"Black Friday and Cyber Monday are big moneymakers for brands, and companies are feeling extra pressure to squeeze the most they can out of every sale in today's economic environment. For months, brands have grappled with higher costs of goods, changes to their supply chains and low consumer confidence. Retail executives know that shoppers expect promotions for Cyber Week, but they also want to ensure their balance sheets are strong going into 2026."
"As a result, brands are more closely scrutinizing their "promo math" this year and calculating deals based on how much risk they're comfortable taking. "There's been a lot of uncertainty, ... and whenever that happens, from the business standpoint, cash is key," Aaron Luo, co-founder of Caraa and Mercado Famous, told Modern Retail. "You want to play defense. You want to be very careful playing offense, in terms of aggressively going after sales and revenue.""
Tariffs, higher costs of goods, and supply-chain changes are squeezing margins and prompting brands to be more conservative with Cyber Week discounts. Several brands have reduced promotions this year — Caraa and Mercado Famous shifted from 30% to 25% off, and Petite Plume cut discounts from 25% to 20%. Retailers are recalculating "promo math" based on acceptable risk and preserving cash for 2026. Some companies, including Bombas, Dick's Sporting Goods, Madewell, Essentia Organic Mattress, and Natpat, have kept or launched early deals. The National Retail Federation expects customers to spend a record $1 trillion this holiday season.
Read at Digiday
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