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First-time buyers accounted for nearly 69 per cent of email orders and more than 73 per cent of SMS orders in Australia during last year’s Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend, according to new data from Intuit Mailchimp.
The findings, drawn from an analysis of more than 44 billion emails and 83 million text messages sent globally through Mailchimp during the 2025 peak season, suggest that for many Australian businesses, BFCM functions primarily as a customer acquisition moment rather than a pure discounting exercise.
The data is contained in Mailchimp’s Breaking Through Peak Season Noise report, produced in collaboration with research firm, Datalily, which examined aggregate data from Mailchimp’s free and paid plan users between October 31 and December 31, 2025.
During the peak season, Mailchimp’s Australian customers added 18.8 million new email contacts and 1.2 million SMS contacts.
Personalisation and AI lift performance
The report points to measurable differences in performance when marketers used personalisation and generative AI tools in their campaigns.
During the BFCM weekend, Australian marketing emails that used dynamic content drove 3 per cent higher average order value than those without it. Globally, campaigns using abandoned cart content blocks recorded 36 per cent higher open rates and 28 per cent higher click rates.
Australian emails that incorporated generative AI recorded 19 per cent higher order rates and 21 per cent higher conversion rates than those sent without the feature. Across Mailchimp’s global user base, 450 million emails used generative AI during peak season.
SVP of Product and Engineering at Mailchimp, Jack Tam, framed the opportunity in terms of data-driven decision making.
“Peak season is an opportunity to deepen customer connections,” Tam noted. “The businesses that thrive use their own customer data to understand when people are ready to act, which messages matter, and where to focus next. This research helps marketers make those decisions with confidence and build customer relationships that endure long after the season ends.”
SMS punches above its weight
The data highlights distinct roles for email and SMS during the shopping rush.
Email sustained communication and drove more revenue overall, while SMS captured attention during high-intent, time-sensitive moments. At peak, SMS delivered up to six times higher order rates than email and three times higher revenue per message worldwide.
Among Mailchimp customers using both channels during BFCM, SMS drove nearly 20 per cent of their total combined eCommerce revenue.
Overlooked windows in the calendar
The report also identifies gaps in the marketing calendar that businesses may be leaving on the table.
Weekend order rates were twice as high as weekday rates, despite brands sending roughly 60 per cent fewer messages on weekends. Around BFCM, shoulder days also drove stronger engagement, while the Sunday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw 59 per cent fewer emails and 82 per cent fewer text messages than Black Friday itself.
Targeted messaging shows results in practice
Australian travel company, TravelOnline, provided a case study in the value of shifting away from high-volume, undifferentiated campaigns.
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After working with Mailchimp to segment customers based on engagement rather than sending the same message to its full list, the company recorded a 66 per cent lift in open rates, 38 per cent fewer unsubscribes and a 13 per cent improvement in email ROI within two months.
Marketing Manager at TravelOnline, Sheri Adamson, described the shift in approach.
“The biggest shift for us has been moving away from using automation simply as a way to save time and towards making every customer interaction more relevant,” Adamson explained. “Instead of sending the same message to hundreds of thousands of people, we’re sending fewer, more relevant communications based on how customers are interacting with our brand.”
Retention starts at acquisition
The report makes a case for businesses to think about post-purchase retention before the peak season begins, not after it ends.
Among customers globally who made their first purchase during peak season, 16.6 per cent purchased again in the first quarter of 2026. Those who returned took a median of 26 days to make their next purchase.
The implication, according to the report, is that businesses should treat holiday acquisition as the start of a customer relationship and have retention campaigns ready to deploy before demand peaks, rather than scrambling to re-engage seasonal shoppers after the fact.
Mailchimp’s global customer base added more than 500 million contacts to their audiences during the 2025 peak season. Email contact additions increased heading into BFCM weekend, while SMS opt-ins rose sharply immediately before Black Friday.
Last Updated on September 23, 2026 by Nick Ross
