Black Friday’s battle of the ad platforms

This Black Week has seen a surge in UK ad spend in the run up to Black Friday. As platforms battle it out to take their share of spend, we take a look at which were the winners, and how UK businesses are scaling their spend.

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Ecommerce ad spend is surging

From October to November 2023, overall ad spend increased by 29.4% as businesses ramp up. Ad spend has increased across November, with ecommerce businesses across the UK investing 43.7% more on advertising compared to the same time last year, as they aim to capitalise on the high demand retail season.

When businesses are investing their budget is changing too. This year saw the highest ad spend on the 22nd and 23rd November, during the Black Friday period just ahead of the day itself. By contrast, in 2022 the ad spend peaks were a week earlier, in the days prior to Black Friday week.

“Black Friday remains a critical opportunity for sales and business growth for ecommerce businesses, and spending patterns reflect this sentiment. Results and ROI around this period will be a real indicator of how well ecommerce businesses have prepared by investing in stock, tools and marketing," says Samir El-Sabini, our CEO and Co-Founder.

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Battle of the ad platforms

Meta has come out on top in the battle for Black Friday ad spend, with a 65% share of budgets in November, rising from 45% in November last year.

In comparison, Google’s share of ad spend reduced significantly in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, going from 29.7% in October to 22% in November. This also shows a year-on-year decrease in performance, when last November Google had a 26% of ad budgets.

Amazon made a surprise appearance as the third preferred platform in our Q3 Spend Report. Continuing their popularity, Amazon is increasing their share of ad budgets each month with a drastic increase year-on-year. Its share has increased from 2% in November 2022 to 10.6% in the same period this year. We’ve also seen dramatic growth of 233% in the number of our customers spending on this platform.

ChatGPT is continuing its popularity. The number of businesses with a ChatGPT subscription is soaring in the UK, with 10.6% of ecommerce businesses paying for a subscription to the service in November 2023.

“In the ever-changing landscape of ecommerce, Meta remains the constant. It has dominated ad spend for the past year, and with a 20% increase in wallet share this year it has won the Black Friday ad spend battle,” says Samir.

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Scale your spend with Juni

Successfully managing your cash flow is a challenge when you factor in seasonality, but having the right tools and spend insights can help you to control your cash flow, as well as make smarter decisions this Black Friday and beyond.

Juni can give you a unified view of your funds, multi-currency business accounts, corporate cards and unparalleled insights and analytics – all in one place. If you need an extra boost to your bottom line, our fast, flexible financing for everything from media buying to paying suppliers can help you extend your runway. See availability for your country.

By centralising your spend management, you can save valuable time and have the information you need to manage your cash flow at your fingertips.