Introduction Regardless of industry or niche, calendar holidays and seasonal sales events are crucial annual milestones for every ecommerce brand, agency, and retailer. During theseperiods, shoppers flock to online and brick-and-mortar stores to shop for gifts, bargains, or both. And with Amazon ranking as the number one online shopping destinationformore than 50%of consumers, many of them head there to start their seasonal shopping quests. As consumer demand rises during these events, so does competition, ad spend, and – with the right strategy – returns on that spend. This report offers a detailed analysis ofAmazon PPC advertising campaign data that highlights the extent to which these events drive spend and sales, as well as tips for making the most of seasonal advertisingon Amazon. Key Takeaways RoAS is at its highest during sales events. Seasonal sales events – like Prime Day, Black Friday, andCyber Monday – drive higher returns on advertising spendthan actual holidays like Valentine’s Day, Halloween, orChristmas. Across eight major sales events and holidays in2023, advertising for sales events produced as much as 39%higher returns than holiday campaigns. Table of Contents CHAPTER 14Seasonal Amazon Advertising Trends: Q1 - Q3 Sponsored Display ads produce the highestPPC returns. 6CHAPTER 2Q4: The Year’s Busiest Shopping Season Sponsored Display ads consistently produced higher returnson ad spend than both Sponsored Brands and SponsoredProducts in 2023. In some cases, RoAS for Sponsored Displayoutpaced other ad types by more than 150%. 9CHAPTER 3Holiday Readiness Guide More than one-third of annual ad spend onAmazon happens in Q4. 13CHAPTER 4About the Report In 2023, 35% of all advertising spend occurred during the end-of-year holiday season, with average spend per campaignincreasing every weekend in December and reaching its peakon Super Saturday (Dec. 17). CHAPTER 1 Seasonal Amazon Advertising Trends: Q1 - Q3 While the Q4 rush may be the first to mind when considering seasonal shopping events on Amazon, holidays and sales throughout the remainder ofthe year also have a tremendous impact on advertising trends. Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day all fuel increased ad spend in the first half of the year, followed quickly by one of the world’s mostinfluential ecommerce sales: Amazon Prime Day. In 2023, Amazon Prime Day claimed the largest portion of ad spend across these four major events(nearly 50%). Though all of these events drive sales, there are notabledifferences in the advertising patterns that surroundthem. Gifting holidays – like Valentine’s Day, Mother’sDay, and Father’s Day – saw spend per campaign hit its2023 peak one week before the holiday, while Prime Dayspend hit its ceiling on the first day of the sale itself. Percentages represent advertising spend for the seven-day period leading up toand including each respective holiday as its portion of the the total combinedspend across all four holidays in 2023. RoAS represents the average across the sameseven-day period. SALE SPOTLIGHT Amazon Prime Day 2024 A breakdown of the 10 days surrounding Prime Day 2024 shows that ad spend jumpedmore than 250% in a single day between July 15th and July 16th (the first day of the sale). Average Return on Ad Spend (RoAS)Prime Day, by Campaign Type INSIGHTS: ٚDuring the 10-day period surrounding Prime Day 2024, RoAS was at its highest ($6.67) on July 10,six days before the event. ٚFrom the first day of the Prime Day sale (July 16) to the second day (July 17), average RoAS acrossall campaign types dropped by 26%. Sponsored Display ads experienced the largest drop inreturns (-44%), followed by Sponsored Brands (-15%) then Sponsored Products (-8%). INSIGHTS: ٚDuring Prime Day 2024, total ad spend across allPPC ad types increased 279% compared to theprevious two days. ٚAd spend for Sponsored Brands ads experiencedthe highest increase (302%), followed bySponsored Display (280%) and SponsoredProducts (274%). Q4: The Year’s BusiestShopping Season Seasonal advertising spend* and average RoASQ4 2023 In 2023, almost one-third of Amazon’s total annual sales occurred inQ4*. And according to Jungle Scout Cobalt data, more than one-third of Amazon ad spend happened in Q4. Advertisers spent more during major sales events like Black Friday andCyber Monday than during holidays themselves. Across four of the biggestseasonal shopping days of the quarter, Black Friday and Cyber Mondayclaimed approximately 65% of advertising spend. *Source:Amazon 2023 earnings reports SALE SPOTLIGHT Black Friday & Cyber Monday In the week leading up to Black Friday 2023, advertising spend per campaign increased by 151%. Inthe period leading up to and encompassing the Black Friday - Cyber Monday weekend, the largestdaily jump in ad spend (85%) occured between November 23rd and November 24th (Black Friday) Average Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Black Friday - Cyber Monday WeekendBy campaign type INSIGH