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Paid-search spend rose an impressive 81% for the month
The search for some better news for our economy got a boost from, well, “search” in December. Paid search that is.
Revenue from online sales driven only by paid-search ads got a boost in December, rising 47% for online retailers, compared with the same month last year, according to the PM Digital Rewind Index, which measures monthly paid-search performance.
Paid-search spend rose an impressive 81% for the month compared with the prior year, partly as a result of rising costs reflected
in the 22% increase in cost per clicks (CPCs). The number of clicks for the month rose 42% and same-day Conversion rates rose 7%, compared with the same month in the previous year. And while the CPC rose, in many cases higher costs accompanied better average order values (AOV).
Lunes cibernético, in the final analysis, did not materialize as the most profitable online sales day for many online retailers, although some did experience higher growth. For apparel retailers, the average order grew a meager 5%. Green Monday was the top overall day for both revenue and order volume in December, but sales slowed shortly after as Christmas neared and (free) shipping deadlines passed.
Monday, Dec. 6 (the first Monday in December) not only turned into a top day for clicks, but also year-on-year growth that came in substantially higher than the total month’s average. The biggest growth story for holiday clicks, however, is about Christmas and the following day. Both days saw clicks more than double their respective monthly averages.
ComScore also recently reported that retail ecommerce spending for the November-December 2010 holiday season reached $32.6 billion, up a healthy 12% compared with last year.
With consumers now somewhat behaviorally oriented to look for previews and sneak peeks of after Christmas sales, marketers can expect to see a continuing trend — and plan for it well in advance. Now that’s a holiday in an of itself!
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