7 prompts to help you understand last year's Black Friday performance and turn it into a sharper strategy.

If you're currently entering the planning phase for this year's BFCM, the seven prompts below will help you get to the most consequential insights from your data, fast. We've grouped them into four areas: commercial performance, marketing engagement, product and category mix, and customer engagement and loyalty.

For ways to use Deep Insights Agent outside of peak, we've created a comprehensive prompt library covering everything from segmentation and lifecycle analysis to campaign performance and customer behavior.

Commercial performance

For most brands, revenue is the most important metric at peak. This prompt gives you the top-line view of last year's Black Friday commercially: revenue, orders, AOV, and basket size, with a day-by-day breakdown to show the shape of the period.

The prompt

For [brand name], please provide a revenue KPI overview for [your Black Friday 2025 time period] compared to [your Black Friday 2024 time period].

Include the following metrics for both periods: total revenue, total orders, average order value, and basket size. Add a percentage change column.

Then, show me day-by-day revenue for [your Black Friday 2025 time period], with the equivalent day from [your Black Friday 2024 time period] overlaid and a percentage change for each day.

Present the KPIs as a side-by-side table, the day-by-day data as a line chart, and add 3–5 bullet points summarizing the headline performance story.

What it returns

• A side-by-side comparison of your headline KPIs for 2025 versus 2024
• A day-by-day revenue chart showing where the peak actually landed in 2025 versus 2024
• A short written summary of the standout numbers

💡 According to our Black Friday 2025 data, the Sunday before Black Friday and the Saturday after both posted strong year-on-year growth in 2025, and Cyber Monday slipped from its usual #2 position. If you’re seeing a similar trend, consider amending your send schedule and creative drops in tandem: earlier teasers, heavier mid-weekend weight, and less reliance on Cyber Monday as the closing crescendo.

Marketing engagement

Broadcast email

Broadcast email is one of the major levers you’ll pull at Black Friday to reach as many potential customers as possible. This prompt will help you track your broadcast email program year-on-year, covering send volume, open rate, CTR, revenue per send, and unsubscribe rate.

The prompt

For [brand name], please compare broadcast email campaign performance for [your Black Friday 2025 time period] vs [your Black Friday 2024 time period].

For both periods, include: total campaigns sent, total sends/delivered emails, average open rate, average CTR, total revenue attributed, average revenue per email, and unsubscribe rate. Present the comparison side by side, with a percentage change column for each metric.

Then, show me day-by-day total sends/delivered emails, total revenue attributed, and average revenue per email for [your Black Friday 2025 time period], with the equivalent day from [your Black Friday 2024 time period] overlaid and a percentage change for each day. Present the day-by-day data as a line chart.

Add a brief written summary of the key differences between the two periods, and flag any metrics where the YoY change was greater than 20% in either direction.

What it returns

• A side-by-side view of your full broadcast email program across both years
• A day-by-day chart showing where send volume and revenue actually concentrated within the period
• A written summary with flags on the metrics that moved most sharply

Broadcast vs automation

Automation often takes a back seat to broadcast at Black Friday, but it can be one of the highest-converting parts of your program. This prompt compares the two side by side and breaks automation performance down by flow, so you can see which triggered journeys are pulling their weight.

The prompt

For [brand name], please compare broadcast email and automated email performance for [your Black Friday 2025 time period].

For each, include: total sends and percentage share of total sends, total revenue attributed and percentage share of total revenue, average open rate, average click-through rate, average conversion rate, and average revenue per email. Then break the automation performance down by individual flow (welcome series, abandoned cart, abandoned browse, post-purchase, etc.), with revenue and revenue per email for each.

Present the comparison side by side and add a brief written summary that highlights which automations are over-performing and which are underperforming.

What it returns

• A side-by-side view of broadcast vs automation across share of sends and share of revenue
• A flow-by-flow breakdown showing which automated journeys earned their keep during peak
• A written summary calling out the specific flows worth doubling down on, and the ones that need work before next year

Cross-channel

The best Black Friday marketing strategies don’t rely on one channel alone. This prompt ranks every campaign you ran across email, SMS, and push by revenue per send, so you can see which sends earned their keep regardless of channel or volume.

The prompt

For [brand name], please analyze campaign performance for [your Black Friday 2025 time period] and rank all campaigns by revenue per message sent.

Break the results down by channel: email, SMS, and push. For each campaign, include: campaign name, channel, total sends, total attributed revenue, and revenue per message sent.

Present the output as a ranked table, with a brief written summary of the top three most efficient campaigns and any notable differences between channels.

What it returns

• A ranked list of every campaign you ran during peak
• A channel-level read on which formats earned their keep
• A short written analysis of the standout campaigns, so you can spot the patterns that drove the best efficiency

💡The strongest Black Friday campaigns don't treat email, SMS, and push separately; they assign each one a role in a coordinated journey. Use your ranked output to check what each channel is actually doing in yours. If your top SMS campaigns are doing the same job as your top emails (broad discount messaging), you have overlap rather than orchestration. The next step is defining each channel's role at peak and aligning campaign plans against that, rather than running everything through every channel.

Customer engagement and loyalty

New vs returning customers

For many retail brands, Black Friday is the year's biggest acquisition event. This prompt shows you how revenue at last year's peak split between new and returning customers, along with the relative value of each group.

The prompt

For [brand name], please compare customer mix at peak between [your Black Friday 2025 time period] and [your Black Friday 2024 time period].

For each period, split customers into new (first-ever order with us during peak) and returning (purchased at least once before peak). For each group, include: total customers, total revenue, total orders, AOV, and percentage share of peak revenue. Add a percentage change column for the year-on-year comparison.

Present as a side-by-side comparison and add a brief written summary of how the split has shifted between the two years.

What it returns

• A side-by-side view of how peak revenue split between new and returning customers across both years
• The relative AOV and order count of each group, showing whether new customers spent more or less than returning ones
• A written summary of how the acquisition and retention mix has shifted year-on-year

Repeat purchase rate

Acquiring new customers at peak is only half the picture; the other half is whether they come back. This prompt looks at the cohort you acquired during Black Friday 2024 and shows what percentage made a repeat purchase in the 12 months that followed, along with their wider value to the business.

The prompt

For [brand name], please identify the cohort of customers whose first-ever order with us was placed during [your Black Friday 2024 time period].

For that cohort, calculate: total customers acquired, percentage that made at least one repeat purchase in the 12 months following peak, average time to second purchase, average lifetime revenue per customer to date, and average orders per customer to date.

Present the results in a summary table and add 3–5 bullet points highlighting the headline findings about the cohort's repeat behavior.

What it returns

• A summary view of how the customer cohort acquired during last year's peak performed in the year that followed
• Key metrics including repeat purchase rate, time to second purchase, and lifetime revenue per customer
• A written summary of the cohort's behavior, useful for shaping the 2026 post-peak nurture program

💡Across Ometria's customer base, only 4% of customers acquired during Black Friday 2024 made a repeat purchase in the next 12 months. If your own repeat rate is in similar territory, you have two strategic options. The first is to lean harder into activating your loyal customers, the second is to invest in a thoughtful post-peak nurture journey that brings first-time peak shoppers back into the brand. Our post-Black Friday guide has more best practice ideas on making the most of the period.

Product and category performance

Putting the right message in front of customers is one thing, but having the right inventory is how you secure a high-converting Black Friday. This prompt shows you which categories and products drove last year's Black Friday revenue and which underperformed.

The prompt

For [brand name], please generate a product commercial performance report comparing [your Black Friday 2025 time period] against [your Black Friday 2024 time period].

First, show the comparison at category level: revenue, total orders, and AOV for both years, plus year-on-year percentage change for each metric. Then repeat the same comparison at product level, with the top 10 products by revenue growth and the top 10 products that have declined the most.

Present both as sortable tables, and include a brief written summary of the headline category and product trends.

What it returns

• A category-level view of revenue, orders, and AOV for both years with YoY percentage change — the strategic read on which parts of your range carried peak
• A product-level top 10 growers and top 10 decliners, so the standout SKUs surface without you having to scan a full catalog
• A written summary of the headline category and product trends, useful for the trading meeting where you set merchandising priorities for 2026

Wrap up

With these prompts in hand, you’ll be able to get quality answers from your data quicker, helping you deliver a Black Friday strategy with confidence, and hopefully a little less stress. 

If you're gearing up for an even bigger and better Black Friday in 2026, we've got your back. Discover practical tactics, best-in-class campaign examples, and more in our Ultimate Black Friday Guide.

Want to put Deep Insights Agent to work on your own data? Book a demo and we'll show you what's possible.