• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, December 31, 2020

Retail brands advertised online at record rates during the Black Friday weekend, with positive results, according a study released on Friday by LiveIntent and MediaRadar 

The average email conversion rate was 32% higher on Black Friday than it was in 2019, based on activity on the LiveIntent platform.  

Shopping newsletters pulled 10 times the average number of impressions, and hard news newsletters five times the norm. The style and fashion vertical drew twice the click-through rates of the average of all groups.  

These results, in part, reflect a large increase in digital spend.  

“Our data revealed that retailers have increased digital advertising spend by 22%, YoY,” states Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar. 

Shopping advertisers exceeded their average spend for Black Friday pushes by three times, and style & fashion brands by four times, and were “more aggressive” in general about getting in front of customers, the study reports.  

Health and fitness advertisers generated twice the click-through rates of the average in November, reflecting increased at-home exercising by consumers.  

“This aligns with our findings -- that fitness ad spending was up 43% YoY, looking at TV & digital spend over the entire year,” adds Krizelman. 

Retail ads in newsletters devoted to government and politics, personal finance and law, also pulled two times the average. And ads in newsletters focusing on family and parenting pulled twice the normal conversion rates, and those on shopping 1.5 higher -- the highest rates of all.

“Despite the pandemic decreasing ad spend overall this year, this holiday season saw relatively healthy digital spend numbers,” states Kerel Cooper, chief marketing officer at LiveIntent. 

Cooper adds that, as in the beginning of the year, “people are continuing to engage with ads served in emails. This engagement gave advertisers the confidence to know that they would be able to reach and convert consumers ahead of the holidays on email.”