The European cosmetics market represents one of the most dynamic and competitive landscapes in global beauty retail. With a valuation approaching €119 billion in 2025 and projected steady growth through the decade, cosmetics brands are facing increasingly sophisticated consumers who research, compare, and purchase products across multiple digital channels. 

Skin care, and especially anti‑ageing treatments, sits at the heart of this transformation. These products attract highly informed, high‑intent consumers who scrutinise ingredient lists, reviews and promises of efficacy. The result is an extremely competitive environment where dermocosmetic pharmacy brands and mass beauty giants fight for the same search results and product listing pages.

Within this context, the concept of the Digital Shelf—the online space where products are displayed, discovered, and evaluated—has emerged as a decisive battleground for brand visibility and commercial success.​

This article presents key findings from flipflow’s cross-market benchmark study on Digital Shelf performance in the anti-aging skincare segment across Spain, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom during Q3 2025. The analysis covers 12 leading cosmetics brands, including Garnier, L’Oréal Paris, Vichy, Neutrogena, Weleda, Olay, Nivea, Eucerin, Nuxe, Sesderma, Cantabria Labs, and Bella Aurora, monitored across five major retailers: Amazon, Primor, Douglas, Boots, and Easypara.​

Why Digital Shelf Visibility Matters for Cosmetics Brands

The Digital Shelf determines whether consumers will find a brand’s products when searching online. As e-commerce continues to capture a larger share of beauty sales (43% of European beauty purchases are expected to occur online by 2025) brands that fail to optimise their online presence risk losing relevance in a market where discovery increasingly begins with a search query rather than a store visit.​

In the anti-aging category specifically, the Europe anti-aging skincare ingredients market was valued at USD 415.80 million in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 589.05 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 4.45%. This growth is driven by rising consumer awareness, demand for preventive solutions, and technological innovations in active ingredients. For brands competing in this segment, strong Digital Shelf positioning translates directly into commercial opportunity.​

A Fragmented Landscape with Tight Country Averages

One of the most striking findings of our benchmark is how similar the overall Digital Shelf intensity is across the four markets. Spain records an average visibility of 8.37%, France 8.39%, Italy 8.33% and the UK 8.46%. On the surface, these numbers suggest comparable levels of competition.

The detail underneath tells a different story. Leadership positions change sharply from one country to another and no single brand dominates everywhere. Garnier, Vichy and Weleda each hold strong positions, but always in different combinations by market. Domestic champions like Cantabria Labs and Nuxe shine on their home turf, while some global brands exhibit surprising weaknesses in specific countries.

The European digital shelf for beauty therefore behaves as a patchwork of local battles rather than a single unified market.  Understanding where individual brands excel, and where they underperform, provides actionable intelligence for marketing and e-commerce teams seeking to optimise their digital strategies.

Spain: Twin Leadership in a Crowded Field

The Spanish market for anti‑ageing products is dynamic and highly contested. When consumers search for “antiedad”, overall visibility averages 8.37%, yet two brands clearly distance themselves from the rest. Garnier stands out with an impressive 18.54% visibility index, more than double the national average. Cantabria Labs follows with 11.80%, while Weleda secures a solid 10.46%.

This combination creates a pattern of “twin leadership”: Garnier as a powerful international mass‑market reference and Cantabria Labs as a strong local dermocosmetic anchor. The presence of Weleda in third position shows that natural and plant‑based propositions also resonate strongly with Spanish shoppers.

At the other end of the ranking, Eucerin, Nuxe and Sesderma remain well below the country average with scores between three and four percent. For these brands, Spain represents a clear opportunity: the market is large, and the category is vibrant, yet their products are not surfacing as often as their reputation might justify. A review of assortment depth, keyword coverage and retailer partnerships would be the natural next step.

France: A Distinctly Local Market

France is traditionally associated with dermocosmetic excellence, and the digital shelf confirms this reputation. For the keyword “anti‑âge”, the national average visibility sits at 8.39%, similar to Spain, but the pattern by brand looks very different.

Vichy leads the French online anti‑ageing category by a clear margin with 15.68% visibility. Eucerin and Neutrogena follow closely at 10.90% and 10.88%, forming a trio of brands that benefit from strong pharmacy heritage, trusted expertise and long‑standing distribution networks.

Spanish brands find French e‑commerce harder to penetrate. Sesderma posts only 1.37% visibility and Cantabria Labs 1.42%. Even a heavyweight such as Olay—strong in the UK and Italy—achieves only 7.73%, lagging behind its performance elsewhere. The French digital shelf appears highly France‑centric, privileging brands with deep roots in the local pharmacy ecosystem and content tuned precisely to French consumer language and regulatory nuances.

For international brands, this suggests that entering France successfully cannot rely on simply replicating strategies from other European markets. It requires tailored claims, specialised retailer partnerships and a close understanding of how French shoppers search and filter within the anti‑ageing category.

Italy: Garnier in Front, Dermocosmetics Close Behind

Italy‘s “antiage” searches confirm Garnier’s pan-European strength, with the brand capturing 17.12% visibility, again roughly double the 8.33% national average. This performance positions it comfortably ahead of Eucerin at 10.18% and Olay at 10.14%, which together form a competitive chasing pair just above the 10% mark. These results underline that Italian shoppers combine interest in accessible mass brands with openness to more specialist skin‑care offers.

Further down the table, Sesderma struggles with only 2.10% visibility. Vichy and Bella Aurora remain below the national mean with 6.14% and 6.54% respectively. The contrast with Vichy’s dominance in France is particularly telling: its French strengths do not automatically translate to the Italian digital shelf. The issue does not appear cyclical; rather, it suggests structural gaps in localisation, range architecture or review generation that need targeted correction.

United Kingdom: Weleda’s Breakout Moment

In the United Kingdom, the “anti aging” keyword yields the highest country average at 8.46%, though the real story lies in the extraordinary performance of a single brand. Weleda achieves a visibility index of 27.71%, vastly outperforming every competitor and every other market in the study. This result places Weleda as a leading reference for natural and ethical skin care within UK digital channels.

Garnier and Olay form a strong second tier with 11.83% and 10.79% visibility. Both maintain comfortable positions above the country average and confirm that British shoppers remain receptive to both heritage mass brands and more clinical derma propositions.

Spanish brands, in contrast, register very low visibility. Cantabria Labs and Bella Aurora each record 1.63%, while Sesderma reaches 5.06% (notably higher than in other markets). These figures highlight the difficulty of gaining traction in anglophone online retail without a clear localisation strategy, strong retailer relationships and communication that matches UK consumer expectations.

The UK’s elevated paid-media intensity (that we will explore in a separate analysis) means that organic fundamentals—content quality, local keyword semantics, and retailer mix—are especially critical for brands seeking cost-efficient visibility.​

Consolidated Brand Performance: Consistency vs. Market Dependence

When aggregating results across all four markets, Garnier emerges as the most consistent leader with a 14.24% global average visibility, performing above the national average in all four countries studied. Weleda ranks second with 13.94%, although this figure is heavily influenced by its exceptional UK performance.​

The mid-tier includes Olay (8.95%), Vichy (8.79%), Nivea (8.23%), Neutrogena (8.23%), and Eucerin (8.19%), all competing within a narrow range. These brands demonstrate varying degrees of market-by-market consistency.

Sesderma’s position at the bottom, failing to exceed the national average in any market, signals a need for comprehensive strategic review across content quality, keyword localisation, and retailer breadth.​

Two insights matter for European strategy. Garnier appears as the most consistent cross‑market performer, surpassing the national average in every country. This reliability suggests strong baseline equity, extensive distribution and disciplined optimisation of product pages and keyword coverage.

Weleda, in contrast, owes much of its high position to its extraordinary UK result. The brand performs respectably in Spain, France and Italy but does not reach the same heights as in the UK. Its profile illustrates how a focused local play, when well executed, can dramatically influence pan‑European averages.

Volatility Analysis: Where Strengths and Weaknesses Are Exposed

Looking at each brand’s best and worst markets highlights how stable or exposed its online presence really is. L’Oréal Paris and Nivea stand out for their relatively low volatility. L’Oréal’s visibility ranges only from 6.92% in Spain to 8.5% in Italy, while Nivea fluctuates between 7.36% in the UK and 9.37% in Spain. These mild spreads imply that their digital shelf fundamentals (distribution, content and SEO within retailers) remain consistently solid.

Other brands experience far wider swings. Weleda jumps from 8.31% visibility in France to 27.71% in the UK, a spread of 19.4 points. Vichy moves from 5.52% in the UK to 15.68% in France; Cantabria Labs from 1.42% in France to 11.80% in Spain; and Nuxe from 3.68% in Spain to 9.49% in France. Such volatility reflects a strong home‑market bias where domestic equity and distribution create peaks, but international execution remains uneven.

Sesderma occupies another category altogether, underperforming broadly rather than oscillating between strength and weakness. Its highest visibility, 5.06% in the UK, still falls behind the leaders, while its lowest, 1.37% in France, reveals minimal presence. For a brand with international ambitions, this profile indicates the need for a comprehensive digital shelf rethink covering content depth, imagery, attributes, reviews and retailer coverage.

Strategic Lessons for Beauty Brands Competing Online

Several clear lessons emerge from the Digital Shelf analysis. The first is that each European market behaves as its own digital ecosystem. The similar averages mask very different rank orders and competitive dynamics. Strategies that work in Spain or Italy often falter when transplanted directly to France or the UK. Brands need genuinely local playbooks that reflect how shoppers search, which retailers they trust and what claims resonate.

A second lesson concerns the balance between consistency and specialisation. Brands such as Garnier, Nivea and L’Oréal Paris show the advantages of maintaining a stable mid‑to‑high level of visibility across all markets. Their presence may not always be spectacular in any single country, but the overall portfolio is resilient. At the same time, examples like Weleda in the UK or Vichy in France illustrate the power of focused local excellence. The strongest digital shelf strategies blend both: a solid baseline everywhere, complemented by selected “hero markets” where the brand invests in deeper range, stronger partnerships and more intensive optimisation.

The third insight relates to hidden gaps. Our data reveals several brands that perform well in some markets yet clearly under‑deliver in others. Eucerin, strong in France, lags in Spain. Neutrogena’s success in France does not fully translate to the UK. Olay shines in the UK and Italy but remains middling in Spain and France. These discrepancies usually point to tactical issues (limited SKUs, missing hero formats, insufficient review volume, or weak alignment with local keyword patterns) rather than to structural brand problems. Systematic auditing of these factors provides some of the fastest gains in digital shelf performance.

In all these areas, reliable, granular analytics such as the ones provided by Flipflow’s Digital Shelf Analytics solution help teams benchmark against competitors, set realistic targets and track progress over time.

Conclusion: Winning the Digital Shelf in European Beauty

The European cosmetics market in 2025 presents both opportunity and complexity for brands seeking Digital Shelf visibility. With e-commerce capturing an ever-larger share of beauty purchases and consumers increasingly relying on search-driven discovery, online visibility has become a strategic imperative rather than a tactical consideration. Our benchmark reveals a competitive landscape where market leadership is fragmented, with no single brand dominating across all countries. 

Garnier emerges as the most consistent cross‑European leader in Digital Shelf visibility. Vichy and Weleda show how local strength can propel a brand to standout positions when combined with the right retailer mix and content strategy. Domestic champions like Cantabria Labs and Nuxe demonstrate the weight of home‑market heritage, while several global players reveal underexploited opportunities in specific countries.

The overarching message is clear: success on the digital shelf in European beauty depends on precise localisation, meticulous optimisation of product pages and a constant, data‑driven assessment of how visibility evolves across retailers and markets. Brands that monitor their Digital Shelf performance with the level of detail offered by Flipflow’s analytics platform can identify gaps early, prioritise investment and convert shopper intent into sustainable growth. 

The full “Digital Shelf & Retail Media Performance in European Beauty – Q3 2025 Cross‑Market Benchmark” (download it on the link) provides deeper charts and brand‑by‑brand breakdowns for teams that want to translate these findings into concrete action plans, master the Digital Shelf, and sharpen their competitive edge in a market valued at nearly €120 billion. In a category where every search result is a micro‑battle for attention, the brands that professionalise their Digital Shelf today will own the European beauty consumer tomorrow.

The post Digital Shelf Performance in European Beauty: Who Wins the Anti‑Ageing Race? appeared first on Flipflow.

Black Friday is once again confirmed as the fundamental pillar of the digital commercial calendar in Spain. In 2025, this event will concentrate almost 25% of all annual online sales. Marketplaces such as Amazon, El Corte Inglés, AliExpress and TikTok Shop will lead in user acquisition and digital traffic. 

The Spanish preference for the online channel is becoming increasingly noticeable: in the first quarter of 2025 alone, national e-commerce grew by 18.2% year-on-year, reaching a turnover of 25,752 million euros according to the CNMC.​

Consumption Patterns and Black Friday Growth

During the 2024 campaign alone, the average spend per shopper during Black Friday amounted to €230. Furthermore, the online average purchase ticket is forecast to exceed €485 in 2025, representing a 6.5% increase compared to the previous year. 

Spanish e-commerce will close 2025 with an estimated volume of 45,062 million euros, 4.8% more than last year. This signals stability and maturity in the Spanish digital market.

Generation X leads spending and purchase frequency, with an average of 11.8 transactions per user in the last twelve months and an annual spend exceeding €345.6. The sectors recording the greatest dynamism in online sales are beauty, personal care, home and pets. On the other hand, automotive accessories and food show growth exceeding 4%.​

Strategies and Challenges for Brands and Marketplaces

Omnichannel integration and dynamic forecasting allow retailers to maintain sustained growth. The use of artificial intelligence and predictive models helps reduce stockouts and optimise price campaigns, which is especially crucial for maximising results during Black Friday.​

As pointed out by Jordi Vilardaga, Head of Supply Chain at NTT DATA, in the “Black Friday 2025 Report”:

“The preceding weeks are key. The consumer no longer buys on impulse: they plan, compare and decide with criteria.”

Click & collect, vertical marketplaces and live shopping continue to gain traction and drive the national market.​ Luis Simoes, Managing Director Iberia at NIQ, highlights that:

“Retailers and manufacturers must treat Black Friday as a peak season, not just as a one-week promotion. Omnichannel coordination and dynamic forecasting are fundamental to capturing online demand while avoiding stockouts during this massive sales period preceding major Christmas shopping.”

Cyber Monday and the “Cyber Week” Revolution

Cyber Monday is gaining weight in Spain. In 2025, the average ticket is expected to reach €300 per online shopper according to Webloyalty forecasts. In some categories, the average spend of Black Friday will be exceeded for the first time. 77% of users already plan to take advantage of offers on Cyber Monday. This consolidates an extended window of discounts and digital opportunities, favouring a combined growth of 10% in online sales between both campaigns.​

The fastest growth is seen in technology, fashion and food products, which lead transaction volumes in both events. Furthermore, Spain will reach an 11.2% online retail share this year, a reflection of digital maturity and the rise of digital commerce among traditional operators too.​

A Common Trend, Multiple Ways to Shop

The rise of Spanish e-commerce translates into an international projection: currently, the country is the fifth largest market worldwide (behind the USA, Germany, Brazil and the UK) in sales volume during Black Friday, with a 6.3% global share.

More than 90% of consumers in developed countries consider the 5 days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday as key dates in the commercial calendar. However, the way this phenomenon is experienced varies significantly according to the culture and expectations of each country. While in the United States the event is associated with the start of Christmas shopping and massive offers both in physical stores and online, in Europe Black Friday reflects differentiated consumption strategies, where value, quality and digitalisation coexist in different proportions.​

Source: Black Friday 2025: The impact of intelligent retail – NTT Data, November 2025

United Kingdom

The British market is highly price-oriented, with consumers seeking convenience and aggressive promotions, especially in fashion, toys and electronics. Comparison between shops and early purchasing set the tone for British digital consumption.

France

The French public prioritises quality and the after-sales experience, maintaining great loyalty towards brands. The dominant categories are beauty, fashion and home, in a demanding commercial environment marked by excellence.

Spain

Spain figures among the most active countries in Europe, with digitally mature and highly participatory consumers. The main categories during BFCM are fashion, footwear and beauty, supported by the strong growth of online sales and purchase planning to anticipate the Christmas campaign. 

Germany

The German market is distinguished by its organisation and advanced digitalisation, with high use of artificial intelligence in the purchasing process. Electronics, home and fashion are the star categories, showing a rational, planned and efficient customer profile.

Italy

The Italian consumer stands out for their rationality and taste for design, guided by technology and a preference for stylish items. Online shopping plays a leading role, especially in electronics and fashion.

United States

In the USA, the “Cyber Five” sets records in sales and participation, aligning the nation’s omnicanal experience—the most consolidated in digital consumption—with the rise of social commerce and constant innovation from giants like Amazon and Walmart. 

A Campaign that Redefines the Digital Commercial Calendar

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are no longer simple promotional milestones, but authentic engines of digital consumption on a global scale. In Spain, their role is particularly decisive. They concentrate a substantial part of the annual online sales volume, accelerate the adoption of new technologies and consolidate consumers as informed, demanding and fully digital actors.

The maturity of e-commerce, together with the growing sophistication of brands, retailers and marketplaces, draws a scenario in which precision, anticipation and the omnichannel experience will be key to competing in 2025 and beyond. In a context marked by constant comparisons, the search for value and increasingly rational decisions, those who know how to interpret data and adapt with agility will capture an essential part of the demand.

Ultimately, Black Friday and “Cyber Week” will continue to redefine the commercial calendar, consolidating themselves as a peak season for global commerce and a decisive showcase where digital consumer loyalty is measured and won.

The post Black Friday 2025: One in Four Online Purchases in Spain is Made in a Single Week appeared first on Flipflow.

Introduction: The Death of ‘One Size Fits All’

Here’s a statistic that should worry any e-commerce director: according to a survey by McKinsey, 71% of consumers expect personalised interactions and 76% get frustrated when they don’t. In other words, when the experience doesn’t meet their expectations, switching brands is now easier and more common than ever.

The key to winning back their attention is to understand how they search. Today’s consumer no longer browses generic categories: they filter, compare, and select based on very specific needs. They don’t search for “face cream,” but for “paraben-free cream for sensitive skin with SPF 50”.

For decades, brands operated with a single, static content model. They would create one standard description and replicate it across all channels: Amazon, Zalando, their own online shop, or specialised marketplaces. With the same text, the same specifications, and the same images. Creating distinct product detail pages (PDPs) for 10,000 different SKUs was simply unfeasible. Content marketing teams couldn’t keep up, budgets soared, and the available technology couldn’t handle that volume of personalised information. The result was predictable: generic content that tried to speak to everyone but truly connected with no one.

Source: The value of getting personalization right—or wrong—is multiplying – McKinsey, November 2021

Looking ahead to 2026, continuing with that strategy is a direct path to failure. Winning on the Digital Shelf requires adapting the content of each SKU to the channel’s context and, above all, to the specific profile of the user searching for it.The data speaks for itself: companies that adopt advanced, AI-based personalisation strategies can generate up to 40% more revenue from these initiatives. Moreover, the most mature companies in this area grow about 10 percentage points faster than their direct competitors. The better a company uses its data to know and understand its customers, the greater the impact on the business.

In this context, mass personalisation is no longer a luxury reserved for large tech corporations but has become a basic competitive necessity.

What Is SKU-Level Personalisation?

Often, when we talk about personalisation in e-commerce, our minds automatically turn to CRM strategies: emails that include the customer’s name or product recommendations based on browsing history. However, SKU-level personalisation operates on a different and much deeper layer of the shopping experience.

We’re talking about the ability to modify the structural elements of the product detail page —title, description, benefits, and image gallery—to match the expectations of the audience segment viewing that item or the nature of the channel where it is displayed.

Let’s think about a pair of high-end running trainers. The physical product is exactly the same: same sole, same upper, same cushioning technology. However, the way it is presented can and should vary radically.

When a professional marathon runner is looking for these trainers, the product detail page must prioritise specific technical data: energy return, the drop that favours a midfoot strike, the weight, or the midsole composition. The images will highlight cross-sections of the technology, close-ups of the sole, and performance graphics.

In contrast, when a user focused on street fashion is looking for the same model, the presentation changes completely. The page highlights the exclusive design, limited colour palette, collaboration with a renowned designer, and the story behind the model. Images show complete outfits, pairings with different garments, and the product in attractive urban settings.

But the product remains identical. What changes is the narrative, focus, and hierarchy of information that each type of user receives.

The Engine of Change: Attributes and Structured Data

Carrying out this personalisation manually for ten products is feasible. Doing it for thousands of SKUs is impossible without a solid data foundation. This is where product information management comes into play. Personalisation is a data game, not a creative magic trick.

The fundamental element of this strategy is the “attribute”. An attribute is any discrete piece of data that defines a product characteristic: colour, material, size, weight, country of origin, type of fastening, etc. Each of these attributes acts as a smart tag that allows the system to identify which products match each specific search.

When a user enters an online shop and selects “Jackets”, then “Waterproof”, and finally “Colour: Black”, they are interacting directly with the attributes the brand has previously defined. If a brand has an excellent jacket, with a complete and persuasive description, but has forgotten to tag the “waterproof” attribute in the database, that product will be invisible to the user applying that filter. The quality of the text becomes irrelevant if the product doesn’t appear in the search results.

A critical example can be found in the food and cosmetics sector. Imagine a consumer searching for vegan products. If the product page doesn’t have the “vegan” attribute explicitly marked and structured (not just mentioned in a paragraph of text, but tagged in the corresponding system field), the marketplace’s algorithm won’t be able to index it correctly for that specific search.

Therefore, before thinking about generating creative copy automatically, companies must audit and clean their structured data. The granularity of the attributes determines the capacity for personalisation. The more specific details a product has broken down into data, the greater the potential for creating precise and relevant shopping experiences.

How to Scale: The Role of Generative AI

The main historical obstacle to mass personalisation was simply impossible to solve with traditional methods: how do you create and maintain personalised content for tens or hundreds of thousands of SKUs, multiplied by different channels, languages, and audience segments? A quick calculation: 10,000 products × 5 channels × 3 audience variants × 4 languages = 600,000 different content versions. Impossible to manage with human copywriters.

This is where Generative Artificial Intelligence becomes the indispensable operational tool. It allows a shift from a manual copywriting model to an editorial supervision model, multiplying content production capacity.

Let’s see how it’s applied in four key areas:

1. Advanced translation and localisation

AI platforms can translate product descriptions into multiple languages, but they go far beyond literal translation. Generative AI enables “transcreation” processes at scale.

They adapt idiomatic expressions, adjust cultural references, and respect market-specific regulatory standards. A description for a food supplement must comply with very different regulations in Spain, Germany, or the United States, and these platforms can automate those adjustments.

2. Attribute enrichment

One of the most powerful applications of current technology is the ability to extract information from images. Suppose a fashion brand receives 1,000 photographs of its new collection, but the textual information is scarce. AI tools can analyse the pixels in each image and automatically detect features: “long sleeve”, “V-neck”, “floral print”, “coral red”. This data is automatically converted into structured attributes in the management system (PIM), saving thousands of hours of manual data entry and reducing human error.

3. Adapting the tone of voice

Each sales channel has its own language. Amazon rewards brevity, feature lists, and keyword density. In contrast, a luxury brand’s own online shop or a social network like Instagram requires an aspirational, evocative, and emotional tone.

Generative AI makes it possible to take a product’s technical attributes (e.g., “organic cotton”, “made in Portugal”) and generate multiple versions of the description. One version will be technical and optimised for SEO on marketplaces; another will be narrative and enticing for the corporate website. The system can rewrite thousands of product pages in minutes to adapt them to each channel’s style guide, maintaining brand consistency while adjusting the linguistic register.

4. Available technological solutions

The market already offers mature solutions for implementing mass personalisation. Product Information Management (PIM) platforms like Akeneo, Salsify, or inRiver integrate AI capabilities to enrich, translate, and adapt content. Other specialised tools focus specifically on generating optimised product descriptions.

Many of these platforms allow you to define templates with rules: “For products in category X, when the user comes from channel Y and belongs to segment Z, prioritise these attributes and use this tone”. The system applies these rules automatically to thousands of SKUs simultaneously.

The important thing to understand is that these tools do not replace human judgement. They require supervision, adjustments, and validation. But they drastically reduce the time and cost of creating personalised content on an industrial scale.

KPIs and Measuring Success

Implementing mass personalisation requires investment and a profound cultural shift. And, like any serious business initiative, it also needs clear metrics to evaluate its effectiveness. It’s not enough to deploy technology and assume it works: it is essential to measure, compare, and optimise continuously.

Attribute completeness

This is a catalogue health indicator. It measures the percentage of data fields that are filled in for each SKU. A product with 100% completeness is much more likely to appear in filtered searches than one with 60%.

Conversion rate per SKU

By personalising the content, we should see an increase in conversion. If we adapt the page for a technical product to an expert audience, the clarity of the information should reduce friction and increase sales.

Share of shelf

This indicates what percentage of relevant searches in your category your brand captures. If you sell coffee machines and there are 10,000 monthly searches for “automatic espresso machine”, how many of them do you appear on the first page for? This metric reveals your real visibility on the Digital Shelf.

Returns and quality signals

This metric is fundamental and often overlooked. A precise and detailed product description aligns customer expectations with the reality of the item. If AI helps us to better detail sizes or materials, we should see a reduction in returns for reasons like “the product was not as expected” or “inaccurate description“.

A/B testing

The ability to generate content quickly allows for hypothesis testing. We can launch two versions of a title or a main image for the same product over a controlled period and measure which one generates more clicks and sales, optimising the catalogue based on real behavioural data.

Personalised recommendations alone account for almost a third of e-commerce revenue, and sessions adapted to user behaviour can more than triple the average order value. This is possible because AI detects patterns and purchasing signals that a human analyst would take months to discover, making it possible to create highly relevant experiences instead of generic messages.

Challenges: Data Quality, Privacy, and Consistency

Despite the clear advantages, adopting this technology comes with significant challenges that organisations must manage prudently.

The first obstacle is the quality of the source data. AI algorithms work on the premise that they learn from and operate on the information they are given. If the product database contains errors, duplicates, or outdated information, the AI will scale those errors at breakneck speed. Cleaning and normalising master data is an unavoidable preliminary step.

Another significant challenge is brand consistency. When generating thousands of automatic descriptions, there is a risk that the brand’s tone of voice becomes diluted or robotic. Human supervision is still necessary to audit random samples of the generated content and ensure the brand’s “personality” remains present, even when the text has been written by a machine.

There is also a risk of creating “content bubbles” where the user only sees products and descriptions that reinforce their previous preferences, limiting their ability to discover alternative options. An overly aggressive personalisation algorithm can reduce the diversity of exposure and impoverish the shopping experience.

Finally, although product personalisation touches on less personal data than marketing personalisation, there are ethical and legal implications. If we use a user’s browsing data to dynamically show them a version of the product page, we must be transparent about the use of cookies and respect privacy regulations like GDPR. The user must feel that the personalisation adds value and is useful, not that they are being watched.

Conclusion: The Atomisation of Content

The future of content on the Digital Shelf is heading towards what we might call the “atomisation of content“. Instead of thinking of a product page as a monolithic block of information, we must see it as a collection of content atoms: discrete fragments of information (attributes, benefits, specifications, visual elements) that can be dynamically recombined according to the context.

Imagine that each feature of your product is an individual atom stored in your database: “Material: certified organic cotton”, “Benefit: regulates body temperature”, “Recommended use: low-intensity outdoor activities”, “Environmental impact: carbon footprint offset”. Each one is a piece of verified information, translated into multiple languages and tagged with metadata about when and how to use it.

When a specific user on a particular channel searches for your product, the system selects and combines the most relevant atoms for that context. It reassembles the information in real time, generating a product page perfectly adapted to that particular situation. Content is no longer static; it is fluid and contextual.

The brands that succeed in breaking down their information into these atoms and using artificial intelligence to reassemble them according to the exact needs of the customer at any given moment will be the ones to dominate the market. They will be able to be present in a relevant way on hundreds of channels simultaneously, speak to each audience segment in its own language, adapt messages to emerging trends in days instead of months, and scale international operations without proportional increases in cost.

The question is no longer whether or not to implement mass SKU-level personalisation, but how long you can afford to wait while your competition does it first. The 2026 Digital Shelf will reward those who understand that every product, in every context, deserves to have its own perfectly tailored story.

The post From 100 to 1 Million SKUs: The Mass Personalisation Revolution on the Digital Shelf appeared first on Flipflow.

Introduction: a Look at the Future of Retail in Spain

The retail landscape in Spain is constantly evolving, and the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a digital transformation that was already underway. A key figure that will shape the direction of the sector in the coming years is the forecast that online retail will account for 11.2% of total retail sales by 2025. This forecast, taken from the latest “e-retail Index Spain” report by the consultancy Savills, invites us to reflect on the future of retail and the strategies that companies must adopt to remain competitive in an increasingly digitalised market.

While this figure represents significant growth, it is interesting to note that Spain will remain some way behind the European average, estimated at 14.6% for the same year. This suggests that, despite the boom in e-commerce, the Spanish consumer still values the in-store shopping experience, which opens up a range of opportunities for companies that know how to integrate both worlds: the online and the offline.

In this article, we will analyse in depth what this 11.2% means for the retail sector, how we got here, and what trends will shape the future of retail in Spain.

Sustained Growth in E-commerce Following the Pandemic

The 2020 lockdown was a turning point for e-commerce in Spain. The share of online sales jumped by 2.7 points. Since then, growth has stabilised at a steady rate of 0.5 percentage points per year. This indicates a maturing market and a consolidation of the shopping habits acquired during the pandemic.

How has each category evolved since the surge in 2020?

Source: The state of e-commerce in Spain – Savills, October 2025

As Alicia Corrales, Director of Retail Research & Consultancy at Savills Spain, neatly summarises:

“Although the growth of e-commerce versus offline in retail categories seems to be slowing slightly in percentage terms, it continues to gain share and will continue to do so in the medium term, in a new phase of sustained growth and maturity, marked by efficiency, flexibility in the use of channels in the purchasing process, and the emergence of new ways of shopping as keys to success.”

This new phase, although more moderate than the initial boom, demonstrates the resilience of the physical shop. It also reveals the consumer’s preference for a mixed model. In 2024, 72.2% of retail purchases were made on the high street. Meanwhile, 17.4% took place in shopping centres and retail parks. These figures confirm that the bricks-and-mortar retail apocalypse, so often heralded, has not arrived. Instead, we are witnessing an integration of channels that is redefining the shopping experience.

The Resilience of the Physical Shop and the Rise of Omnichannel

Far from disappearing, the physical shop is reinventing itself to offer added value that the online channel cannot replicate. The key to success in the new retail paradigm lies in omnichannel, that is, in the ability to offer a seamless and consistent shopping experience across all sales channels.

A clear example of this trend is the growing number of digital pure players that are opening physical shops. In the last five years, 46 such openings have been recorded on high streets or in shopping centres in Spain. For example, the brand Sepiia, which was founded in 2016 as a completely online brand, has managed to make sales in its physical shops account for almost 15% of its total turnover in 2024. These brands, born in the digital environment, have understood the importance of having a physical space to connect with their customers, build trust and offer memorable experiences.

Shopping centres and retail parks have also demonstrated their ability to adapt. After a fall in 2020, they have partially recovered their market share, holding steady at 17.4%. This has been thanks to strategies to renew their offerings, the integration of leisure and dining, and advances in digitalisation and customer experience.

Trends that will Shape the Future of Retail

The Savills report also points to a series of trends that will define the future of retail in Spain. Efficiency, flexibility and the emergence of new ways to shop will be key to success.

• Last-mile optimisation: Logistics has become a crucial factor for customer satisfaction. Companies are investing in optimising the last mile to offer faster, more flexible and more sustainable deliveries.
• Personalised offerings: Thanks to data analysis, companies can get to know their customers better and offer them personalised products and services, thereby increasing conversion and loyalty.
• Click & Collect: This purchasing method, which allows customers to collect an online order in-store, is a clear example of the convergence between the physical and digital worlds. The rise of click & collect in Spain shows that consumers are looking for convenience and flexibility.
• New sales channels: The digital channel is fragmenting and specialising. Vertical marketplaces, Direct To Consumer (D2C) brands, and live shopping and social commerce strategies are emerging, opening up new opportunities to reach consumers.

Conclusion: a Hybrid Market Led by Innovative Companies

The forecast that online retail will account for 11.2% of retail sales in Spain by 2025 should not be interpreted as the end of traditional retail. Rather, it should be seen as the consolidation of a hybrid model in which the online and offline channels complement and reinforce each other.

In fact, Spanish businesses demonstrate a remarkable ability to adapt in this regard. A revealing figure from the Savills report is that Spanish companies are above (20%) the European average (19%) in online sales. This leading position shows that e-commerce is already a strategic pillar and that the Spanish market is dynamic and competitive.

The future of retail inevitably involves omnichannel strategies, personalisation and the creation of unforgettable shopping experiences. Those companies that know how to adapt to this new scenario, by investing in technology, logistics and, above all, in a deep understanding of their customers, will be the ones to lead the market. In short, the path towards that 11.2% is not just a statistic. It’s a roadmap full of opportunities for Spanish companies to continue to innovate and demonstrate their competitiveness in a global market.

The post The future of retail: online retail to reach 11.2% of sales in Spain in 2025 appeared first on Flipflow.

Every last Friday of November, the same ritual repeats itself: shop windows packed with red signs, discounts promising to be 70% off, endless queues, and a fierce battle to offer the lowest price. For years, Black Friday has operated on a simple premise: whoever discounts the most, sells the most. Shops compete to shout the loudest about their offers, flooding consumers with mass promotions that, in theory, benefit everyone equally.

However, Black Friday 2024 highlighted a paradigm shift: AI and chatbots generated over 14 billion dollars in online sales worldwide. As we can see, the universal discount strategy is beginning to show its cracks. Margins are eroding, customers compare prices in seconds on their smartphones, and, paradoxically, the saturation of offers is breeding mistrust. The competitive advantage no longer lies in discounting more than the competition, but in discounting more intelligently. And this is where Generative AI comes in. As highlighted by estorebrands, in 2024, retailers who leveraged Generative AI in their strategies achieved conversion rates 9% higher than those who did not.

This technology represents a quantum leap from traditional artificial intelligence. While classic analytical systems are limited to processing historical information and detecting patterns, Generative AI takes a step forward: it creates new content. It generates unique offers, writes personalised communications, and designs pricing strategies adapted to each individual customer, all in real time. We are talking about systems capable of understanding each shopper’s context and building, on the fly, the exact value proposition that will maximise conversion without destroying profit margins.

The Role of Generative AI in Personalisation and Creativity

Generative AI’s ability to create original content is opening up a range of possibilities that until recently seemed like science fiction. Its application goes far beyond simple automation, allowing retailers to connect with their customers on an unprecedented level of personalisation.

One of the most direct uses is the creation of content at scale. Imagine receiving an email for Black Friday whose subject line not only includes your name, but also references that product you viewed 3 times last week. The product description on the website could adapt dynamically to highlight the features that interest you most, based on your browsing history. Social media ads would no longer be generic, instead becoming visual and textual recommendations that seem tailor-made for you. All this content, from the text on a banner to the script for a short video, can be generated by generative AI to resonate with each individual during Black Friday.

Some pioneering retailers are already applying these principles. For example, fashion e-commerce platforms use AI to analyse a customer’s style and generate complete, personalised “looks”. If a user often buys minimalist-style clothing, the AI can create a section on the homepage titled “Your Black Friday essentials”, populated with products that perfectly match their preferences and showing how to style them. Amazon, for its part, has implemented generative models that create variations of its product pages based on the user’s browsing history, modifying everything from the order in which features appear to the images that are shown first.

This technology also drives truly innovative shopping experiences. Virtual shopping assistants can hold fluid conversations, understanding the customer’s context and needs to recommend the ideal product.

The Pillars of the New Black Friday Strategy

The traditional approach of fixed discounts is being surpassed by three strategic pillars that generative AI makes possible, transforming the way retailers plan and execute their campaigns.

1. Hyper-personalised dynamic pricing

Dynamic pricing is not new. Airlines and hotels have been adjusting their rates according to demand for decades. However, Generative AI introduces an additional dimension: individual personalisation.

The traditional system modifies prices based on aggregate variables such as stock levels or general demand. Generative AI, on the other hand, can calculate a specific discount for each user. It analyses their purchase history, price sensitivity (how many times they have viewed a product before buying it, whether they usually wait for the sales), their potential value as a long-term customer, and their probability of conversion at different discount levels.

Let’s imagine two customers interested in the same television. The first is a regular, loyal customer of the brand with a high lifetime value. The second is a bargain hunter who has never bought from the brand before and is probably comparing prices on multiple sites. AI can offer the first customer a 12% discount with free delivery, knowing that her loyalty doesn’t require an aggressive price cut. For the second, it presents a 20% discount with one condition: she must complete the purchase within the next two hours. The goal is to convert without unnecessarily giving away margin.

2. Creating bundles and offers “On-the-fly”

One of the most powerful applications of Generative AI is its ability to build product bundles in real time. The system observes what a customer has in their basket and, in milliseconds, generates a complementary offer that is irresistible.

Suppose a user adds a DSLR camera to her basket. Generative AI doesn’t just suggest generic accessories. It analyses what accessories other buyers of that camera usually purchase, reviews the margin on each complementary product, considers the total price of the basket, and builds a specific proposal: “Complete your photography kit: add a 128GB memory card, a professional tripod, and a carrying case for an additional 30% off the complete bundle“.

The key is that this offer is generated exclusively for this customer, at this moment. Another user with the same camera in her basket but a different purchasing profile might receive a different bundle, perhaps one focused on additional filters and lenses if her history indicates an interest in advanced photography.

3. Predictive margin optimisation

The real challenge of Black Friday has always been striking the right balance: discounting enough to drive sales, but without destroying profitability. Perhaps the most strategic pillar is the AI’s ability to act as a large-scale business simulator. Before Black Friday begins, generative AI models can run thousands, or even millions, of discount scenario simulations.

What happens if we offer a 15% discount on laptops for the first 24 hours? What if we increase it to 25% but only for customers who abandoned their basket in the last week? How will offering free delivery versus a direct 10% discount affect the total margin?

The AI runs these simulations considering complex variables: demand elasticity by product category, historical customer behaviour, stock forecasting, logistical costs, and competitor pricing. The result is a much more sophisticated discount strategy than the typical “everything 50% off”. It allows businesses to identify which products should be aggressively discounted to generate traffic (so-called loss leaders), which can maintain higher margins because they have less competition, and which customer segments will respond best to non-monetary incentives like early access or free express delivery.

Understanding the Engine: How Promotions Work Thanks to Real-Time Data and Generative AI

To understand how Generative AI transforms Black Friday promotions, we need to break the process down into two fundamental stages.

Step 1: Real-time data capture

It all starts with the massive collection of information. In milliseconds, the system absorbs 3 categories of data:

• Behavioural data: Every user interaction leaves a digital footprint. The system records which products they examine, how long they stay on each page, which reviews they read, which items they add to their basket, and which they later remove. It also detects patterns: whether the user tends to browse at night or if they have previous abandoned baskets.
• Contextual data: The user’s geographical location provides valuable information, from weather factors to local events, as does the time of day they are browsing. The device also matters: a user browsing on their mobile during their tube journey behaves differently to someone researching on a computer at home.
• Market data: The system constantly monitors the competition. At what price are they offering similar products? Do they have stock available? It also analyses trends on social media: which products are going viral, which features consumers value most in their comments, and what complaints are emerging about competitors’ products.

Step 2: The generative brain

This is where the magic happens. The data on its own is inert; its value emerges when the AI transforms it into actions.

• Scenario simulation: The generative model forms hypotheses. For a customer who has visited the page for a pair of trainers four times, who abandoned their basket two days ago when the price was €89, whose history shows impulse buys when discounts are over 20%, and who has just searched Google for “best running shoes 2025”, the system asks itself: Which offer will maximise conversion? A straight 25% discount? An 18% discount plus free delivery? Access to a higher-end model with only a 15% discount?
• Offer generation: Based on the simulations, the AI creates the optimal response. It can generate a personalised discount code, modify the banner on the website to show those exact trainers with the reduced price, write the text for an email (“Mario, your favourite trainers with a 20% discount, today only“), or even trigger a push notification on their mobile.

Risks and Limitations

Despite its enormous potential, implementing generative AI in pricing and promotion strategies is not without its risks. Over-personalisation can feel invasive to the customer, creating a sense of being watched that can be counterproductive. The line between a useful offer and an invasion of privacy is a thin one.

Poorly calibrated dynamic pricing can cause a reputational crisis. If a loyal customer discovers that a new user is being offered a significantly better price for the same product, the perception of unfairness can irreparably damage trust in the brand. Furthermore, there are regulatory issues related to data privacy (such as GDPR in Europe) and price discrimination that must be managed with extreme care.

Therefore, it is essential to establish clear “safety barriers” (guardrails). Human supervision is needed to define the limits within which the AI can operate, as well as constant trials and A/B testing to ensure that automated strategies are generating positive results for both the business and the customer experience.

Key Lessons for Integrating Generative AI into Retail for Black Friday 2025

The incorporation of generative AI into discount strategies invites retailers to review how they make decisions and build value in an increasingly competitive promotional environment. Technology does not act as a shortcut, but as a tool that expands human capacity to interpret market signals and respond with precision.

The challenge for the coming years will be to integrate these systems maturely: establishing clear limits, reinforcing data quality, and defining what level of automation is appropriate for each business. Retailers who approach this adoption judiciously will strengthen their ability to anticipate demand, better manage their margins, and design more coherent customer experiences.

In a scenario like Black Friday, where every decision immediately affects profitability, having well-governed generative models can be the difference between improvising and acting with intent. The potential is there; the impact will depend on how it is implemented.

The post Black Friday 2025: How generative AI is transforming discount strategies in retail appeared first on Flipflow.

At flipflow we believe information shouldn’t just be available: it needs to be easy to understand, quick to consult, and actionable. Market analysis waits for no one. Opportunities appear and disappear in a matter of hours, and strategic decisions require clear, accessible, and useful data at precisely the right moment. That’s why we’ve redesigned flipflow: so your team can move at the speed the current market demands.

This new design goes far beyond a cosmetic change: it’s a strategic evolution that enhances efficiency, clarity, and usability, boosting the daily work of all teams. Everything is faster, more intuitive, and designed to accompany you into the new era of Artificial Intelligence.

Here’s what awaits you.

Faster and Easier-to-Use Interface

Agile and Accessible Navigation for Everyone

Speed and simplicity are essential when analysing large volumes of data. Data complexity shouldn’t translate into usage complexity. With flipflow’s new design:

• Faster Navigation: find key information in seconds, without wasting time.

• Intuitive and Accessible Interface: any user, regardless of their technical level, can easily explore data.

• Optimised Visual Experience: every panel, section, and data point is organised for clear and understandable reading.

We have simplified the use of the platform, eliminated unnecessary steps, and created an experience that feels natural from the very first moment. These improvements allow users to focus on what truly matters: making data-driven decisions in record time.

New Visualisations and Optimised Workflows

Clearer Insights and Faster Decisions

Data analysis depends as much on the available information as on how it is visualised. Data tells stories, but only if you know how to read them. That’s why flipflow’s new UI introduces:

• Improved Data Visualisation and Readability: customisable dashboards, readable charts, and reports that facilitate data interpretation.

• Clearer Workflows: more intuitive actions within the platform, allowing tasks to be completed in fewer steps and with less effort.

• Compare multiple variables, apply dynamic filters, and explore your data from different angles without losing context.

Thanks to these improvements, insights become clearer, more actionable, and quicker to communicate, driving strategic decision-making across the organisation.

New Features in Report Management

Customised Dashboards and Reports, and More Efficient Teamwork

Market analysis is rarely an individual effort. The best decisions arise when teams work together, combining perspectives and experience. Furthermore, information management is as important as the information itself. With the new flipflow:

• Easier to Generate Customised Reports: create reports from scratch that reflect exactly what your company needs.

• Your most important reports are always one click away, automatically updated and ready to share or present at any time.

• Improved Automations: Now you can choose the exact day you want to receive the report. You can also see which reports are being sent automatically.

These functionalities improve access to information. Because when all teams have access to the same data and can contribute to the analysis, organisations move faster and make better decisions.

New Collaborative Functionalities (coming soon)

Additionally, we are preparing a future rollout that will include new advanced functionalities to boost team productivity:

• Permission Assignment: establish different access levels based on the user for more secure and personalised management.

• Improved Maps: more complete and dynamic visualisations to explore data intuitively.

• View Shared: easily review with whom each dashboard has been shared and maintain control of your information.

These functionalities allow teams to work more coordinately and efficiently, eliminating information silos, accelerating action, and reducing analysis times.

Ready for AI Agents (coming soon)

Coming Soon: Smart Assistance for Faster Decisions

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we analyse and act on market data. The new flipflow is not only ready for this revolution, but it has been specifically designed to leverage it.

We are preparing a future rollout that will include advanced functionalities to boost team productivity:

• Tyrell AI: an intelligent AI Agent that will help interpret data, generate useful insights and reports from scratch by cross-referencing information from Flipflow and your own business data. It will also be able to respond by performing Deep Research on all market data and suggest real-time actions suitable for you and your company proactively.

This technological foundation means that, as we develop new artificial intelligence capabilities, they will integrate naturally into your existing workflow. You won’t have to learn a new tool or change your way of working; you’ll simply find that flipflow becomes increasingly intelligent and useful over time.

Start Enjoying This New Experience

The new flipflow is already available and at your fingertips for you to explore. For current users, the transition will be automatic and seamless: simply log in as usual and discover the new experience. All your data, reports, and settings will be exactly where you left them, but with a completely revamped interface.

If you’re not yet a flipflow user, this is the perfect time to discover how a truly modern market analytics platform can transform the way your organisation makes decisions. Request a demo and we’ll show you firsthand.

We are excited to share this new chapter with you. Explore, experiment, and let us know what you think. Your way of transforming Retail has just evolved. And so has flipflow.

The post Flipflow Gets a Makeover: Faster. Smarter. More Human. appeared first on Flipflow.

Every year, the e-commerce calendar has its own summit: the days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This two-day event in November marks the kick-off of the most intense shopping season, a period where brands and consumers converge in a frenzy of offers and purchasing decisions. For brands, standing out amidst this digital noise is a monumental challenge. This is where Retail Media has established itself as the most powerful strategic tool.

Unlike other advertising channels, Retail Media allows brands to reach the consumer directly at the digital point of sale (the retailer’s website or app), just when their purchase intent is at its peak. This turns a simple visit into an immediate conversion opportunity.

The figures strongly support this trend. Projections from consultancies like IAB and eMarketer indicate that investment in Retail Media will exceed $160 billion globally in 2025, with sustained annual growth of over 20%. During Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this channel is the epicentre of sales strategy. Preparing in advance will determine the season’s winners.

In this article, we will explore why Retail Media makes so much sense for BFCM 2025, how to optimise your advertising campaigns, and which platforms and trends to keep in mind to make the most of this key retail period of the year.

Why is Retail Media Essential during Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

During the November sales peak, competition for consumer attention is fierce. Advertising costs on social media and search engines soar, and the effectiveness of ads decreases. Retail Media offers a strategic haven with unique advantages that make it indispensable.

• Precise segmentation with first-party data: Retailers possess the most valuable asset in modern marketing: the actual purchase data of their customers. They know what they search for, what they buy, how often, and which complementary products interest them. Using Retail Media allows you to access this intelligence to create ultra-segmented audiences. You can target shoppers who visited your product but didn’t buy, loyal customers who have already bought your brand, or users who have purchased competitors’ products. It’s surgical-precision advertising at the moment of truth.

• Clear measurement and direct sales attribution: One of the biggest challenges in digital marketing is proving return on investment. With Retail Media, attribution is direct and transparent. The platforms show you exactly how many sales each pound invested in an ad generated, as everything happens within the same ecosystem. This “closed loop” eliminates guesswork and allows for the calculation of a reliable return on ad spend (ROAS), facilitating real-time optimisation.

• Heightened purchasing context during peak season. During periods like Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the path to purchase shortens; the consumer is already looking for offers, compares less, and decides quickly. A well-placed ad within a Retail Media environment captures that “hot intent.”
  

For all these reasons, if a brand wants to gain visibility and conversions during the peak season period, properly integrating Retail Media into its media mix is a competitive necessity.

How to Optimise Your Campaigns?

Success on Black Friday isn’t improvised in November. It’s the result of meticulous planning divided into three critical phases.

Phase 1 – “The Calm Before the Storm” – Preparation (August – October)

This is the period for building the foundations of your campaign. It’s the phase that determines which brands will truly leverage the potential of the peak season.

It is divided into the following stages:

Audit and Learnings from 2024

Analyse what worked and what didn’t in your previous peak season campaign. Examine which retail networks you used, how your bids performed, which products yielded the best results, logistical bottlenecks, stock-outs, etc. If a “product collection” ad type performed well, plan to replicate that strategy. If a keyword didn’t convert, discard it.

This review should also include a competitive analysis. Observe what strategies successful competitors implemented, what positions they occupied in search results, and which promotions stood out.

Strategic Budget Planning

Demand multiplies, and your budget must too. Allocate a specific and significantly larger budget for Black Friday week. Decide how you will distribute the investment: a portion for visibility campaigns (to publicise your offers) and the majority for conversion campaigns (sponsored products). You can also reserve a small percentage for flexibility to boost the best-performing campaigns in real time.

Additionally, consider temporal allocation. The week before Black Friday often offers better acquisition costs than the Friday itself, when competition reaches its peak. Many brands achieve superior results by bringing forward part of their investment to this preliminary period.

Product Page Optimisation

Your product page is your digital salesperson. There’s no point in driving thousands of customers to a poor page. Make sure it’s perfect. Update images with specific Black Friday promotional content, highlighting discounts or benefits. Enrich descriptions with relevant keywords. Verify that all technical elements are working correctly.

Ratings and reviews are also crucial. If some key products have few reviews or low ratings, implement strategies to improve this aspect before the campaign. Consider limited early promotions to generate initial purchases and, consequently, the first positive reviews.

Keyword Strategy

Research and define two types of keywords within the retailer’s search environment. First, general or always-on keywords (“4K television”, “running shoes”) that build long-term relevance. Second, season-specific keywords (“Black Friday deals”, “laptop discounts”, “Cyber Monday gifts”) that will capture the demand of the moment. Start bidding on them weeks in advance to gain positioning at a lower cost.

Prepare lists of negative keywords to avoid wasting budget on irrelevant searches. During high-traffic events, off-target searches can consume resources quickly if not managed proactively.

Stock and Logistics Verification

The most brilliant advertising campaign falls apart if you run out of stock at 10 a.m. on Black Friday. Work hand in hand with your operations team to ensure you have sufficient inventory of your star products and that your logistics are prepared to handle a peak in orders.

Confirm that delivery times are competitive and correctly communicated. During these days, and also looking ahead to the Christmas season, speed of delivery can be a differentiating factor against competitors.

Phase 2 – “The Eye of the Storm” – Execution (November – BFCM Week)

This is the moment of truth. All the prior preparation must translate into tangible results. Agility and constant monitoring will be your best allies.

Activation and Bidding Strategies

As the date approaches, it’s time to be more aggressive. Increase bids for key products, prioritise “best-sellers” or products with a good margin, and modulate the budget so it isn’t consumed too quickly.

Use the dynamic bidding options offered by the platforms to automatically increase your bid when the probability of conversion is high. The goal is to ensure maximum visibility during peak traffic hours.

Advanced Segmentation

Activate the audiences you prepared and leverage all available segmentation capabilities. Launch retargeting campaigns for users who added your product to their basket but did not purchase, both within the retailer’s site and off-site if possible. Create cross-selling (cross-selling) campaigns aimed at customers who have bought from you in the past, offering them complementary products.

Implement differentiated strategies by user type. New customers may require messages focused on the value proposition and trust, while returning customers will respond better to exclusive offers or early access.

High-Impact Creatives

Adapt your ads to the context. Use banners and copy that communicate urgency and scarcity with messages like “Flash Sale – Today Only”, “Last Units with 40% Off” or “Cyber Monday Exclusive”. Make sure you have specific creatives for Black Friday and different ones for Cyber Monday to keep things fresh.

For rich media formats like video or display, ensure the main message is understandable within the first 3 seconds. User attention is fleeting during these days, and immediate clarity determines whether the ad generates interest or is ignored.

Real-Time Monitoring

During this week, campaigns cannot be left on autopilot. Assign a person or team to monitor performance every few hours. 

Be prepared to pivot. If a specific product generates more demand than anticipated, reallocate budget from underperforming campaigns. If competitors unexpectedly raise bids on certain keywords, evaluate whether it’s worth competing or redirecting resources to less contested alternative terms. The ability to react quickly is what will maximise your investment.

Phase 3 – “Capitalising on the Aftermath” – Post-Campaign (December)

The end of Cyber Monday marks the beginning of an equally strategic phase: turning the generated momentum into lasting relationships and preparing for the end of the year.

In-Depth Results Analysis

Once the dust settles, dive into the data. How much of the sales increase is actually due to the Retail Media campaign? Spend time analysing in detail what worked and what didn’t. Examine data at a granular level: performance by product, by keyword, by audience segment, and by time slot. 

Compare results with established objectives and historical performance. Calculate key metrics like return on ad spend, customer acquisition cost, and the average order value generated by each campaign. This analysis will provide valuable learnings for 2026.

Retargeting and Loyalty Strategies

Users who interacted with your ads but didn’t complete a purchase represent a warm audience. Implement retargeting campaigns with tailored messages: reminders of viewed products, additional incentives to close the sale, or limited-time offer extensions.

For those who did buy, it’s time to build their loyalty. Create audiences of BFCM shoppers and launch campaigns for them in December with complementary products, new arrivals, or thank-you messages. Turn a one-off purchase into a long-term relationship.

Preparing for the Christmas Campaign

Many brands make the mistake of completely deactivating their campaigns after Cyber Monday. December offers significant opportunities: last-minute shopping, Christmas gifts, and consumers who now have clarity on which products led sales during Black Friday.

Adjust messages to reflect the Christmas season and consider discounts on express delivery to capture late shoppers. Products that sold out during Black Friday can be restocked and promoted again with renewed inventory.

Key Platforms and Trends

In the week of BFCM 2025, the Retail Media ecosystem will be more diverse than ever. But platforms like Amazon Ads, Mercado Ads (in Latin America), Carrefour Links, Promocionar from El Corte Inglés or Walmart Connect will continue to be the main battlegrounds.

Trends to watch closely include:

• Artificial Intelligence in optimisation: Platforms will use AI to automate bidding, suggest budgets, and create predictive audiences with ever-increasing efficiency.

• The power of video: Streaming video ads within retailer platforms (like Amazon Prime Video Ads) or on product pages themselves will become a premium format for telling a brand’s story.

• Off-site Retail Media: Retailers will export their valuable data to allow brands to reach their audiences on external platforms like social media or news websites, combining the best of both worlds.

• Expansion of the in-store format: in-store screen media, digital signage, screens that combine online and offline shopping. This will reinforce the omnichannel experience during these days.

• Mobile-first priority and speed: consumers in peak season don’t wait; pages must load quickly, the offer must be clear, and the ad must lead to a smooth shopping experience.

• First-party data and privacy: with the progressive phasing out of third-party cookies, retailers who own their own data are becoming increasingly valuable to advertisers. 

In short: the platform you use matters, but what’s most important is how you fit your strategy—audience, creative, bidding, and measurement—within that environment and how you prepare to adapt.

Retail Media on Black Friday and Cyber Monday: The Key to Ending the Year with Results

The busiest commercial season of the year demands a strategic rather than a tactical approach. The Retail Media channel offers brands a significant advantage: reaching the consumer at the point of purchase, with good data, greater visibility, and a more transparent return. While preparation, execution, and analysis require coordination, resources, and adaptability, the results justify the investment.

For Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, it’s not enough to simply “switch on ads”. You need to think about how your Retail Media campaigns reinforce your entire marketing mix, how they connect brand and conversion, and how the learnings from this season bring you closer to your long-term goals.

Invest the necessary time and effort now, optimise intelligently, and measure rigorously: this will put you in a better position to harness the full power of Retail Media during one of the key windows of the year.

The post Retail Media in Peak Season: How to Optimise Campaigns for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025 appeared first on Flipflow.

The latest wave of fraud on marketplaces has a new key player: generative artificial intelligence. 

The rise of TikTok Shop, which promised to revolutionise the shopping experience with videos and viral content, has been quickly tarnished by an explosion of fake listings, non-existent products and phantom sellers, all facilitated by AI.​

Industrial-Scale Fraud: The Role of Generative AI

We are no longer dealing with small-time amateur scams. Nicolas Waldmann, head of governance at TikTok Shop, put it bluntly:

“It’s organized crime, to be honest. They’re trying to basically go through and sell, and of course, never deliver anything, and then run with the money.”

Scammers use generative AI models to create hyper-realistic images, SEO-optimised descriptions and videos that mimic the style of the original creators. Nowadays, creating an entire brand—from the logo to fictitious reviews—can be done in minutes and with barely any trace.​

The figures speak for themselves. According to a report recently published by the company, in the first half of 2025 alone, TikTok Shop blocked more than 70 million fraudulent products and removed 700,000 sellers for policy violations, an increase of 40% on the previous period. The reason: organised gangs have industrialised fraud thanks to AI tools accessible to any user.​

The New Scammers’ Playbook

Reports show the same pattern: scammers create shops from scratch, filled with generated catalogues, packaging and short, AI-narrated videos. They test prices, scale up ads and run detailed A/B tests with bots, optimising their chances of attracting customers and bypassing the platforms’ conventional filters. Even the documents needed to open seller accounts are manipulated with AI, making preventative action difficult.​

Added to this is the proliferation of up to 15,000 fraudulent domains that mimic the appearance of TikTok Shop. Designed to install malware and steal cryptocurrencies, especially among young shoppers motivated by impossible discounts. These attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, now including phishing campaigns with completely false content.

The Challenge of Regaining Trust in the Platform

The impact goes beyond financial losses. Massive-scale fraud erodes trust in the channel and the brand, creating a domino effect throughout the industry. If a user loses money buying a non-existent product, they are unlikely to trust the platform again. And if viral scam cases spread across social media, the perception of insecurity multiplies, affecting legitimate businesses.​

Globally, the counterfeit goods trade already accounts for a significant percentage of total global online sales, causing damage in terms of reputation, revenue and tax collection.​

TikTok Shop’s reaction has been to adopt a “hunter vs. hunter” strategy: the platform uses artificial intelligence to combat fraudulent AI. Its system combines computer vision algorithms, natural language models to detect misleading slogans, and graphical analysis of accounts to identify suspicious patterns before ads reach the user.​

In addition, the platform is intensifying identity checks and applying cross-cutting penalties that make it difficult for offenders to return. However, the team itself acknowledges that this is a constantly evolving contest, very similar to the battle against spam and malware seen in other digital sectors in recent years.​

What More Can Be Done? Proposed Solutions and Opportunities

Experts and brands are promoting a multi-layered defence that combines different authentication profiles, more demanding onboarding, escrow payments and enhanced verification for new sellers. 

On the regulatory side, international bodies are demanding that marketplaces take much more proactive action and provide greater transparency in their fraud reports.​

On a technical level, there is a demand for greater collaboration with rights holders and the development of standard authenticity signals: from the use of product serialisation to verifiable digital receipts.​

Education and Prevention: The Best Antidote

Ultimately, technology and training go hand in hand to safeguard the future of e-commerce. Faced with increasingly sophisticated scams, incorporating AI systems capable of analysing thousands of patterns in real time is only the first step: the key lies in continuous improvement, learning from user behaviour and adapting defences as fraudsters’ tactics evolve.​

But prevention does not just depend on tools. Creating a digital culture in which consumers can identify warning signs and sellers collaborate with each other and with the platforms is essential to minimise risks. Investing in adaptive monitoring and smart verification helps to protect every transaction, without sacrificing the user experience.​

The battle against fraud on TikTok Shop and other platforms has only just begun. If the current contest between artificial intelligence and cybercrime teaches us anything, it is that only constant innovation and joint effort will make it possible to maintain trust in digital commerce and create safe spaces for consumers and brands.​

The post TikTok Shop and the Rise of AI-Driven Online Fraud appeared first on Flipflow.

A few months ago, someone bought a latest-generation smartphone on a very well-known platform. The product arrived in its original box, with all the accessories and at an irresistible price. But when they tried to activate the warranty, the technical support service informed them that the serial number corresponded to another region: their purchase was not covered. The experience, which had started with enthusiasm, ended in mistrust.

This type of situation happens every day in e-commerce, and it has a name: the grey market. This is the sale of authentic products — manufactured by the brand itself — through unauthorised channels. The grey market operates in an ambiguous area: the products are genuine, but their circulation is beyond the manufacturer’s control, breaching pricing, territory and service agreements.

According to recent estimates, the grey market is now worth more than 20,000 million euros a year globally, and in some sectors — such as consumer electronics and luxury goods — it accounts for between 5% and 10% of total online sales. These figures not only reflect the scale of the phenomenon but also its growing normalisation on digital channels.

The rise of e-commerce has been the perfect catalyst for this expansion. In 2025, hyper-connectivity, global marketplaces and logistical ease have shaped an environment where the lines between official and unauthorised channels are blurred. For brands, the challenge is to regain control: to protect their margins, their reputation and consumer trust in the face of a parallel market that is growing silently but at great speed.

What the Grey Market Is and How it Differs from Counterfeiting

The grey market (also called the parallel market) refers to the sale of authentic branded products that are circulated through channels not authorised by the manufacturer or brand owner. In other words, the product is not counterfeit, but the distribution channel is outside the company’s approved system.

It is important to distinguish this phenomenon from counterfeiting. With counterfeiting (or the “black market”), the products are imitations that usually violate intellectual property, quality and warranty rights. They can even often put the consumer at risk. In contrast, in the grey market, the product is genuine, but its circulation does not respect the brand’s criteria for price, territory, warranty, service or positioning.

Where do these products come from? The sources are varied:

• Production surpluses: Manufacturers that produce more units than ordered and sell the excess to unauthorised distributors.
• Parallel imports: Products legally purchased in a country where they are cheaper and resold in another with higher prices, taking advantage of market differences.
• Channel diversion: Authorised distributors who sell part of their inventory to unauthorised intermediaries to liquidate stock or increase profits.
• Products intended for specific markets: Items manufactured for specific regions that end up being sold in other markets, often without local warranties or necessary technical adaptations.

This hybrid nature of the grey market makes it difficult to control. Brands face a dilemma: the products are authentic, but their unauthorised sale has serious consequences that affect both the company and the end consumers.

Why Now? The 2025 Context and Figures

The grey market has existed for decades, but it is experiencing exponential growth driven by several converging factors:

• Globalisation of e-commerce: Platforms like Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and new players like Temu have eliminated geographical barriers. A seller in China can market products in Europe or America within hours, facilitating the proliferation of unauthorised channels.
• Economic pressure on consumers: Inflation and economic uncertainty have increased price sensitivity. Consumers actively seek cheaper alternatives, and the grey market offers authentic products at significantly lower prices.
• Sophistication of unauthorised sellers: Grey market operators have professionalised their operations. They use advanced digital marketing techniques, listing optimisation and efficient logistics to compete directly with official channels.
• Difficulty in detection: E-commerce platforms manage millions of sellers and products. Identifying which sellers are authorised and which are operating on the grey market is a monumental challenge. Luckily, the existence of tools like flipflow means that brands are beginning to get a better view of the scope of the problem. Discover in this success story how the Havaianas brand managed to reduce its unauthorised sales by 50% thanks to our solution for controlling distributors and sellers.

The figures are revealing. According to a study by the consultancy Oliver Wyman, in 2021, 13% of global consumer sales came from products sold in markets other than those intended by the manufacturer. Furthermore, these sales were made at prices between 20% and 30% lower than the net purchase price for retailers in those markets.

In short, in 2025, the technological, logistical and channel context has changed enough for the grey market to cease being a minority phenomenon and become a structural threat to many brands.

The Triple Threat: Economic, Technological and Reputational Risks

The impact of the grey market goes beyond a simple loss of sales. Brands face a multidimensional threat that affects their finances, operations and public perception.

Economic Risks

From an economic point of view, the grey market directly affects margins, the ecosystem of authorised distributors, and the forecasting of legitimate sales.

Some of the main consequences are:

• Price erosion: when products appear on the unauthorised channel at lower prices, authorised distributors may be forced to lower their prices to compete, reducing their margins and even disincentivising the commercialisation of the product.

• Channel conflict: authorised distributors may feel aggrieved to see a third party not subject to the brand’s standards selling more cheaply, and may stop collaborating or put less effort into the brand, which affects coverage, service and image.

• Reduced control over stock and demand: products that are diverted from the official channel can cause the brand to lose visibility of the end consumer, which makes it difficult to plan inventory, promotions and product development.

• Devaluation of brand value: When consumers get used to seeing a brand’s products at much lower prices on the grey market, they begin to think that the official price is artificially inflated. This perception damages the image of quality and exclusivity that many brands have built up over years. A revealing example was reported by the Financial Times: a luxury watch, with an official price of £42,600 at an authorised distributor, was offered on the grey market for just £27,227. Although the product was identical, the price difference was enough to call its perceived value into question and cast doubt on the essence of “luxury” that the brand wanted to convey.

Technological and Product Risks

Grey market products, although authentic in origin, present significant technical risks that many consumers are unaware of.

• Regional incompatibility: Many electronic products are manufactured with different specifications depending on the target market. A mobile phone intended for the Asian market may lack the 5G frequency bands used in Europe, limiting its functionality. Differences in voltages, connectors and safety certifications are also common.

• Absence of valid warranties: Grey market products rarely include warranties recognised by the manufacturer in the market where they are sold. If the product fails, consumers discover that they cannot access the official technical support service, leading to frustration and complaints.

• Software and updates: Some grey market devices may have modified software versions or lack access to official updates. This particularly affects connected products that rely on cloud-based applications and services.

• Traceability and safety: The chain of custody in the grey market is opaque. Products may have been stored in inadequate conditions, handled incorrectly or even modified during their journey through unauthorised channels. In sectors such as cosmetics or food supplements, these conditions put consumer safety at risk.

• Compromised Digital Shelf visibility and accuracy: when products are distributed outside the official channel, the brand loses control over how they are listed, with what images, what messages or at what prices. This directly affects its presence on marketplaces, content management, message consistency and search optimisation. With flipflow, none of this will go unnoticed. Request a demo and discover everything you can control using our platform. 

Reputational and Brand Risks (the intangible damage)

Beyond the numbers, the impact on the brand and customer perception is perhaps the most subtle and, at the same time, the most lasting.

• Deterioration of the customer experience: Consumers who buy grey market products expect the same quality and service they would get from official channels. When they face compatibility problems, a lack of warranties or poor after-sales service, they blame the brand, not the unauthorised seller.

• Market confusion: The proliferation of unauthorised sellers creates uncertainty. Consumers cannot easily distinguish between official and parallel channels, which complicates purchasing decisions and reduces trust in the brand.

• Association with questionable practices: Although the products are authentic, a massive presence on the grey market can associate the brand with non-transparent business practices, affecting its image of integrity.

• Impact on premium positioning: Brands that base their strategy on exclusivity and superior quality suffer particularly. Widespread availability at reduced prices erodes the perception of premium value, making it difficult to justify higher prices in official channels.

Strategies and Tools for Brand Protection

Given the scale of the risks described, brands must act deliberately to regain or strengthen control. Below, we set out a roadmap with key strategies:

1. Channel audit and full visibility

• Map all distributors, resellers, sub-resellers and product flows that can generate diversions.
• Implement monitoring tools like flipflow, which analyse in real time online product listings, prices, seller location, language, and ratings. 
• Make test purchases and trace the origin of products that appear on suspicious channels (for example, with a different country edition or different packaging) to detect leakage points in the chain.

2. Control of pricing, territory and warranty

• Establish a Minimum Advertised Price (or MAP) policy and ensure that all authorised distributors respect it.
• Identify price deviations that are clearly below the standard (a typical sign of the grey market). 
• Ensure that the product warranty and after-sales service are conditional on the official channel and communicate this clearly to the consumer.
• Review distributor contracts to include non-resale clauses for unauthorised territories, or at least track cross-border sales.

3. Strengthen traceability and the product

• Introduce traceability elements (unique codes, QR, RFID) that allow the product’s region of origin and distribution channel to be identified, and thus detect parallel imports.
• For products with territorial dependence (e.g., electronics with an adapter, software with a regional licence), design market-specific versions or, when this is not feasible, adjust the protection strategy.

4. Collaboration with marketplaces and legal compliance

• Use the “brand registry” tools offered by some marketplaces (e.g., Amazon or Walmart) to report unauthorised sellers.
• Collaborate with marketplaces to establish authorised channel policies and demand information about sellers who list your products without authorisation.

5. Consumer communication and education

• Inform the end customer about the difference between authorised and unauthorised channels: warranties, returns, service, product versions.
• Incentivise your authorised distributors to communicate the value of the correct channel: service, support, authenticity, trust.
• Create a visible list of authorised sellers on your website and warn about the risks of buying outside the official channel.

6. Permanent monitoring and adjustment of digital strategy

• Establish dashboards for Digital Shelf Analytics that show where your product is listed, at what price, who is selling it, what the seller’s reputation is, returns, negative ratings, etc.
• Adjust your e-commerce and distribution strategy, taking into account the risk of channel leakage.
• Implement sanctions or suspend relationships with distributors who generate major leaks.

Taken together, these actions will allow the brand to regain control, minimise leaks, protect prices and preserve the customer experience, which is key to defending brand value in the medium and long term.

From Lack of Control to Strategy: the Path to Curbing the Grey Market

The grey market has established itself as a silent crack in e-commerce. It occupies a middle ground between the logic of fraud and the formal market, eroding brands’ control from within. Its expansion in 2025 is not only explained by technology, but by a deeper imbalance: the tension between the immediacy that consumers seek and the consistency that brands need.

Faced with this scenario, the challenge is to rebuild the channel map: to understand where value is leaking, how the warranty is diluted and at what point the brand experience is lost. And the answer lies in the ability to connect data, decisions and relationships within a single framework of trust.

Regaining control means acting with precision, not urgency. It means using analytics to detect leaks, adjust agreements with distributors, review the pricing strategy and communicate to consumers what it really means to buy safely.

In a market where products travel faster than reputation, the brands that manage to strike that balance between visibility and consistency will be the ones that retain their value. Not by resisting the grey market, but by understanding that their greatest defence is to get to know their own channel in depth once again.

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Introduction: A Clear Model Wins in European Luxury

European luxury remains resilient in 2025. Tourist flows are reviving flagship districts, online demand is concentrating around recognizable icons, and high‑net‑worth clients continue to support statement pieces. 

Market growth is expected to continue at a compound annual rate of around 2.1% to 3.5% over the next five to ten years, reflecting both continued expansion and a shift toward sustainable, value-driven consumption.

In this market, clarity of brand model makes the difference. Houses that perform best either behave like destination brands—broad assortments, firm premium pricing and a stable of icons—or operate as focused specialists with tight edits and unmistakable codes.

This article distils the Trends & New Products, Brand Specialisations and Conclusions from our Q2 2025 benchmark, which tracks data from April–June across Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Missoni and Etro in Europe. The goal: help merchandising, e‑commerce and marketing teams see where demand is moving and how to allocate depth with confidence.

Trends and New Product Cadence

One of the most notable trends in 2025 is the emphasis on frequent, meaningful product releases, particularly in ‘New Arrivals’ categories. Brands like Armani, for example, place strategic weight on constantly updating collections, especially in the menswear segment. This move keeps the brand narrative fresh and drives repeat engagement among consumers looking for the latest from their preferred houses.​

Apparel as the Prestige Anchor

Across the panel, dresses, coats and blazers carry the highest average and maximum prices. These categories define seasonal storytelling and justify the top rungs of the price ladder. Versace posts notable peaks in women’s dresses and outerwear, while Dolce & Gabbana combines elevated pricing with category breadth, listing four‑digit SKU counts in dresses, blouses and skirts. Armani participates selectively in women’s prêt‑à‑porter and focuses on pieces that read as high‑value launches rather than chasing volume.

The takeaway is straightforward: if a house needs to reinforce stature, it concentrates design and content on tailored dresses, structured blazers and statement coats. These items become the runway for brand codes and pull the rest of the range upward.

Accessories as the Revenue Engine

Bags, shoulder bags and jewellery continue to deliver strong revenue contributions, supported by clear iconography and collectability. Dolce & Gabbana sets the quarter’s outlier in Women’s Jewellery, reaching a maximum of €395,000 and an average of €10,741—an explicit play toward collectors and connoisseurs. Versace’s depth in Women’s Handbags and signature sunglasses sustains visibility and replenishment cycles. Across brands, accessories carry the weight of logo recognition and day‑to‑day wearability, which keeps traffic flowing between seasonal drops.

Footwear and Entry Categories

While footwear categories such as sneakers, sandals, and pumps maintain luxury credentials, the price ranges tend to be more contained compared to high-value apparel or accessories. These products represent important entry points for younger, affluent consumers aspiring to step into the luxury universe.​

Meanwhile, categories like beachwear and small leather goods present the lowest average price points across all five brands. This deliberate pricing makes luxury brands more accessible to first-time buyers without undermining the exclusivity of core collections. Beachwear, in particular, is leveraged as a recruitment tool—Missoni’s notable strength in this area stands out for its scale and focus.​

Newness Cadence and the “New for” Rails

Momentum correlates with a regular stream of meaningful newness. Armani leans into “New Arrivals,” with standout activity in “New for him,” and Etro mirrors this approach with stable depth in both “New for her” and “New for him.” In-season storytelling, timely photo refreshes and consistent clienteling around these rails sustain conversion without resorting to promotion.

Q2 Best‑Sellers Snapshot

Women’s summer standouts:

• Short and long cover‑ups, caftans, and foulard tops across houses
• 925 silver earrings and sun‑ray necklaces as accessible jewellery magnets
• Lightweight leather sandals that move between city and resort

Men’s summer standouts:

• Cotton & silk knit polo/t-shirts across houses
• Woven jersey jackets and Prince of Wales jersey tailoring for warm weather
• Core logo tees, including Armani’s Borgonuovo crewneck

These launches point to the importance of limited editions and capsule collections in maintaining regular excitement and “must-have” status around new arrivals.​

Brand Specialisations: Where Each House Leads

Across the competitive landscape, each brand exhibits a distinct playbook based on assortment, pricing, and design philosophy.

Armani: Selective Curation with Consistent Luxury Pricing

Armani focuses on disciplined edits and high‑value launches rather than sprawling volume. The brand’s strength in “New for him,” supported by refined swim, logo tees and soft‑tailoring, points to a menswear emphasis anchored in polish and ease. In women’s prêt‑à‑porter, Armani’s presence is restrained but purposeful, prioritising garments that read as enduring wardrobe investments. Price integrity holds across categories, and the brand’s equity comes through in material quality and clean lines.

Dolce & Gabbana: Assortment Leadership and a Jewellery Halo

Dolce & Gabbana commands 36.4% of observed SKUs in our panel (10,712 items), the largest share among the five houses. The label dominates women’s apparel—dresses, blouses, skirts—while its jewellery strategy creates a halo effect that amplifies brand desirability at the very top of the ladder. Coordinated floral print capsules drove Q2 attention and encouraged multi‑piece baskets. D&G’s playbook is scale plus spectacle: own the shelf in core fashion categories and elevate the atmosphere with ultra‑exclusive pieces.

Versace: Statement Apparel Backed by Recognisable Accessories

Versace pairs high‑end apparel with icons that keep traffic consistent between runway moments. Deep assortments in women’s handbags, the enduring appeal of Medusa Biggie sunglasses and strong presence in dresses and coats underline a model built on signature hardware and bold silhouettes. Seasonal wins in swim and sliders prove that the brand’s codes translate cleanly into summer capsules that convert at volume.

Etro: Refined Everyday Luxury with Menswear Credibility

Etro sits in the moderate‑assortment, moderate‑high price tier and builds loyalty through fabric quality and wearable design. Shirts, trousers and dresses perform as daily luxury staples, supported by steady activity in “New for her” and “New for him.” The Etro x Agostino Iacurci Arnica travel bag showcases a thoughtful approach to accessories, while tailored jersey jackets and print stories maintain the house’s artful identity. Etro’s customer values craft and comfort without sacrificing elegance.

Missoni: Knitwear DNA and a Strong Beachwear Focus

Missoni’s pricing remains contained relative to D&G and Versace, reinforcing a strategy rooted in textile expertise. Knit polos and crewnecks in 3D chevron motifs lead men’s results, while an exceptional push in Women’s Beachwear—recorded at 1,000 products—signals emphasis on resort dressing. Accessories add accessible entry points, and the overall experience is one of pattern‑rich ease that adapts well to travel and leisure wardrobes.

Key Conclusions: What Defines Success in 2025

• Premium Positioning and Segmentation: At the upper end of the spectrum, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace secure their loftiest status through both price and iconic design—turning certain product lines into aspirational symbols for collectors and connoisseurs. For these houses, exclusivity and scarcity are central to brand strength.​
• Curation and Innovation: Armani’s success demonstrates the appeal of a more editorial approach: fewer, but more innovative and iconic, launches, often backed by strong narratives and limited releases. The focus is on quality and memorable launches rather than simple product proliferation.​
• Accessibility with Integrity: Mid-tier luxury brands like Etro and Missoni show that it is possible to balance accessibility and luxury without eroding cachet. A considered pricing philosophy, regular newness, and an honest reflection of the brand’s DNA support a clientele looking for elegance without constant display.​
• Accessories and Assortment Depth: Another clear takeaway is the crucial revenue role played by accessories, which act as both profit engines and brand signifiers. Depth of assortment, especially for leaders like Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, increases visibility, bargaining power, and ecosystem strength—but is only sustainable for those with highly recognizable icons or brand codes.​
• Category Leadership and Differentiation: For challengers in the segment, targeting clear category ownership—rather than trying to match leaders in every field—emerges as the wisest strategy. Whether through outstanding knitwear (Missoni), high-visibility collaborations (Etro), or curated statement collections (Armani), sharper differentiation is more effective than broad competition.​
• Engagement Through Newness: A fast cadence of new launches, storytelling, and limited editions not only keeps the brand front-of-mind but also transforms standard products into must-have statements. Omnichannel strategies, disciplined distribution, and special collaborations further amplify impact without undercutting exclusivity.​

Closing Thoughts: Compete on Desire with a Disciplined Model

The European luxury fashion sector today is defined by a careful interplay of heritage and innovation, as well as exclusivity and accessibility. Market leaders distinguish themselves by mastering the narrative of desire and pairing it with operational excellence—helping them sustain a cadence of new launches while staying true to the values and signature codes that make their brands truly stand out.

Success in this landscape belongs to brands that confidently define their direction, make strategic edits, and keep their promises through both iconic products and compelling storytelling, always informed by sharp data and timely insights. As European luxury fashion continues to evolve, the brands that will set the benchmark are those who focus on newness, specialization, and genuine value at their core.

For a data-driven look at where depth converts fastest and how to sustain momentum with the latest product and category insights, access the full story in our European Luxury Houses Q2 2025 report. Download your copy from our campaign page and discover the KPIs and strategies shaping tomorrow’s luxury market.

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