‘Tis the season to start preparing campaigns for Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). These high-stakes shopping events bring massive opportunities for brands to boost sales, but also fierce competition.
With consumers on the hunt for the best deals, performance marketers look to fine-tune their strategies and optimize campaigns to maximize return on investment (ROI).
As the holiday countdown begins, it’s important for marketers to stay ahead of trends and leverage technology tools to win big during this busy time.
Looking Back on BFCM 2023
Retail Dive reports that consumers spent a record $9.8 billion online on Black Friday in 2023, up 7.5% from the previous year. Overall, holiday spending was up 2-3% year over year.
The National Retail Federation reported that a record-breaking 200.4 million people shopped online and/or in person over the five-day BFCM period last year, spending an average of $321.41 on holiday-related purchases. The number of online shoppers grew marginally year over year, while the number of in-person shoppers dropped slightly.
2023 was the first year that more people shopped online via mobile devices compared to desktops, according to Adobe Analytics. This trend is expected to continue in 2024, with an estimated 53% of online holiday season sales happening on small screens.
In 2023, 55% percent of marketers expected to spend about the same as in 2022 on holiday advertising. Thirty-one percent planned to spend more and 12% planned to spend less.
BFCM Forecast for 2024
The Mastercard Economics Institute estimates a 3.2% increase in total U.S. retail spending from November 1, 2024 to December 24, 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Thanksgiving comes later this year (November 28 vs. November 23 in 2023). Since this means a shorter holiday shopping season, Mastercard predicts that brands will start promotions before Black Friday in an attempt to stand out.
Notably, Deloitte forecasts that e-commerce sales in this period will grow 7-9% this year. Mastercard says apparel purchases are especially popular online, and are expected to grow more than two times more than in-store apparel spending this holiday season.
Marketers Plan for BFCM 2024
Marketing Brew reports that the holidays are the biggest spending season for marketers. Ninety-seven percent of holiday marketing budgets are finalized by October. Fifty-three percent of marketers exhaust most of their holiday budget in November.
This year, marketers may shift their online campaigns to happen even earlier given statistics like those shared by Experian noting that online shoppers have a preference for early holiday shopping. Experian also predicts that paid search will be the top sales driver this year.
According to Marketing Brew, 86% of marketers plan to spend at least as much on holiday ads as they did last year. This aligns with predictions that consumer spending will be up this year. Seventy-nine percent of marketers plan to run website or browser ads this holiday season, which is also in line with predictions that online shopping will increase.
Many marketers are adopting short message service (SMS) ads to target consumers who are increasingly shopping on their phones. According to ClickSend, SMS has a 98% open rate. One-third of people who receive a call to action (CTA) via text act on it, and 47% of those who act on it will make a purchase.
Power Your BFCM Campaigns with Spend Management
To keep your campaigns moving smoothly, especially during high-pressure periods like the holidays, implementing a reliable spend management solution is essential. AvidXchange’s solution for agencies offers flexible terms designed to support your campaigns during crunch time, ensuring you stay on track without financial interruptions.
With our spend management system, you can create individual virtual cards for each campaign or client, which provide you with full visibility and control over your spending. This feature can enable easier tracking, improved accountability, and simplified budget management across multiple campaigns.
To help you stay proactive, you’ll receive customized email alerts when any card approaches its designated spending capacity. These alerts help ensure that you never overspend and can adjust resources accordingly before reaching your limit.
Additionally, AvidXchange’s spend management solution for agencies is quick to implement, making it an ideal choice to prepare your campaigns ahead of your BFCM rush. By having this system in place, you can focus on delivering impactful campaigns while staying within budget and maximizing efficiency.
It’s not too late to optimize your BFCM initiatives with spend management this year. Connect with one of our accounts payable experts today to learn how.