Cyber 5 Takeaways for 2023
The results are in for Cyber 5 2023, and it’s safe to say it was another year of success for Macarta’s brand partners. Cyber 5 is the five-day shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday and has continued to prove it is the mother-lode of all shopping events.
According to Adobe Analytics, U.S. e-commerce sales topped $38.1 billion over the five days of Cyber Week — that’s a 7.9% increase year over year (YOY). Amazon reigned supreme with the highest traffic of any U.S. retailer site, with Walmart taking second place.
Inflation remained a persistent challenge this year, resulting in cautious consumers looking for deals and buying closer-to-need. In response, retailers promoted deals earlier than usual with many major companies offering deals over a month ahead. Amazon extended the traditional Cyber 5 to Cyber 11, offering earlier deals shoppers could take advantage of.
Macarta Amazon Cyber 5 Results
Search Results
- Overall, Macarta’s brand partners drove over $5 million in ad revenue on Amazon, which is up more than 35% YOY. Compared to 2022, ad spend increased by only 25%, signaling a more efficient execution of search investment.
- Our brand partners saw over $900,000 in new-to-brand sales through Amazon Sponsored Brand, Sponsored Brand Video, and Sponsored Display ads, rather than Amazon search which is 20% higher than Cyber 5 2022.
Competition
Competition steadily increases every year, which is evident when we look at Cost-Per-Click (CPC) progression. This year, the average CPC for all cyber sales events was up 22.1%, and even more in specific categories like Apparel.
Throughout Cyber 5, competition ebbs and flows. Our brand partners saw the highest average CPCs on Thanksgiving, which tapered off throughout the weekend. This is a similar trajectory to last year, which tells us advertisers are investing more aggressively in the days leading up-to Black Friday, including Thanksgiving itself.
Day-Over-Day Comparative Performance
Historically, Black Friday sales have been the strongest out of the five days, and this year was no different. Our brand partners saw the most impressions, spend, and new-to-brand sales on Black Friday.
Black Friday represented nearly 50% of all ad sales during Cyber 5. Last year, it represented only 26% of total sales, which we attribute to Amazon’s 11-day extension of the event and early promotion of deals. As recent history has proven, what Amazon does, others will follow. We anticipate more retailers to adopt a longer promotional and holiday messaging schedule in years to come.
Despite inflation and increased competition, our brand partners knocked it out of the park during Cyber 5 — especially on Black Friday. For retailers who didn’t see similar performance or engagement, there are still 10 days left to grab the attention of last-minute shoppers.
Is your brand looking for holiday shopping campaign expertise for the 2024 Cyber 5? Let’s get a jump on it! Reach out to us HERE. We’d love to have a conversation about how you can be part of the success.