Cyber Monday shattered mobile sales records last year to become the first day with over $1 billion in US sales on mobile devices alone.1 However, Cyber Monday is no longer just a 24-hour event, nor is it exclusive to the US. With week-long skyrocketing online and mobile sales in countries around the world, Cyber Monday (or should we say Cyber Week) has truly become a global phenomenon.
Millennials are the most mobile-first Cyber Monday shoppers, using their smartphone to find holiday deals more often than any other generation. But not all smartphone time is created equal — the majority of Millennials’ mobile minutes are spent in-app. This is great news for advertisers, as the in-app ecosystems allows for precision targeting at a level no other advertising medium can match.
Cyber Monday Becomes Cyber Week
It all started with Black Friday, an in-store shopping extravaganza that kicked off the Christmas shopping season in the early hours of the Friday following Thanksgiving. Soon, Black Friday crept into Thanksgiving Day, with doorbusters beginning before the pumpkin pie was even served.
Cyber Monday made its debut in the early 2000s as a reaction to online retailers seeing increased sales on the Monday following the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. With skyrocketing revenue growth year-over-year ever since, Cyber Monday has morphed into a week-long online — and, more recently, mobile — shopping phenomenon “celebrated” worldwide. During the holiday shopping season, consumers’ love of convenience, choice and great deals — all of which Cyber Week offers — is universal. A recent survey even found that holiday shoppers are more excited about Cyber Monday than Black Friday this year2 — an important sign of holiday sales’ shift to digital and, more specifically, mobile.
Last year showed just how mobile-centric Cyber Monday has become, as the holiday set new mobile sales records as the first $1+ billion sales day on mobile devices alone — that’s an increase of +29% in just one year!3 With US mobile commerce already growing +38% this year,4 Cyber Monday mobile sales are expected to far surpass the $1 billion mark in 2017.
Last year, online retailers’ mobile traffic began soaring as early as Thanksgiving day and stayed strong throughout the following week. On Thanksgiving, 57% of traffic and 40% of sales were conducted via mobile. On Cyber Monday, mobile accounted for 47% of retail traffic and 31% of sales.5 This holiday-driven mobile madness was also reflected on the Smaato platform, where the volume of ad requests on Cyber Monday last year exceeded that of the average Monday by +20%.
So, how can advertisers take advantage of this high-spend digital holiday? By advertising right where consumers are spending their digital time — in-app.
Millennials: Most App-Centric Shoppers
Millennials are by far the most engaged — and addicted — of app users. This group of 18-34 year-olds is always on the lookout for new and interesting apps, and they download more new apps each month than users from any other generation. Millennials are also the most willing to make in-app purchases.
This app-addiction of Millennials is so acute, that 76% say that their smartphone would be useless to them without apps, 74% pull out their phone to check their apps the instant they feel bored and 63% will react to a push notification by immediately opening up the app.6
Considering this increasing reliance on their mobile devices, it’s no surprise that these digital natives go mobile for their holiday shopping as well. Last year, nearly half of Millennials planned to shop via smartphone on Cyber Monday — far more than any other generation.7
…And love of mobile apps is not limited to US Millennials; it’s a worldwide phenomenon. Consumers globally are spending over 80% of their mobile time in-app — however, this figure is much higher in many of the world’s most mobile-first markets, including the US (90%), Germany (89%), France (87%) and Canada (86%).8
So What Does This Mean for Advertisers This Cyber Monday?
No matter where in the world your audience may be, they’ll be in-app on their smartphones this Cyber Monday. Make the most of Millennials’ app obsession during the whole Cyber Week period by grabbing consumers’ attention via in-app advertising. The in-app environment offers the most accurate targeting solutions for advertisers to reach their ideal audiences — whether Cyber Week deal-seekers are playing mobile games during a family function or sneaking a FOMO peek at their smartphones for can’t-miss Cyber Week savings while at work.
With our Smaato’s new “always on” Open Deals, precise traffic targeting is easier than ever for advertisers. Our pre-packaged Open Deals allow you to choose from a whitelist of apps that fit your unique targeting goals. Current Open Deals include Premium Gaming, 80%+ Completion Rate Video, High GPS, Legal Drinking Age and more.
To make sure you are delivering campaign success this Cyber Week, contact a Smaato Account Manager today to learn more!
1 comScore, Dec 2016 | 2 Euclid Analytics, Sept 2017 | 3 comScore, Dec 2016 | 4 eMarketer, July 2016 | 5 Adobe Digital Insights, Nov 2016 | 6 comScore, Sept 2017 | 7 RetailMeNot, Oct 2016 | 8 comScore, Sept 2017
