Consumers spent 8.2% more on online Cyber Week sales than they did last year, culminating in over $41 billion in purchases. And as the number balloons every year, this contradicts recent buyer sentiments. Findings from a survey conducted by Circana that 62% of people said high food and bills will change their spending habits.
As reconciliation between the two, Circana’s survey found that consumers have been saving money to splurge for the holidays — more savings, more spending.
So, how did advertisers respond to tightening budgets but the seemingly voracious appetite for holiday sales?
Because of tighter customer budgets, advertisers can expect longer consideration cycles before purchase. Competing for customer attention means more investment into some channels.
eMarketer noted 69% of advertisers plan to ramp up spend on social media advertising for the holiday season. While social ads are one piece of the puzzle, holiday campaigns become increasingly more important to overall advertising strategy when consumers anticipate sales from every ecommerce brand.
Advertising isn’t getting any cheaper. That’s why we see an increase in holiday ad spend year over year.
Sales start earlier and last longer. Many of the largest retailers like Walmart, Amazon, and Target ran sales starting in October. It stands to reason that if holiday advertising costs rise yearly, advertisers beat the holiday rush by encouraging customers to shop early.
From AdRoll, we see clients invest more heavily in brand awareness campaigns and loyalty campaigns prior to the holiday season before customers are expensive to reengage. Advertisers can use the pre-holiday season to expend more effort reengaging CRM lists and building awareness for new customers.
While we naturally see a dip in ad spend after the biggest holiday months, it doesn’t flatten out until well after the holiday season in January.
It’s a waste to invest heavily in TOFU content before the holidays, pour resources into Cyber Weekend, and then fumble with a weak follow-up. We continue to see promotions until the last shipping date before Christmas, and then ads for loyalty programs, post-holiday sales, and other promotions to keep momentum going.
The post-holiday season also means lower CPMs, which means more reach for the same investment. Use this time to retarget shoppers!
2024’s Cyber Monday was the United States’ biggest online shopping day ever. Customers often wait for the last day of the Cyber Five so they aren’t burned by a bigger or better deal. Though it didn’t top the 2024 year-over-year growth of Thanksgiving and Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday reigns supreme for consumers’ online spending.
However, advertisers invest in the days of Cyber Week almost equally, with the share of ad spend hardly budging from last year to this one:
Advertisers’ BFCM campaigns run well before the big week, with ad spend on the Cyber Five themselves being the final push after months of investment. That’s why ad spend doesn’t vary by day, even if consumer spending and specific sales promos do.
It’s less efficient to adjust budget last minute, and it’s most efficient to allocate budget evenly, hence the consistency. The slight adjustments between 2023 and 2024 could be due to Sunday and Monday of Cyber Week falling into December, therefore falling into a different monthly budget.
As you can see, relying on the holidays for revenue is a costly strategy. While consumer spending rises for BFCM, so too does competition for shoppers’ money.
For 2025, plan ahead. Create a strategy to retain BFCM customers into January when CPMs are lower and your 2025 budget is fresh. And heading into H2, prepare to invest in TOFU content long before the holidays to capitalize on lower CPMs so that they’re primed to buy when BFCM rolls around.
Companies that have the best holiday season invest in a holistic advertising strategy — you can read how in our guide to full-funnel advertising.
Last updated on January 3rd, 2025.
