations that prompt return visits."
Beyond skepticism and transparency obstacles, Black Friday offers many consumers a sense of economic freedom and fulfillment of desires and cravings, sometimes extending back months. Desires to acquire expensive products, ranging from innovative electronics to home furnishings and vacations, intensify throughout the year yet are frequently postponed due to budget considerations. "November, distinguished by sales abundance, constitutes a unique opportunity window where patience proves worthwhile – consumers finally actualize dreams and acquire long-awaited items, now with substantial discounts easing expenditures," explained Asaf Mizrahi, VP of Marketing and Sales at Daniel Hotel Herzliya.
The AI revolution represents the most impactful force in this season's sales. Chatbot shopping popularity is skyrocketing – for instance, third-party chatbots generated a 1,950% surge in retail website traffic during the first week of November's shopping season, and over 50% of consumers plan to utilize these tools for price comparisons and personalized recommendations before making a purchase. The trend encompasses visual technologies enabling real-time product detail discovery and even platforms presenting virtual measurements and online item "trials." "Consumers seek shopping optimization, knowing precisely when and where to locate optimal offers, executing intelligent and accurate purchases," summarized Tal Raz, CEO and co-owner of the Gentleman chain. "Black Friday no longer confines itself to a solitary day – it has evolved into a series of sales and experiences spanning a month and sometimes beyond."
