This guest post is written by APMA member, Reward Gateway – Edenred, who work with the world’s most innovative HR people, giving them the tools and products they need to engage their people and drive company success.
Black Friday 2025 painted a contradictory picture. Barclays reported UK household spending fell 1.1% year-on-year in November: the fastest decline in almost five years. At the same time, retailers still saw their busiest trading day, with Black Friday transactions 62.5% higher than an average 2025 day.
The message? Consumers are being selective about when they spend, making strategic timing more critical than ever. For affiliate marketers and partnership professionals, understanding these shifting patterns is key to maximising commission revenue and capturing spend across the full quarter rather than concentrating solely on a four-day window.
New research from Reward Gateway | Edenred, surveying 5,500 UK employees, reveals why so many brands are leaving money on the table. Black Friday is important but nearly half of Golden Quarter spending happens at other times.
The Black Friday Myth: Only 18% Actually Start Then
The data demolishes conventional wisdom. Just 18% of consumers begin their Golden Quarter shopping on Black Friday itself. Meanwhile, 54% start in early November or before, and 29% wait until December. Combined, this means 47% of seasonal spend occurs outside the Black Friday spotlight.
For affiliate marketers and brand partnerships, this creates a massive arbitrage opportunity. While competitors concentrate budgets on a four-day window, those who plan to capture revenue across a longer campaign period stand to capture significantly more spend. In an economy where overall spending is down, being visible during the windows when consumers are ready to spend becomes the difference between hitting targets and missing them.
Four Shopping Personalities Driving Distinct Behaviours
Understanding who is buying when and the motives for buying also transforms campaign effectiveness. The RGER research identified four shopper segments:
The Bargain Hunter (59%), your largest audience, responding to clear discount percentages and competitive value propositions. These consumers anchor Black Friday’s transaction surge but remain active throughout Q4 when deals continue.
The Last-Minute Hero (19%) deliberately waits until December, prioritising things like delivery guarantees and stock certainty over early-bird discounts. Brands that wind down campaigns after Cyber Monday abandon nearly one in five potential customers.
The Planner (14%) spreads purchases throughout the year and rewards early access with loyalty. These organised shoppers respond to VIP treatment and exclusive previews.
The Self-Gifter (9%) treats themselves alongside buying for others, creating pockets of opportunity in beauty, fashion, and premium categories where “you deserve it” messaging resonates.
The implication for affiliate programmes is clear: segmented creative and messaging across the full quarter outperforms generic “deals” blasts concentrated in late November.
The Category Surprise: Fashion Leads, Food Matters
The research showed fashion and clothing lead Golden Quarter spending with 18% ready to spend, ahead of gadgets and electronics at 17%, challenging the persistent assumption that Q4 is tech-dominated. A similar number plan to spend on food and drink, with 80% of consumers spending over £100 in this often-overlooked vertical. Those Christmas dinners don’t stock themselves—strategic partnerships make it happen.
Gift cards (15%), beauty (14%), toys (13%), and home décor (7%) round out a remarkably even distribution of spending intentions. The research conclusion: every category has substantial opportunity if the timing and offer is right.
Platform Preference: Where Deal-Seekers Go First
Perhaps most significant for understanding consumer behaviour within the employee benefits space: 32% of employees with access to employer discount platforms say these are where they go most often for deals. The data shows 84% of users trust these closed platforms completely or mostly for finding great deals, while 64% say the employer-branded environment increases their trust in offers.
For brands allocating partnership budgets, this represents a channel credibility opportunity. With 6 million UK employees accessing RGER’s platform, the audience scale matches the trust advantage: employee benefit platforms deserve a first-tier activation strategy.
Turning Insight Into Revenue
A better strategic playbook emerges clearly from the data for the final quarter.
Launch campaigns in early November or earlier to capture the 54% who start before Black Friday. Maintain active promotions through mid-December for the 29% who shop late. Create distinct messaging for Bargain Hunters (value), Last-Minute Heroes (delivery confidence), Planners (early access), and Self-Gifters (permission to treat).
Invest in employee discount channels as primary partners and back your category to shine: fashion, food, beverage, and beauty brands all have audiences ready to spend premium amounts.
Barclays’ November spending data confirms wallets are tighter. But that economic reality makes behavioural targeting more valuable, not less. When the pie shrinks, strategic positioning captures a larger slice. Your competitors are still fighting over Black Friday weekend. The full Golden Quarter? That’s where the real revenue lives.
Written by Jo Hunt, Head of Affiliate Partnerships, Reward Gateway – Edenred
