Smart Spending is the Trend this Holiday Season

Consumers have not let fears of a recession and decades-high inflation rates deter them from spending smart this holiday season. Reviewing purchase data from the ‘Cyber Five weekend’, named for the high-volume shopping days between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, consumers are budget-conscious, researching the best deals, and using financing apps for their purchases.?

This year, 57% of consumers have created a holiday-specific budget as a way to beat rising prices.[1] To capture these cost-conscious consumers, retailers have responded with early discounts to allow consumers to take advantage of cyber deals. The seasonal lift for adMarketplace’s retail partners reflected this trend: conversions jumped by 19% starting in early November while clicks increased 23% year-over-year in the weeks leading up to Cyber Five.[2]

Paid search remains integral to the marketing strategy of B2C brands and drove 28% of all online sales during Cyber Week.[3] The average order value from legacy search engines climbed just 5% over Cyber Five, whereas the average order value for adMarketplace’s partner brands grew 9.4%.[4][5] This year proved again that brands that leverage search media opportunities outside of search results pages have an opportunity to increase their advertising efficiency.?By winning consumer consideration, outside of legacy search, brands can bend the curve of diminishing returns back in their favor.?

E-commerce thrived this Cyber Week with 41% of consumers making most or all of their purchases online.[6] Specifically, mobile shopping saw impressive growth as consumers relied heavily on financing apps for flexible payment options to purchase gifts– orders placed through financing apps increased 85% over Cyber Five compared to the week prior.[7]?Additionally, consumers turned to review sites to compare product prices with readership for “discount-related” articles increasing 32% over the 45 days prior.[8]

As more consumers use review sites and financing apps to weigh and budget purchase decisions, effective paid media campaigns reach consumers where and when they intend to shop. Over the last few years, paid search has evolved “outside the traditional search format as an omnipresent influencer throughout the entire consumer decision journey.”[9] adMarketplace’s exclusive media solutions reach consumers across diverse moments of intent and provide partner brands with lower funnel metrics associated with full funnel tactics. During Cyber Five, adMarketplace's retail partners, on average, saw a 67% increase in conversions and a 75% increase in order value on financing apps and a 64% increase in conversions and an 81% increase in order value compared to the prior week, on review sites.[10]

This Cyber Five demonstrated that consumers are still spending, despite economic uncertainty. With shoppers planning purchases, seeking the best deals, and looking for alternative finance options, leading brands are diversifying their digital media investment this holiday season to win consumers at the valuable moments where and when they express purchase intent.?

Sources:

1. TD Stories, “TD Bank Survey Reveals Holiday Shoppers Navigating Inflation-fueled Holiday Season by Banking on their Budgets,” Nov 2022?
2. adMarketplace Proprietary Data 2022
3. Adobe, “Cyber Monday Drove $11.3 Billion in Online Spending, Breaking E-commerce Record,” Nov 2022
4. eMarketer, “Paid search rules the Cyber Five,” Dec 2022?
5. adMarketplace Proprietary Data 2022
6. Digital Commerce 360, “41% of Cyber 5 consumers make most or all their purchases online,” Nov 2022?
7. eMarketer, “A record-setting 196.7 million US consumers shopped over the Cyber Five,” Nov 2022?
8. Mediapost, “Inflation-Related Articles Take Backseat To Gift Giving, Data Shows,” Nov 2022?
9. Search Engine Land, “The value of search across the modern consumer decision journey,” Mar 2017?
10. adMarketplace Proprietary Data 2022