• 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
    Omnichannel platform launch
    Read the press release to see how we're helping marketers win the walled gardens
    Let's talk omni at Shoptalk!
    Learn how our omnichannel platform can help you build a winning strategy
  • 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

Early Online Shopping Behavior Takes Pressure (and Performance) Away from Cyber Monday

Chris "Coz" Costello, Senior Director of Marketing Research @ Skai™

December  03, 2020

Shopping online “from the office” is different when people are still working from home

Cyber Monday 2020 is in the books!

Historically, one of the key factors for the existence of the “Cyber Monday” phenomenon has always been online shopping behavior riding the wave of increased online traffic when office workers get back to their desks after the long weekend. This originated with faster internet speeds at work compared to those at home but has persisted even as high-speed internet and mobile shopping have gained traction over the years.

But what happens when those same workers aren’t going back into the office on Monday?

Can Cyber Monday survive the global pandemic?

Cyber Monday 2020

As we look at the full impact of the “Cyber Five,” 2020 edition, the answer is yes, and no. According to reports, Americans spent a record $10.8 billion online on Cyber Monday, up 15 percent from last year, making it the largest online shopping day in U.S. history. That eclipses the $9B reported on Black Friday, four days earlier.

And yet, many are saying Cyber Monday 2020 was a disappointment this year, but with the caveat that they are still expecting strong growth for the overall holiday season. The underlying reason for this seeming contradiction goes back to that origin story. Cyber Monday exists because people go “back to work,” physically. In the absence of that behavior, consumers seem to have been much less beholden to the calendar.

The clearest evidence for this across Skai accounts is by looking at year-over-year advertiser sales for Ecommerce Channel Advertising.

cyber monday 2020 advertiser sales In all, the average daily sales for the pre-thanksgiving period was up 70% over last year, while that of the Cyber 5 was down 5%, netting out at an increase of 41% for the entire 30-day stretch. Cyber Monday, in particular, was down 21%, but this analysis may not include latent sales data, so that number may improve with subsequent analysis. The core trend remains, however, and other sources have cited similar “pull-through” behavior, where shopping ramped up before the holiday weekend itself.

Cyber Monday 2020 ad spending

Turning to advertising spending across channels, we see similar results. For each of the key online advertising channels, average daily spending for the 25 days leading up to Thanksgiving increased more than the spending for the Cyber 5. For the Ecommerce Channel, year-over-year daily spending for the pre-Thanksgiving period grew 82%, compared with 55% for the Cyber 5. Paid Search saw an increase of 28% for the ramp-up period versus 10% for the holiday weekend, and Social Advertising budgets were up 24% before the holiday and just 5% from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.

average daily spend

Perhaps the broader story is that the key dates on the holiday calendar have been the focus for brands and shoppers alike that there is less room for growth there. All of the excess demand from our increasingly online shopping experience shifted to the rest of the season because that is the path of least resistance.

Nowhere is this more apparent as in Paid Search, as the biggest year-over-year growth in the channel across the Cyber 5 itself came on Saturday and Sunday. Same-advertiser spending on each of those two days was up 18% over last year, while Black Friday and Cyber Monday increased 7% and Thanksgiving was up just 2%.

cyber monday paid search spend

Now, none of this means the end of Cyber Monday or the Cyber 5. It just means that 2020 is weird, and we already knew that. Compared to the 25-day “ramp-up” period before Thanksgiving, the Cyber 5 still saw huge increases in daily spending. Ecommerce Channel Ad spend increased 3.1X on Black Friday, and 2.7X on Cyber Monday. Paid Search was up 2.8X on Black Friday and 2.9X on Cyber Monday, and Paid Social grew 2.1X on Black Friday and 2X on Cyber Monday, all compared to the average daily spend from November 1 to November 25.

cyber monday 2020

Specifically, Ecommerce Channel Advertising and Paid Social saw spending increase the most on Black Friday, while Paid Search is the last holdout for Cyber Monday yielding the greater investment. For whatever it’s worth, that advantage flips back to Black Friday if you consider shopping campaigns only within the Paid Search channel. This is consistent with what Skai has reported in previous years.

Ecommerce channel advertising

The same holds true if we look to advertiser sales revenue for Ecommerce Channel Advertising. Volumes were up 1.6X on Thanksgiving, 2.9X on Black Friday, and 2X on Cyber Monday. Overall, the average daily sales for the Cyber Five was 1.8X higher than the pre-holiday period, even if the year-over-year growth perhaps wasn’t as robust.

cyber monday 2020

It’s one thing to say that spending increased for the holiday period. The perhaps bigger question is what drove those increases? All things being equal, increases in spending in the Ecommerce and Search channels reflect increases in specific shopper activity, namely viewing products and searching for related terms. In the Social channel, it often reflects increased interest in target audiences.

Of course, all things are not equal, particularly when it comes to ad prices. Here we also see sharp increases in the Cyber 5 compared to the pre-holiday period. Ecommerce clicks cost 16% more on Thanksgiving, 45% more on Black Friday, and 53% more on Cyber Monday, compared to the pre-holiday period, with an average across the five days that was 30% higher than that of the previous 25 days.

Paid Search click prices increased 27% on Thanksgiving, 66% on Black Friday, and 83% on Cyber Monday compared to the pre-holiday average, for an overall increase of 52%. Paid Social ad prices, when considered on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) basis, rose by 32% on Thanksgiving, 79% on Black Friday, and 91% on Cyber Monday, resulting in an overall premium of 63% for the whole weekend.

cyber monday ad pricing

So what happens now?

Online shopping doesn’t just stop after Cyber Monday, and the normal ebb and flow of online shopping behavior seems to have been disrupted. The pre-Thanksgiving growth has been promising, both for online retailers and perhaps the economy at large, but we will have to wait and see how much both consumers and brands have in the tank to finish out a holiday season, and a year that has no historical precedent for digital marketing or otherwise.

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
  • Black Friday 2020: Online Ad Spending Up 2-3X Offsets the In-Store Drop
    Read More
  • Walmart Connect Search Brand Amplifiers (SBA) Help Marketers Go Up the Funnel with Retail Media
    Read More
  • Monthly Paid Media Spend Snapshot – April 2021
    Read More
  • Monthly Paid Media Spend Snapshot – September 2021
    Read More
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email
  • Copy Link
    Copied!
Tags: Amazon, Create, Data & Insights, Ecommerce, Facebook, Google, Holiday, Plan, Retail Media, Search, Social, Target, Walmart, 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