The Holiday shopping season is upon us and Black Friday will be the big blowout shopping day for many. Nowadays that frenzy of gift-buying spills over to Cyber Monday, and even Cyber WEEK in some cases. Mobile devices have become indispensable tools to navigate not just the in-store experience, but online shopping as well.
We’ve also created a Primer on Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping trends and best practices! Read more to see what all the fuss is about!
The Opportunity
According to eMarketer, consumers spend an average of 2 hours per day accessing the Internet on their mobile phones. That number has grown and will continue to rise as time goes on, according to Statcounter.
In that context of more connected consumers, it should come as no surprise that shopping habits are changing. According to Business Insider Intelligence, sales generated from mobile commerce will be 61 percent of the total e-commerce sales by 2023.
Shopping during the whole week of Cyber Week makes up nearly half of the total holiday shopping, compressing what was traditionally a four to six weeks of shopping into just 7 days. According to AppAnnie Insight Market Data, during this week, time spent doing mobile shopping via apps will grow 45% compared to 2015. Apps are poised to grow in that boom as well. Digital Commerce 360 says that consumers will utilize apps from the Top 100 retailers 3 times more than their mobile websites. If retailers haven’t been promoting their own app (or don’t even have one yet) that could cause some friction with already stressed holiday shoppers!
The Ads
What about reaching consumers with ads during this mobile-heavy time? Consumers have been in the habit of looking at the Black Friday flyer in their local paper, mobile digital ads just give them an opportunity to see the things that interest them most!
How do consumers feel about that transition though?
Turns out they like it! Shoppers view ads on their devices as helpful insights rather than just simple ads. 50 percent of the users welcome an online ad if it features a relevant Black Friday deal, 2 in 3 people proactively search the Internet for holiday shopping deals, and the majority of people polled prefer video ads over sponsored or editorial content ads.
Not only are consumers’ perceptions toward advertising a positive during this period but mobile ad purchase conversion for Black Friday is increasing too, signaling an increase in acceptance. There is a marked increase in mobile ad purchase conversion rates when compared to the same day the previous year
Creative Examples
How can brands leverage those Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping opportunities though? Our creative team has developed a couple of examples for some inspiration as the Holiday shopping season gets into full swing!
With this dynamic end card example above, customers get a chance to add Black Friday on their Calendar in order not to miss the day, just in case they’re in a food coma. After users complete the video ad, they are presented with this rich media execution. The add to calendar CTA button allows them to add the date to the native calendars of their mobile devices. On the day of the event, users receive a push notification via their calendar app. This gives the advertiser an earned media value added to their video ad spend.
This next example is a Dynamic End Card, appearing after users complete a video. This product carousel allows users to preview a variety of products and deals. With the “Buy Now” CTA button, users are led to the product pages to find out more or purchase. Each CTA button for the products on the gallery is directed to the specific webpage of the product.
What about Apps?
Lots of deals on the latest iPhones, iPads, and Android devices mean Black Friday and beyond is a huge opportunity for user acquisition ads.
According to Singular Holiday Trends Report, in Fall 2017, app installs reached a peak during Cyber Week with 7.6 million installs! Specifically during the 3rd week of November, where Black Friday and Cyber Monday takes place, mobile in-app traffic for gaming apps increases.
The Black Friday & Cyber Monday Cheat Sheet
To help brands get the most of the opportunity, we have a primer on what to expect from mobile shoppers this season. Full of data from oodles of different sources including Nielsen, Business Insider, comScore, and more. In the primer, you will find:
- Stats on mobile usage during this busy time of year
- Information on the growth of mobile commerce and projected expansion into the future
- A breakdown of Black Friday shopping habits
- User acquisition tips for this peak new-device time!
Download the full report from our Research section!
For more information about Holiday shopping in the United States, Asia, Australia, and beyond, check back soon!
Join the Conversation
Are you ready for the mobile-app customer deluge this week and beyond? How’s your Holiday UA strategy shaping up? Tweet us at @AdColony. For the latest AdColony mobile news and updates, follow @AdColony on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or connect on Linkedin.
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