While many people are guilty of last minute holiday shopping, 95% of retail advertisers donât procrastinate in the same way. The vast majority of marketers report that competition in late December is too high, so they prioritize ad campaigns earlier in the season to maximize profits.
Christmas creep is real, with one in three online retailers kicking off holiday advertising in August or September. While some wait for summer to end, 94% of retailers are running holiday ads by early November.
The overwhelming majority of retailers plan to increase holiday ad spending or maintain budgets from 2017, while only 1% plans to spend less this year. The data underscores retailersâ confidence in digital advertising as a strong investment, particularly during the peak holiday shopping period.
With retailers as a whole slated to spend approximately $6 billion on digital advertising during the holidays, most are satisfied with how much theyâre investing individually. Only 7% of retailers report their holiday budgets are too high and just 2% feel theyâre not spending enough.
The holidays are a prime time to grow a customer base, though retailers report that the surge in customer acquisition comes at a high cost. 67% of marketers cite somewhat or dramatically higher customer acquisition costs during the most competitive time of the year.
Nearly a third of retailers surveyed report dissatisfaction with the ROI of their holiday ad campaigns. However, thatâs not stopping the 99% of retailers planning to maintain or increase their ad budgets this year compared to last.
Google and Facebook dominate holiday ad spending, but Amazon is close behind. Nearly half of US consumers now start product searches on Amazon, and the company is uniquely positioned as both a lucrative advertising channel and a top competitor of many retailers.
Let's Talk
In the short four days from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, on average, retailers will spend a disproportionate 25% of their total digital ad budgets for the year. By eMarketer estimates, thatâs nearly $6 billion in four days!
Black Friday is king when it comes to digital ad spend. Despite Cyber Monday being all about online sales, 63% of retailers report spending the most on Black Friday compared to the Saturday, Sunday, or Monday that follow it.
Search and social top the list for planned ad spending, with each commanding about one of every five ad dollars spent. On average, retailers will allocate 15% of their ad budgets to display and 14% to video, with email, native or branded content, and audio ads rounding out the mix.
93% of retail marketing leaders sometimes or often need to get buy-in from other executives to drive growth initiatives. This lack of control extends to holiday ad budgets, with 29% of retailers reporting that other teams can be roadblocks to changes in advertising strategy.
About the Data
Just because retailers are satisfied with their holiday advertising doesnât mean they wouldnât find ways to utilize those budgets elsewhere. Top alternative priorities include shifting ad spend to other times of the year and further investing in advertising and marketing technology.
Impact of holidays on retail customer
acquisition ads
Retailersâ satisfaction with holiday digital ad ROI
Nanigans partnered with Advertiser Perceptions to survey 100 marketing leaders at large retailers in August 2018. Individuals surveyed reported marketing or advertising as their primary job function and held titles of VP-level or above (52%) or Director-level (48%). All retailers surveyed generate online revenues of $100M-$200M (55%) or $200M+ (45%) and have allocated digital advertising budget for the 2018 holiday season.
About the Data
Most important holiday audiences for retail advertisers
When retailers launch digital holiday ads
Planned change in 2018 holiday ad spending vs. 2017
Retailersâ satisfaction with holiday digital
ad spending
Holiday retail digital ad spending by channel
Nanigans partnered with Advertiser Perceptions to survey 100 marketing leaders at large retailers in August 2018. Individuals surveyed reported marketing or advertising as their primary job function and held titles of VP-level or above (52%) or Director-level (48%). All retailers surveyed generate online revenues of $100M-$200M (55%) or $200M+ (45%) and have allocated digital advertising budget for the 2018 holiday season.
Holiday retail digital ad spending by format
Retail marketersâ control over holiday ad spending
How retailers would reallocate holiday digital
ad spend
Nanigans equips advertisers to grow incremental revenue during the holidays and all year long.
DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION
When retailers spend the most over Black
Friday-Cyber Monday weekend
Retailersâ annual digital ad budget allocation
