Cyber Monday UK 2025: How to win the Cyber Monday eCommerce game

Cyber Monday UK, taking place on Monday 1 December, is an eCommerce event that’s only getting bigger. Boasting a 30% YoY growth with last year’s figures, Cyber Monday’s recent performances in the UK tell us that it’s no longer Black Friday’s little brother. 

Behind Cyber Monday’s growth is the rapid increase in digital-first shoppers and mobile-dominated checkouts, which help buyers take advantage of limited time discounts at the tap of a screen. 

But with all demand comes challenges: customers expect flawless delivery and slick returns despite the added pressure on carriers and warehouses. 

So, let’s help you not only get sales through the door on Cyber Monday, but actually fulfil them. 

Some other trends to be aware of: 

• Mobile-first buying: Cyber Monday is one of the most mobile-driven shopping days of the year. If you’re not optimised for mobile, you’ve already lost. 

• Cart abandonment: UK shoppers lose trust if ETAs aren’t explicitly shown. Transparency wins loyalty, loyalty drives sales. 

• Later-day purchasing: Most shoppers will be working throughout the majority of Cyber Monday, resulting in traffic spikes between 5pm-11pm. Make sure your systems are set up to handle sharper and more condensed demand periods. 

• Price-sensitive, but deal-conscious. UK shoppers are wise to discounting tactics, so make your offer genuine and compelling. The offer matters, but so does the promise: ‘Get it by...’ 

• AI’s role. Shoppers are relying more on generative AI-powered LLMs such as ChatGPT and Claude to find the best deals, specific items, and brand recommendations. Last year’s Cyber Monday alone saw a 19x growth in LLM usage for shopping tips. 

Cyber Monday and high-intensity logistics: How it differs from Black Friday 

Cyber Monday often turns out to be operationally more complex than Black Friday for several reasons. 

Here’s why: 

• Narrow order spikes: Sharp order volume increases in short high-demand periods 

• Last-minute behaviour: UK shoppers respond to extended, Monday-only deals 

• Carriers hit rolling delays: Friday and Saturday stockpiling means networks can be strained by the time Monday arrives 

A lot of shoppers hold out until Monday for the best deals; Cyber Monday outpaced Black Friday in order volumes for the second year running in 2024, with 27% of all CM orders placed between 5-6pm. 

What does this tell us? That Cyber Monday in the UK is more compressed, with more than a quarter of the day’s trade occurring in a tight evening window. 

Because of this, your warehouse and carriers don’t just see a ‘busy day,’ but a huge demand wave between late afternoon and evening.
 

Discounts are now only the bare minimum: An insight into UK delivery expectations 

In the UK, delivery is a known eCommerce pain point. Yes, your discounts will boost your sales, but the battle for customer loyalty only just begins at checkout. 

To get a quick snapshot, let’s look at data from Ofcom’s 2024 Measuring user experience of parcel delivery to residential addresses report: 

• 67% of shoppers experienced a delivery issue with any company in 2024 

• 49% are satisfied with the complaints process across delivery companies 

• 35% reported that parcels are not delivered on time as expected 

• 31% reported accessibility-related issues (not enough time to reach the door, etc.) 

When you consider this as a year-round summary, you need to account for the fact that carriers come under even more strain during peak season eCommerce events. 

This means that you can’t rely on carriers alone to protect your brand during Cyber Monday UK; your communication, tracking, and contingency planning are just as important. 

Here’s how you win: 

• Be honest. Explain ETAs and cut-off times on PDP and checkout. Customers prefer ‘Longer shipping times on these items’ than you making promises you can’t keep. 

• Automate the process. Automated update flows when parcels are delayed help to patch up customer trust – far better than a delivery no-show. 

• Reduce WISMO. Provide your customers with real-time tracking and consistent updates (not to blow our own trumpet, but our Delivery Assured solution is proven to reduce WISMO queries). 

Hear from fulfilmentcrowd CEO Lee Thompson on how Delivery Assured reduces WISMO

Designing your Cyber Monday fulfilment plan 

On Cyber Monday 2024, what shoppers chose as their delivery options paints a clear picture of their expectations. 

While 21% opted for standard delivery services, 36% chose express fulfilment, and 16% selected a Next Day option. 

This shows a clear speed bias at peak; if Cyber Monday is extra time of the discount weekend, your fulfilment plan must be set up for speed and resilience until the final whistle. 

Some tips to get you started: 

• Remember the demand peaks: Forecast and staff around the late-day demand spikes, using previous years’ hour-by-hour data to plan labour and packing capacity. 

• Prep your warehouse: Hot-zone top Cyber Monday SKUs near packing stations and extend picking windows for late-day orders. 

• Multi-carrier strategy. There’s strength in numbers. Spreading risk across multiple carriers beats relying on a single network. 

• Clear promises. State which services qualify for ‘X-day delivery,’ rather than generic ‘fast shipping’ claims when capacity tightens. 

Learning from the past to improve the future 

Cyber Monday deserves its own care and attention; shoppers don’t see it as a Black Friday afterthought, so neither should your brand. 

That being said, you should use Cyber Monday in the same way as Black Friday: an annual stress test that informs everything from discounting to carrier strategy. 

When all is said and done, you should follow a post-review framework that looks something like this: 

• Compare forecast vs. actual orders and note peak trading hours 

• Review OTD, issue rates, refund and restock cycle times, and peak WISMO ticket periods 

• Look into carrier performance to influence next year’s carrier mix, cut-off times, warehouse staffing plans, and returns policies 

• Compile returns reasons so you can identify patterns, update product descriptions (if necessary) and get to the root cause of issues faster 

The brands that treat Cyber Monday UK as a learning loop – not just a stressful day in the retail calendar – will be the ones that grow more resilient every year. 

Not your average eCommerce Monday 

Cyber Monday might only last 24 hours, but it has a knack for exposing the cracks in an eCommerce operation. 

If you’re not well prepped, the post-Black Friday second wave of orders can hit your business hard (a-not-very-Christmassy start to December). 

The brands that come out of Cyber Monday still in festive spirits aren’t the ones that try to avoid problems altogether, but the ones who stay steady under pressure, communicate clearly, and make customers feel looked after – even when networks strain.