Whale Watch: Ecommerce Trends and Benchmarks Report (BFCM 2023) [SNEAK PREVIEW]
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For BFCM 2023, we analyzed data from over 11,000 shops.

The parallels between total revenue and order growth are reflected in average order value (AOV), which remains virtually unchanged between 2022 and 2023. This alignment indicates that ecommerce brands across revenue tiers, from under $1M to over $50M in annual revenue, experienced sustained growth during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

It’s also clear that some channels have become more expensive. Google has become notably less cost-efficient, with both cost per thousand ad impressions (CPM) and cost per acquisition (CPA) increasing year-over-year (21.3% and 31.01%, respectively). Combined with the 12.7% drop in ad spend for this channel, it’s clear that brands have recognized the challenge of maximizing marketing efficiency with Google.

Across all cohorts, brands have shifted more of their ad budgets toward proven channels like Meta, which resulted in a slight year-over-year (YoY) boost to ROAS (6.4%) for this channel. But emerging channels like TikTok were even more rewarding: a 17.25% increase in ad spend was followed by 58% YoY growth in ROAS and 89.66% more conversion value.

Key Takeaways

• Meta and Google continue to dominate advertising budgets with a combined 94.98% of total ad spend in 2023.
• Brands have recognized TikTok’s growing importance in ecommerce, as reflected in the significant increase in ad spend and conversion value.
• Ad investments into Snapchat have not yet yielded proportional returns, suggesting a cautious approach to this channel.
• We recommend brands explore affiliate and referral programs in 2024, based on the growing trend in customer referrals during BFCM.

Ad Spend

The majority of ad spend remains concentrated between Meta and Google Ads, with significant shifts occurring in the higher revenue tiers.

Brands with over $10M in revenue are increasingly allocating a larger portion of their budget towards TikTok, indicating a strategic pivot towards this rapidly growing platform. What was initially viewed as a top-of-funnel platform seems to be shifting capability to drive purchases and larger-budget companies are carving out a larger portion of the budget to better leverage this.

Conversion Rate

Meta continues to drive high-quality traffic with consistent conversion behavior. Google remains the highest converting platform, though it shows a downward trend YoY. This 17% decrease could be attributed to a similar decrease in ad spend (12.7%)

TikTok’s significant 56.41% growth in conversion rates might be attributed to the introduction of TikTok Shop.

Meanwhile, Meta’s shop features on Facebook and Instagram could contribute to the platform’s steady conversion rate.

% of Total Purchases by Channel

Meta continues to dominate in terms of the sheer volume of purchases made through paid channels. Meanwhile, Google experienced a surprising decline of 27.4%, outpacing its modest decline in ad spend