Mailchimp Report highlights power of personalisation and AI during peak shopping season
Businesses that used personalised marketing campaigns during the 2025 holiday shopping season achieved stronger results, according to new research from Intuit Mailchimp, which analysed more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages sent globally during the year’s busiest retail period.
The report, Breaking Through Peak Season Noise, examined customer engagement between Halloween and New Year’s Eve, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). The findings suggest that brands using data, AI and automation were better positioned to cut through increased competition for consumer attention.
Mailchimp’s UK customers added 50 million email contacts and 1.6 million SMS contacts during the period, while businesses globally with connected ecommerce stores generated more than $1.1bn in gross revenue attributable to email and SMS campaigns.
“Our research shows that the businesses that perform best during peak season are those that understand their customers and use data to make smarter decisions about where to focus their efforts,” said Jack Tam, SVP of Product and Engineering at Mailchimp.
The research found that more targeted marketing campaigns generated stronger commercial outcomes during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
In the UK, marketing emails using dynamic content and personalisation delivered a 10% higher average order value than campaigns that did not use personalisation.
Globally, campaigns incorporating abandoned cart content achieved 36% higher open rates and 28% higher click-through rates, highlighting the impact of delivering more relevant messages based on customer behaviour.
The report also found that email and SMS played complementary roles throughout the peak shopping season.
While email remained the dominant revenue-driving channel overall, SMS proved particularly effective during time-sensitive buying moments. At peak periods, SMS generated up to six times higher order rates than email and delivered three times more revenue per message globally.
Among Mailchimp customers using both channels during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, SMS accounted for almost 20% of combined ecommerce revenue.
Fitness brand Gymwrap experienced this first-hand after consolidating its email and SMS marketing activity within Mailchimp ahead of the holiday season. The company’s first SMS campaign through the platform generated a reported 142x return on investment, helping establish SMS as a key part of its marketing strategy.
Artificial intelligence also emerged as a significant driver of engagement.
Globally, around 450 million emails sent during peak season used generative AI tools. In the UK, emails created with generative AI achieved a 9% higher order rate and a 5% higher conversion rate compared with emails produced without the technology.
The findings suggest AI is becoming an increasingly valuable tool for marketers looking to create and optimise campaign content at scale.
The analysis identified opportunities for brands outside the busiest retail dates.
Weekend order rates were twice as high as those recorded during weekdays, despite businesses sending around 60% fewer messages over weekends. The data also found that “shoulder days” surrounding Black Friday and Cyber Monday often generated stronger engagement than marketers might expect.
Notably, the Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw 59% fewer emails and 82% fewer SMS messages sent than Black Friday itself, suggesting many marketers may be overlooking valuable opportunities to engage customers.
Beyond immediate sales, the report highlights the long-term importance of holiday customer acquisition.
More than 500 million contacts were added to Mailchimp audiences globally during the peak season period. In the UK, first-time buyers accounted for 63% of email-driven orders and nearly 62% of SMS-driven orders during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Some of those customers continued engaging with brands after the holiday period. Globally, 16.6% of shoppers who made their first purchase during peak season returned to make another purchase during the first quarter of 2026. On average, returning customers took 26 days to make their next purchase.
According to Mailchimp, the findings underline the importance of treating peak-season customer acquisition as the beginning of a longer-term relationship, rather than focusing solely on short-term sales.
The report concludes that brands able to combine customer data, personalisation, automation and AI are likely to be better positioned to maximise revenue during peak shopping periods while building customer loyalty beyond the holiday season.
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