The 2025 year-end shopping season is shaping up to be longer and more intense than ever. AliExpress has officially announced that this year’s “Double 11 + Black Friday” events will run almost seamlessly back-to-back, creating a continuous promotion cycle that presents both big opportunities and new risks for sellers.
I. Key Dates for the 2025 AliExpress Year-End Promotions
- Preheating Period: Starts November 8
- Double 11 Sales Period: November 11–19 (9 days total)
- Black Friday Sales Period: November 20–December 3
In other words, from November 8 (preheating) to December 3 (end of Black Friday), sellers are looking at nearly 26 consecutive days of promotions — one of the longest sale windows in AliExpress history. So, how should sellers plan for such an extended campaign?
II. Double Festival Link-Up: Opportunities & Challenges
1、Opportunities
- Longer Exposure Window
With preheating starting early, sellers can spread out ad campaigns and marketing pushes instead of concentrating all efforts into a few days of “explosive” sales. - Flexible Inventory Planning
A long promotion period gives room for testing and adjusting. You can monitor which SKUs perform well during preheating and restock or pivot your main offerings accordingly. - Multiple Traffic Peaks
With distinct phases—preheating, Double 11, and Black Friday—sellers can target multiple traffic surges instead of relying on a single short-term peak. - Cost Distribution
Rather than burning budgets in a few days, sellers can distribute advertising, promotion, and staff costs over several weeks to maintain stability. - Weaker Competitors May Drop Out
Smaller or less-prepared sellers might run into fatigue, inventory shortages, or cash flow issues mid-campaign, creating openings for steady sellers to take over key positions.
2、Challenges
- Sustained Ad Management
Maintaining consistent ad performance over nearly a month requires ongoing keyword optimization, bidding strategy adjustments, and higher ad budgets. - Logistics Pressure
The Black Friday period coincides with peak global shipping season, which means longer delivery times, customs risks, and fulfillment bottlenecks. - Account Safety Risks
Frequent logins, ad spending fluctuations, and traffic spikes may trigger platform risk control mechanisms. Managing multiple seller accounts securely during this high-stakes period becomes essential. - Intense Competition
Headline traffic tends to favor top brands and high-spend advertisers. Small and mid-sized sellers must work harder to capture organic exposure and maintain conversion rates.
III. Practical Strategies for Extended Promotions
- Operational Rhythm
- Preheating (Nov 8–10): Focus on awareness ads, collecting wishlists, and running engagement campaigns. Track click-through and add-to-cart data to identify potential best-sellers.
- Double 11 Core Period (Nov 11–19): Concentrate ads and promotions on proven SKUs, leverage limited-time offers, and strengthen customer service for fast response and delivery.
- Black Friday (Nov 20–Dec 3): Refresh visuals and copy to match festive themes; localize offers for different markets.
- Advertising & Traffic
- Phased Ad Strategy: Awareness during preheating, conversion during Double 11, and brand reinforcement during Black Friday.
- Omnichannel Promotion: Combine AliExpress ads with external channels like TikTok, Facebook, and Pinterest for content-driven traffic.
- Budget Efficiency: Track ROAS closely and adjust bids dynamically; scale up during high-return days but avoid wasteful overspending.
- Account Safety & Environment
Long campaigns mean frequent account logins and management, especially for sellers operating multiple stores. To prevent account linkage or platform bans, use dedicated IP environments. Tools like IPFoxy help isolate accounts (one IP per account), ensuring stable access and reducing the risk of triggering AliExpress’s risk control systems.
IV. Conclusion
The 2025 AliExpress year-end promotions are less about short-term sprints and more about long-term planning. In this extended, high-stakes sales marathon, success comes from early testing, sustained optimization, and secure operations. Sellers who balance strategy with stability will be the ones to seize the biggest wins of the year.
