The 2021 Cyber Week Recap

by | Dec 2, 2021 | Affiliate Marketing, Blog

This Cyber Week, the market was down. We were up. 

Want to know how we beat the market this Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday e-commerce revenue was down 1.4% compared to last year. And Black Friday e-commerce revenue was down 1.1%. 

It’s the first time these numbers have ever dropped. 

On the contrary, eAccountable clients saw an increase in revenue across this year’s Cyber Week (Thursday-Monday), in addition to seeing positive shifts in other key performance indicators. 

Here’s how our affiliate marketing clients performed.

1. Affiliate revenue was UP.

Our clients’ affiliate revenue tracked 15% higher than 2020 Cyber Week revenue AND 38% higher than 2019 Cyber Week revenue.

While these revenue jumps are impressive on their own, it is important to note that they occurred amidst a significant dip in traffic, when compared to 2020 traffic. 

2. Affiliate traffic saw a 17% jump from 2019.

While traffic was down from 2020, eAccountable clients saw a 17% increase in affiliate traffic from Cyber Week in 2019. 

Curious as to why we are referencing 2019? 

Well, in 2020, we found ourselves in the heat of the pre-vaccine pandemic. While this impacted nearly all aspects of life, many eCommerce businesses experienced an increase in traffic and revenue, as consumers were largely not able to purchase in person. 

With that in mind, data from 2019 offers up a more accurate read on YOY growth. 

3. Consumer spend surged in November.

According to Adobe Analytics, from November 1st through Cyber Monday, consumers in the United States spent $109.8 billion online, which represents a 11.9% increase YOY. 

Despite the increase in November consumer spend, online spending across the US was down from last year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

Why? A few reasons may help to explain the shift: 

  1. Many businesses kicked off their sales early and ran them for longer periods of time. 
  2. Consumers are largely aware of the current global shipping delays, and have been encouraged to start their Christmas shopping earlier than ever before. 

While decreased consumer spend on Black Friday and Cyber Monday was the reality for many businesses, our clients experienced the opposite. 

In fact, when consumers ordered our clients’ products during this year’s Cyber Week, they spent, on average, 27% more than they did during last year’s sale period. 

Want to learn how we can help enhance your digital marketing ecosystem for next year? Drop us a line here.