Black Friday peak as AI fuels longer online shopping wave

Black Friday generated the sharpest spike in online shopping activity during the peak season, but elevated demand stretched across the entire Black Friday to Cyber Monday period and began much earlier in November, according to new data from eCommerce search firm Constructor.

The company analysed product discovery activity across hundreds of retail websites over the key trading period. It recorded 2.27 billion interactions on Black Friday alone, including personalised search results, autosuggest completions and product recommendations.

Constructor said online shoppers did not wait for the traditional late-November start. Search and product discovery traffic in the days leading up to Black Friday climbed around 40% above late-October levels. That indicated an extended build-up in demand.

Activity remained elevated after Black Friday. The Saturday and Sunday that followed, along with Cyber Monday, each saw more than 80% higher search volumes than a typical day in late October. Weekend traffic matched or in some cases exceeded Cyber Monday levels.

The pattern reduced Cyber Monday's distinctiveness as a peak. Constructor reported that search and discovery activity flattened across the long weekend rather than rising again for a separate Monday surge.

Across the broader peak season period, Black Friday still ranked as the clear high point. Search traffic on the day rose 50% compared with the previous day. However, demand built earlier in November and remained high across the Black Friday to Cyber Monday window.

Regional contrast

The data also highlighted a split between shopper behaviour in the US and Europe. US shoppers produced a pronounced Black Friday spike, with search traffic rising between 90% and 130% compared with November baselines.

European activity followed a more gradual pattern. Traffic there rose earlier in November and increased at a steadier pace. On Black Friday, European traffic peaked at only a 20-25% lift over late-month averages.

Constructor said traffic volumes in Europe stayed consistently high across the second half of November. That suggested a longer and more distributed shopping period rather than a single-day surge.

Dominant referrers

The figures showed that shoppers continued to rely on established platforms when starting their online buying journeys. Facebook and Google were the largest external sources of traffic to retail product detail pages. Instagram ranked a distant third.

Newer platforms featured far lower down the list. TikTok generated a smaller share of referrals than the leading services. ChatGPT placed 15th overall and accounted for less than 1% of referral traffic.

On-site AI impact

Constructor drew a distinction between external AI tools and retailers' own AI features once shoppers landed on a site. Platforms such as ChatGPT drove only a minor share of inbound traffic.

On-site AI agents, which respond to customer questions and provide personalised product suggestions, generated a much larger direct commercial impact. On retail sites that had deployed these tools, more than 10% of Black Friday to Cyber Monday revenue came from shoppers who engaged with them.

Constructor also tracked the effect of timed deals and discounts. Some retailers experienced a fourfold surge in search and product discovery activity within minutes of promotions going live.

The company reported that its systems handled a peak load of 37,200 requests per second on Black Friday. These requests covered functions such as site search, autosuggest and recommendations. Constructor said it maintained operations without disruption at that level.

Nate Roy, Strategic Director of Ecommerce Innovation at Constructor, said the shape of the trading period is changing as shoppers spread their spending over more days. "Black Friday was the year's high point, but the activity around it tells an equally important story," said Nate Roy, strategic director of eCommerce innovation at Constructor. "Shoppers started earlier, stayed active longer, and kept traffic high throughout the weekend. And AI made a real impact behind the scenes - connecting shoppers to what they needed faster, and helping retailers convert queries into meaningful revenue. Retailers planning for 2026 should expect more of the same: a longer season, a high bar for product discovery, and real ROI for those who get it right."