Search Revenue Grew 22 percent for Advertisers During the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season

Posted by Nii A. Ahene on January 27, 2012 in Paid Search

According to a recent study published by Kenshoo, search advertisers saw revenue growth to the tune of 22 percent during the 2011 Holiday Shopping Season compared to the previous year. Much of this increase was due to increased paid search budgets and customer demand during the holiday season.

The research, collected during November and December of 2011, also suggested a significant increase in the use of mobile devices for online shopping. Over 14 percent of all the studied clicks were made on a mobile device (8 percent on tablets and 6 percent on phones). It is also interesting to note that those using tablets were more likely to make an actual purchase than those on other platform. Also, Apple iOS users pulled the trigger more often and spent more per purchase than their Android-using counterparts.

Other insights from the study included the following-

• U.S. consumers used the Internet more often for holiday purchases, and they’re spending more.
• Heavy retail competition drove costs up, but return on ad spend remained strong.
• Thanksgiving cemented its position as a major online shopping day.
• U.S. retailers saw fewer opportunities for advertising exposure, but higher response rates when exposure occurred.
• U.S. consumers trusted search ads more; retailers ran more savvy paid search campaigns.
• Last-minute shoppers still purchased online the week before Christmas.
• Deal-seeking and gift card redemption drove higher post-Christmas revenue.
  

This all seems to add up to encouraging news for online retailers, especially those who intend to increase their presence on the paid search channels by keeping their fingers on the pulse of important marketing trends.

For more details about the study, check out the full report over at Kenshoo.