Search data study
The most-searched Black Friday phrase in the UK is not the plain two-word term — it is the one with a year on the end. That habit has a direct consequence for any retailer building its seasonal pages.
Every November, a few words go into a search bar and the bargain hunt begins. Retail marketers usually assume they know which words. The common view is that Black Friday is a timeless brand. Shoppers type "black friday", perhaps add "deals" or "sale", and a business that ranks for those phrases has done its job.
UK search data points to a different habit. Of the 15 Black Friday and Cyber Monday phrases measured, the most-searched was "black friday 2025", at an estimated 201,000 searches a month. That is a little over a fifth more than the plain two-word "black friday", the broad term most seasonal campaigns are built around.
The figures
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| "black friday 2025", estimated UK monthly searches (highest of the 15 phrases measured) | 201,000 | Google search-volume data |
| "black friday", estimated UK monthly searches | 165,000 | Google search-volume data |
| "black friday 2025" relative to "black friday" | 1.22× | Google search-volume data |
| Online share of GB retail sales, September 2026 | 28.3% | ONS, series J4MC |
| Online share of GB retail sales, September 2025 | 27.3% | ONS, series J4MC |
| Change, September 2025 to September 2026 | +1.0 percentage points | ONS, series J4MC |
| Online share of GB retail sales, September 2019 | 18.1% | ONS, series J4MC |
| Highest monthly online share in the ONS series, January 2021 | 37.8% | ONS, series J4MC |
These are UK-wide figures from Google search-volume data. They are modelled estimates of search numbers, and they describe one point in time. They also measure interest. They do not measure spending.
Searchers add the year
The common view expects the shortest phrase to win, because it is the broadest. In this data the dated phrase comes first. Across all 15 phrases, the version with a year on the end drew more interest than the generic name of the event.
The data does not say why people add the year. It records only how they ask. For a business, the reason matters less than the habit. If the most popular phrasing includes a year, a page that never mentions one is missing the way many people actually search.
This changes the received wisdom without overturning it. Black Friday is still the brand. Many searchers simply attach a date to it.
Last November is built into the number
There is a fair objection, and it deserves a straight answer. The search figures are averaged over roughly the past twelve months. That window takes in the whole of last year's Black Friday rush, so a phrase naming that year has had a full season to build up searches. A phrase naming the coming year has had less time.
This timing probably explains why last year's label, rather than this year's, sits at the top. The lesson is narrower than "2025 was special". The point is that a dated phrase, measured across a full season, can draw more interest than the generic one.
Totals also lean towards the largest phrase. Any figure that adds up searches across these phrases is dominated by the biggest one. That is why the comparison here is a simple one: one phrase measured directly against another.
Interest comes before a sale
A search is a question. Someone typing a dated Black Friday phrase might be comparing prices, checking a date or idly browsing at a bus stop. These figures show where attention goes. They do not show where the money ends up.
So the myth needs a smaller correction than it first seems. The data does not show that Black Friday has lost its grip, and it does not show that shoppers have changed what they buy. It shows that, among the phrases measured, the most common way to ask about the event includes the year.
What this means for UK businesses
- Put the year in the places that count. Page titles, main headings and meta descriptions on Black Friday pages should name the current season. The most popular phrase measured included a year, so an undated page fits that habit less closely.
- Keep the same address and change the label. Use one permanent Black Friday page and update the year each season. A new page every year starts from nothing. A long-standing page carries its history with it.
- Expect last year's label to linger. Searches for the previous year's phrase build up over a full season. Pages from last year are worth redirecting or updating.
- Treat search interest as a guide to wording. These figures tell you how people phrase their search. Your own sales data tells you what they buy.
The few words typed into that search bar often include a third: the year. A page that names the year matches how many people search.
How we built it
Search interest comes from Google search-volume data for 15 Black Friday and Cyber Monday phrases at UK national level. They range from the generic "black friday" to dated versions for each year from 2019 onwards, plus "deals", "sale", "early" and question variants. These volumes are modelled estimates, roughly a twelve-month trailing average of monthly searches. They are not measured counts, and they show a single point in time. City-level volumes fell below the reporting threshold, so the piece uses national figures only.
The central comparison sets "black friday 2025" against the generic "black friday". The ratio between the two is supplied with the data and was not recalculated. Any total across the phrases is weighted towards the largest one, so the article compares phrases directly and does not quote shares of a combined total. Search volume shows interest only.
The table below also includes Office for National Statistics context on the online share of retail. This is ONS retail sales series J4MC: internet sales by all retailers (not only online-only firms) as a share of total retail sales value in Great Britain. Like months should be compared across years, and monthly figures are revised in later releases. These figures are context for journalists and are not part of the search comparison.
