Monthly Paid Media Spend Snapshot – April 2021

Spending and Pricing Trends Across Paid Search, Social Advertising, and Retail Media

While total first-quarter spending exceeded expectations in digital advertising, the industry seems to be tapping the brakes as we enter Q2. Across digital channels, spending slowed from March to April. In Search, Social and Retail Media, ads were more expensive in April, which points to declines in volume driving the overall trend.

Even with the US tax filing deadline extended into May, advertisers in the Finance category slowed spend across both the Search and Social channels in the month of April, which contributed to less spending overall across both compared to the previous month. For Retail Media, advertisers across CPG categories slimmed down their budgets from March to April.

How do you measure up?

Check out these benchmarks to see if your programs are on par with your industry peers or if you’re ahead or behind the curve.

This is a continuation of our monthly paid media snapshot series. As with any benchmark, your mileage may vary, but we hope this provides a bit more context for you as a marketer as you navigate the ups and downs of your program’s performance. 

Monthly Paid Media Spend Snapshot – April 2021

Methodology note. For the purpose of these monthly benchmarks, only Skai accounts with spend above a minimum threshold for the previous three months are included in this analysis.  

Paid Search spending

Overall, spending in paid search dropped 1% from March to April

• 31% of paid search accounts spent +10% or more in April versus March, compared to 34% who spent -10% or less (-3% differential)
• 8% of accounts spent +50% or more in April versus March, compared to 4% of accounts spending -50% or less (+4% differential)

Paid Search CPCs

Overall, the average cost of a click in paid search advertising rose 5% from March to April

• 34% of paid search accounts paid +10% or more per click in April versus March, compared to 21% who paid -10% or less (+13% differential)
• 3% of accounts paid +50% or more per click in April versus March, compared to 1% of accounts paying -50% or less (+2% differential)

Social advertising spending

Overall, spending in social advertising dropped 8% from March to April

• 32% of paid social accounts spent +10% or more in April versus March, compared to 46% who spent -10% or less (-14% differential)
• 11% of accounts spent +50% or more in April versus March, compared to 12% of accounts spending -50% or less (-1% differential)

Social advertising CPMs

Overall, the average cost of a thousand impressions in social advertising rose 7% from March to April

• 33% of paid social accounts paid +10% or more per thousand impressions in April versus March, compared to 28% who paid -10% or less (+5% differential)
• 6% of accounts paid +50% or more per thousand impressions in April versus March, compared to % of accounts paying -50% or less (+6% differential)

Retail Media spending

Overall, spending in retail media advertising dropped 6% from March to April

• 33% of retail media advertising accounts spent +10% or more in April versus March, compared to 44% who spent -10% or less (-11% differential)
• 7% of accounts spent +50% or more in April versus March, compared to 3% of accounts spending -50% or less (+4% differential)

Retail Media CPCs

Overall, the average cost of a click in retail media advertising rose 3% from March to April

• 38% of retail media advertising accounts paid +10% or more per click in April versus March, compared to 18% who paid -10% or less (+20% differential)
• 2% of accounts paid +50% or more per click in April compared to March, versus 1% of accounts paying -50% or less (+1% differential)

Check out more resources from Skai

Come back in May for our next monthly trends post. Until then, you can dive into more of our research via our Quarterly Trends Reports hub.

And please visit the Skai blog and Research & Reports page for ongoing insights, analysis, and interviews on all things related to digital advertising.

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