New global messaging data from Sinch shows a major shift in how brands engaged consumers during the 2025 Black Friday shopping period, revealing rapid growth in AI powered conversational communication and interactive messaging formats. Early results from the company’s platform indicate that activity around the November 28 retail event hit record levels, driven by earlier promotional cycles, longer campaign windows and rising expectations for real time updates and interactive service experiences.
Sinch, also known as Sinch AB publ, processes more than nine hundred billion communications annually, giving it a broad view of global engagement trends across retailers, logistics networks and digital commerce providers. According to newly released Black Friday performance insights, total interactions across the Sinch platform reached twenty seven billion during the week of Black Friday. Rich Communication Services RCS saw one of the most dramatic increases, climbing one hundred forty four percent compared with 2024, reflecting a growing shift toward richer conversational formats that support AI enhanced experiences. Email volume throughout November increased thirty two percent year over year as brands relied on trusted channels for promotional campaigns and transactional communication like authentication and delivery notifications.
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The findings underscore the rapid evolution of customer expectations as mobile behavior and AI driven interactivity reshape digital engagement. “This year’s Black Friday shows that rich AI powered conversational experiences are no longer optional they are the new standard,” said Daniel Morris, Chief Product Officer at Sinch. “RCS is now gaining real traction as brands look for ways to stand out in crowded markets, while SMS, email and voice continue to provide the trust and reliability that peak season commerce demands. The strong increases we are seeing are driven by earlier promotions longer campaigns and the growing expectation for real time delivery updates order tracking and customer support.”
The momentum reflects a broader trend of brands combining traditional channels with conversational layers to deliver more integrated and responsive journeys. During Black Friday week activity surged across SMS, email, voice and messaging apps, including WhatsApp, as businesses sought to meet consumers with faster more convenient service in high volume, frequently time sensitive contexts. The mix of channels enabled more dynamic campaigns, real time two way communication and seamless shift between marketing and service interactions.
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RCS in particular has gained visibility as a modern replacement for long standing SMS formats, offering support for branded multimedia content interactive elements and AI guided conversational flows. Meanwhile, email remains a central channel for retail campaign orchestration and customer lifecycle management, maintaining strong performance gains despite the emergence of newer formats.
The surge in conversational messaging adoption aligns with increased focus on reducing friction during holiday purchasing periods where reliability speed and clarity are critical to customer satisfaction. For the broader MarTech ecosystem the continued rise of AI powered automation and cross channel orchestration is expected to shape future customer experience strategy well beyond the holiday season. Industry analysts note that messaging volume patterns around peak shopping events often serve as early indicators of long term shifts in customer communication strategy and technology investment trends.
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