• DE&I Commitment
  • Careers
  • Locations
  • Book a Meeting
    Book a Meeting
  • Company
    Learn a little more about us, our values, and our team
    Our Values
    We don't just talk the talk; we live by our core values
    About Us
    Empowering brands to realize their potential with data, insights, and technology
    Leadership
    Meet our leadership team
    Secure Data Architecture
    Our promise of data security and privacy. We keep your data safe from publishers, competitors and bad actors
    Corporate Social Responsibility
    We are committed to making a positive impact on our communities and our planet
  • Platform
    Plan, manage, optimize, and measure your campaigns with our omnichannel platform
    Our Platform
    A platform that connects all walled garden media
    Connected Media
    Create and manage campaigns across search, social, retail media and apps, in one platform
    Connected Data
    Make data-driven decisions as you plan and strategize
    See the industries we serve
    Learn how our customizable solutions can help with your unique needs
    Explore our partner integrations
    See the media, retailer, and data partners we work with
  • Clients
  • News and Events
    Check out recent announcements and see what we’re up to
    News
    Check out our recent media coverage
    Events
    Join us for our next conference or webinar
    Roundtable discussion: Beyond Onsite
    Tackle the next phase of retail media over breakfast with Nectar360 and peers
    Retail Media for Grocery Webinar
    Join us to dig into trends and challenges shaping the industry in 2023
  • Resources
    From new releases, to industry trends and best practices, Skai has you covered
    Blog
    Read the latest insights and thought leadership from our industry experts
    Capabilities
    Take your campaigns to the next level by enhancing your platform capabilities
    Research
    Explore our reports and whitepapers so you can keep up on the latest industry trends
    Subscribe
    Sign up to get the latest updates straight to your inbox
    Quarterly Trends Report
    Learn digital advertising campaign performance trends from Q4 2022
Back to Blog

Retailers Planned for Short Holiday Season: Focused Ad Spend on Black Friday

Skai™

December  05, 2019

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), this year’s Black Friday topped Cyber Monday as the busiest shopping day online for the first time, with 93.2 million shoppers compared with 83.3 million. With the traditional big shopping period between Thanksgiving and Christmas much shorter in 2019 than in recent years, consumers jumped on the deals early during the “Cyber 5” long weekend (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday).

cyber 5 2019

Retailers were ready for the shift in earlier consumer holiday shopping. Across the three most important digital ad channels—Search, Social, and Ecommerce advertising—Black Friday garnered a higher percentage of Cyber 5 spending than Cyber Monday. This was the continuation of a trend that first showed signs last year. 

cyber 5 2019

As reported by Skai on Monday, retailers spent more than 3X on Black Friday on these three channels versus the pre-Thanksgiving November daily average. Brands placed some big bets this year, and it seems like they were wise to do so. 

“Americans continue to start their holiday shopping earlier in the year, and Thanksgiving is still a critical weekend for millions,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “With the condensed holiday season, consumers are feeling the pressure to get their shopping done in time. Even those who typically wait until the last minute to purchase gifts turned out in record numbers all weekend long.”

Retailers relied heavily on social advertising this season

Year-over-year (YoY) spending increased 20% for Search Shopping Campaigns and 13% for Ecommerce Channel Ads for this year’s Cyber 5, but Social Product Ads experienced the biggest lift with an increase of 43% YoY. 

cyber 5 2019

Search and Ecommerce Channel Ads are valuable bottom-funnel tactics to convert shoppers when they have decided to make a purchase and are either in the final stages of selecting which brand to choose or are looking for the best price on the items they already want. However, Social’s combination of deep consumer data targeting and engaging ad formats enables retailers to push ads to people to drive awareness and interest. This makes the channel extremely valuable at the top and middle of the purchase funnel to reach people who may not even be thinking about a brand yet as a purchase option. 

Retailers invested heavily in Social during the Cyber 5. Compared to the pre-Thanksgiving November daily average, spend across the Cyber 5 weekend for Social Product Ads was 126% higher, with the ad costs (CPMs) increasing 65%. The Health & Beauty category saw spending more than triple compared to the rest of the month.

cyber 5 2019

Cyber 5 search advertising spending up 177%

For the product-focused arm of digital advertising’s biggest channel, Search Shopping Campaign investment increased 177% during the Cyber 5 versus the pre-Thanksgiving November period. Most of this rise came from a 169% increase in cost per click (CPC), as advertisers were willing to bid higher to reach customers with greater purchase intent. For the category of Cross-Department Retailers (i.e., bigger stores that sell items spanning categories), CPCs increased more than 6X.

cyber 5 2019

Cyber 5 ecommerce channel advertising (ECA) performance

Ecommerce Channel Advertising (ECA)—led primarily by Amazon Advertising—has the distinct advantage of reaching consumers as they shop in online marketplaces. With online shopping continuing to reach new heights this year, ECAs were always going to be a solid play for brands going into the Cyber 5 weekend.

Compared to an average day in the holiday shopping season ramp-up of pre-Thanksgiving November, the average daily spend across the Cyber 5 for Ecommerce Channel Ads increased 133%, with the average cost per click increasing by 23%. For the Computers & Electronics category, spending levels jumped over 5X and ad prices increased by just over 50%. That gap between CPC and spend increases shows that even with the introduction of higher seasonal prices in the channel, it was a higher volume of ads displayed and/or clicked that really moved the needle on the spending jump, much more so than for either Search or Social ads.

cyber 5 2019

Will 2019 be the first trillion-dollar holiday shopping season?

Even with just 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, industry experts predicted this year’s shopping season would break the trillion-dollar mark for the first time. 

cyber 5 2019

Based on the Cyber 5 data, it seems retailers brought out the big guns and made sure they invested heavily in key channels at the right time to ensure success. Stay tuned for Skai’s post-holiday coverage to see if 2019 lived up to expectations.  

Book a Meeting of Skai

Related Posts

  • One smartphone displaying ads for Cottonelle Fresh Care wipes in the search bar on Google, with buy on Amazon at the bottom of the search result; the second smartphone displaying the same product on Amazon to purchase.
    Amazon Attribution is the Key to Using Search & Social to Supercharge Amazon Sales
    Read More
  • Monthly Paid Media Spend Snapshot – May 2021
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Roundel
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Walmart
    Read More
  • 2021 Publisher Holiday Trends: Instacart
    Read More
  • Black Friday 2020: Online Ad Spending Up 2-3X Offsets the In-Store Drop
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Data, Ecommerce, Holiday, Plan, Research, Retail Media, Search, Social, Target, xTLx

Subscribe to Updates

Media that matters.
Marketing that works.
© 2023 Kenshoo, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Recruitment Privacy Policy.
  • Connected Data
    • Market Intelligence
    • Our Approach
    • By Need
    • By Solution
  • Connected Strategy
    • Dynamic Marketing Mix
    • Budget Forecasting
    • Strategic Consulting
  • Connected Media
    • Overview
    • Retail Media
    • Paid Search
    • Paid Social
    • App Marketing
    • Auditing
    • Expert Services
  • Measurement
    • Incrementality
    • Experiments
    • Cross-Channel Attribution
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Glossary
    • Case Studies
    • Training & Enablement
    • Developer Hub
Privacy Preference

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential, while others help us to improve this website and your experience.

Privacy Preference

Save All

Save

Accept Only Essential Cookies

Manage Cookie Preferences

Cookie Details Privacy Policy Imprint

Privacy Preference

Here you will find an overview of all cookies used. You can give your consent to whole categories or display further information and select certain cookies.

Save All Save Accept Only Essential Cookies

Back

Privacy Preference

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Name
Provider Owner of this website, Imprint
Purpose Saves the visitors preferences selected in the Cookie Box of Borlabs Cookie.
Host(s) .skai.io, skai.io
Cookie Name borlabs-cookie
Cookie Expiry 1 Year
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Purpose This cookie stores selections made by the user in the Accessibe tool in order to maintain those settings on future visits. These cookies help us make our website compliant with our obligations under US law.
Privacy Policy https://accessibe.com/privacy-policy
Cookie Name acsbState, acsbReset
Cookie Expiry n/a
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name wordpress_sec_,wordpress_test_cookie,wp-postpass_*, wordpresspass_*, wordpressuser_*
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

We use these cookies to enhance functionality and allow for personalisation, such as live chats, videos and the use of social media.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .chilipiper.com, skai.chilipiper.com
Cookie Name fs_uid, CHILI_PIPER_CLUSTER, guest-session, _sp_ses*, _sp_id*
Cookie Expiry Session / 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) .comeet.co, www.comeet.co
Cookie Name visid_incap_, nlbi_#######, incap_ses_, referrer22_00a, incap_ses_1364_2167377
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Owner of this website
Host(s) skai.io
Cookie Name moduleFormPardotDownload
Cookie Expiry 30 days

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for website analytics. Generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name _ga,_ga_*,_gat,_gat_*,_gid
Cookie Expiry 2 Months
Accept
Name
Provider Hotjar Ltd., Dragonara Business Centre, 5th Floor, Dragonara Road, Paceville St Julian's STJ 3141 Malta
Purpose Hotjar is an user behavior analytic tool by Hotjar Ltd.. We use Hotjar to understand how users interact with our website.
Privacy Policy https://www.hotjar.com/legal/policies/privacy/
Host(s) *.hotjar.com
Cookie Name _hjClosedSurveyInvites, _hjDonePolls, _hjMinimizedPolls, _hjDoneTestersWidgets, _hjIncludedInSample, _hjShownFeedbackMessage, _hjid, _hjRecordingLastActivity, hjTLDTest, _hjUserAttributesHash, _hjCachedUserAttributes, _hjLocalStorageTest, _hjptid, _hjSessionUser_2229986, _hjIncludedInPageviewSample, _hjIncludedInSessionSample, _hjAbsoluteSessionInProgress, _hjFirstSeen
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Marketing cookies are used by third-party advertisers or publishers to display personalized ads. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Linkedin
Cookie Name lidc, li_gc, lang, AnalyticsSyncHistory, UserMatchHistory, li_sugr, bcookie, TDCPM, TDID, bscookie, ln_or
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year
Accept
Name
Provider Skai
Accept
Name
Provider 6sense
Cookie Name _gd_session, _an_uid, _gd_visitor, _gd_svisitor, 6suuid
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Pardot
Purpose Cookie name associated with services from marketing automation and lead generation platform Pardot. The visitor value is the visitor_id in your Pardot account. This cookie is set for visitors by the Pardot tracking code.
Host(s) .pardot.com, pi.pardot.com, skai.io
Cookie Name pardot, visitor_id*, lpv*
Cookie Expiry Session / 10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Google used for conversion tracking of Google Ads.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en
Cookie Name IDE, 1P_JAR, NID, SOCS, CONSENT, AEC, _gcl_au, OTZ, test_cookie
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Cookie by Facebook used for website analytics, ad targeting, and ad measurement.
Privacy Policy https://www.facebook.com/policies/cookies
Cookie Name _fbp,act,c_user,datr,fr,tr,m_pixel_ration,pl,presence,sb,spin,wd,xs
Cookie Expiry Session / 1 Year

Content from video platforms and social media platforms is blocked by default. If External Media cookies are accepted, access to those contents no longer requires manual consent.

Show Cookie Information Hide Cookie Information

Accept
Name
Provider Wistia
Host(s) .wistia.com
Cookie Name cb_anonymous_id, _sp_ses.2b40, _li_dcdm_c, __hssrc, _gcl_au, _clsk, hubspotutk, _sp_id.2b40, __hssc, __hstc, _uetsid, _uetvid, _gid, _ga, _ga_GQR109DZ3Y, _lc2, fpi, _ex-pricing-cta, _fbp, cb_group_id, cb_user_id, _clck
Cookie Expiry Session / 400 Days
Accept
Name
Provider Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Instagram content.
Privacy Policy https://www.instagram.com/legal/privacy/
Host(s) .instagram.com
Cookie Name pigeon_state
Cookie Expiry Session
Accept
Name
Provider Openstreetmap Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge CB4 0WS, United Kingdom
Purpose Used to unblock OpenStreetMap content.
Privacy Policy https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy
Host(s) .openstreetmap.org
Cookie Name _osm_location, _osm_session, _osm_totp_token, _osm_welcome, _pk_id., _pk_ref., _pk_ses., qos_token
Cookie Expiry 1-10 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Twitter International Company, One Cumberland Place, Fenian Street, Dublin 2, D02 AX07, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock Twitter content.
Privacy Policy https://twitter.com/privacy
Host(s) .twimg.com, .twitter.com
Cookie Name __widgetsettings, local_storage_support_test
Cookie Expiry Unlimited
Accept
Name
Provider Vimeo Inc., 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011, USA
Purpose Used to unblock Vimeo content.
Privacy Policy https://vimeo.com/privacy
Host(s) player.vimeo.com
Cookie Name vuid
Cookie Expiry 2 Years
Accept
Name
Provider Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland
Purpose Used to unblock YouTube content.
Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en&gl=en
Host(s) google.com
Cookie Name CONSENT
Cookie Expiry 6 Month

Borlabs Cookie powered by Borlabs Cookie

Privacy Policy Imprint