The January Digital team was boots-on-the-ground both in-store and online this Cyber 12, gathering insights, analyzing trends, and ensuring client success during the most critical shopping period of the year. Here are our key takeaways:
In-Store Insights
Our President Sarah Engel was stationed at the King of Prussia Mall, one of the largest in the US, this Black Friday. She noted the following trends:
- Mall traffic was slightly higher than last year and began earlier. Parking lots were packed by 6 a.m., with another wave of customers arriving around 8 a.m.
- Gen Z and Gen Alpha showed up and showed out, with brands that connect with younger shoppers, like Kendra Scott, Alo, Abercrombie, Aerie, and Lululemon, boasting the longest lines.
- More than 70% of stores offered storewide sales, typically 30-50% off. Store teams noted that when sales were limited to specific products or offered gift-with-purchase incentives, customers walked out quickly. Loft stood out with a traditional “Doorbuster”, offering 65% off until noon, which then dropped to 50%. This drove a significant crowd in the morning.
- Luxury brands like Gucci, Dior, and Tiffany stayed closed during early hours, suggesting a divide between mass and luxury shopping strategies on Black Friday.
Online Insights
E-commerce continued to surge this year, showing that digital-first strategies are more critical than ever:
- Mastercard reported a nearly 15% increase in e-commerce sales year-over-year, far outpacing in-store traffic, which was static.
- Black Friday online sales peaked around 2 p.m., signaling that consumers are no longer waking up early for deals but prefer mid-day browsing.
- TikTok drove over $100 million in sales via 30,000+ shopping livestreams, cementing its role in social commerce.
- Online carts were almost double the size of in-store carts, according to Block, reflecting how consumers are leveraging digital shopping for bulk purchases.
- Adobe data showed that chatbot-driven clicks to retail sites soared by 1,800% year-over-year, showing the growing influence of AI in guiding online shopping experiences.’
Our Clients
- Revenues for our clients averaged 8% over goal with many surpassing stretch goal.
- CPMs dropped between 5% – 10% YoY.
- CPCs fluctuated quite a bit, but generally up about 5% YoY.
- CVR was above goals across almost our entire portfolio.
- Beauty edged out retail as the top-performing category in our portfolio, likely due to its lower price points appealing to budget-conscious consumers.
- We set records for single day revenue driven as a company and drove record single day revenues for multiple clients.
The Cyber 12 period showcased the power of agility and insights, delivering record results for our clients. From in-store connections with Gen Z to AI-driven online success, we’re closing the year stronger than ever.
