• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 7, 2017

As every advertiser knows, says a new report by StrikeSocial, November and December mark the biggest months for retail sales each year.

The analysis by StrikeSocal of YouTube budgets and expenditures for opportunities and strategies during the holidays, shows holiday spending in the U.S. reaching a whopping $655.8 billion in 2016, another $94 billion was spent in the U.K., while Japan saw its spending grow to $35.7 billion.

And, this year, U.S. holiday shopping alone is expected to grow another 4%, to $678.8. This giant sum of cash translates into the average American shopper spending $900 on holiday gifts. Parents alone dole out $422 for each child, with some spending upwards of $500.

Moms and dads are largely a generous lot, as parents typically spend 61% more on online shopping than do non-parents, ($1,071 compared to $664, respectively), a trend that can be observed all around the world as well, says the report.

But the research shows that, when it comes to YouTube at least, most advertisers don’t really have a clue to budgeting. 

• First, YouTube advertisers allocate more budget to non-parents than to parents during the holiday shopping season, even though YouTube is ubiquitous across generations.
• Second, advertisers shift too much attention to parents too early in the season, perhaps assuming that moms and dads have everything wrapped up by Black Friday. On the contrary, the National Retail Federation notes that 68% of people actually start purchasing holiday gifts after November.

All this, combined with the fact that online shopping has officially eclipsed in-store purchases, underscores the need for advertising to remain front and center throughout the entire holiday season.

With that in mind, the study reviewed YouTube advertising data across the retail sector for five key days, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, to help advertisers create a better game plan, which includes:

• Where to allocate budget during peak holiday shopping days
• When to reach parents versus non-parents
• How to develop competitive strategies to avoid getting lost in the shuffle

YouTube ad budget allocation based on parental status is determined based on activity within the user’s Google account: 42.5%/57.5%, Parents/ Non-parents 

StrikeSocial’s findings suggest parents and non-parents are actively shopping throughout the entire holiday season. Yet the research shows that YouTube advertisers spend a lot of cash trying to reach parents very early on, specifically on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. From Cyber Monday to the final push of the season, advertisers allocate more than half their budgets to non-parents, says the report.

Even on the two days when advertisers target parents more heavily, parents still see less money. At the peak for parents (Black Friday), the most this group gets is 54.3% of YouTube ad spend. Compare that to the least amount of ad spend non-parents see when the focus is shifted toward them during the season (63.6% on Christmas Eve), and there appears to be a rather curious imbalance, says the report.

For both parents and non-parents, view rates reach their peak on Cyber Monday, then plummet by Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (somewhat expected, as people start celebrating).

That said, parents reign supreme for view rates from Cyber Monday through Christmas Day, precisely at the same time that advertisers are shifting their budgets away from them. 

From the data, here’s what we now know, says the report. Parents are more actively engaged with ads, yielding a 309% higher click-through rate throughout the holiday season. View rate decreases significantly for both parents and non-parents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, dropping 25% from Cyber Monday. Advertisers are only spending a combined 5.2% of their budgets on days that could yield extremely high results, with New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day having a 20% higher view rate than Cyber Monday.

During the holidays, fashion advertisers allocate 78.4% of their budget to non-parents, even though this group has a 5% lower view rate, and toys are not top of mind for parents, according to the data. Instead, it’s more about fashion.

The data is clear, says the report. While gift-giving research begins early in the fall, parents are more actively watching YouTube ads closer to Christmas. Meanwhile, non-parents start tuning out these ads right after Cyber Monday.

Concluding, the report suggests that, when looking to YouTube for your advertising this holiday season, trust the data. Then, optimize your campaigns, and shift your budget to the most active viewers, those who will actually watch your ads and take action.

This data report was compiled and released by Strike Social. All referenced data is based on global YouTube campaigns managed by Strike Social in the U.S. during 2016. Analysis of view rate and cost-per-view was done using Strike Social’s proprietary data science tools.

For questions about the data, please contact hello@strikesocial.com