Digital Marketing Snapshot

Key digital ad channels served more ads at lower prices in Q4, driving overall spending growth higher

Strategy, diversification, competition and the economy all may have helped drive aggregate prices down
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The number of ads and ad interactions measured by impressions and clicks, respectively, grew at a healthy pace in Q4
Advertisers were more likely to see lower YoY ad prices in Q4 than higher prices, compared to last year across channels, particularly paid social advertisers
2021 saw the highest Q4 year-over-year (YoY) CPM growth in five years, which may have set the stage for a big drop in 2022 even without the additional impact of other factors
Spending increased over Q4 of last year in all channels, but lower ad prices have meant lower growth rates than previous quarters
AD VOLUME GROWS ACROSS CHANNELS
The number of ads and ad interactions measured by impressions and clicks, respectively, grew at a healthy pace in Q4
MOST ADVERTISERS SAW LOWER AD PRICES
Advertisers were more likely to see lower YoY ad prices in Q4 than higher prices, compared to last year across channels, particularly paid social advertisers
A BRIEF HISTORY OF Q4 SOCIAL AD PRICES
2021 saw the highest Q4 year-over-year (YoY) CPM growth in five years, which may have set the stage for a big drop in 2022 even without the additional impact of other factors
SPENDING GROWTH MODERATES ACROSS CHANNELS
Spending increased over Q4 of last year in all channels, but lower ad prices have meant lower growth rates than previous quarters
FOCUS ON COMMERCE

HOLIDAY PERFORMANCE BY CHANNEL

Ad spending more than doubled across the Cyber 5 for retail media and paid search advertisers compared to pre-Thanksgiving November, while lower prices kept YoY search spending flat

PRODUCT AD SPENDING ACROSS CHANNELS

Search shopping campaigns did not increase spending until the holiday-focused fourth quarter, while retail media and paid social showed QoQ growth throughout the year

OMNICHANNEL GROWTH

Commerce advertisers are slowly but surely increasing the number of active publishers as they focus on where they can most effectively find their customers
CORE TRENDS