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NBCU and Macy鈥檚 deal highlights live events as crucial opportunities: Advertisers reach massive audiences through events like the Macy鈥檚 Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Half (49%) of people in the US are traveling between Thanksgiving and mid-January, according to Deloitte. With so many people getting on planes, trains, and automobiles, advertisers have increased opportunities to reach consumers across travel media networks, especially those who are younger and higher-income.

Steep discounts drove shoppers to spend on Cyber Monday: The Monday after Thanksgiving is poised to be the biggest online shopping day in US history.

NBCU will have to pay extra to keep the Macy鈥檚 parade: The retailer wants $60 million for a new Thanksgiving Day broadcast contract.

NFL Thanksgiving ad rates rise 16%: Historic demand makes football the centerpiece of holiday advertising, with record viewership expected.

Steep discounts drove shoppers to splurge on Black Friday: Consumers scooped up bargains across several categories, helping online sales jump 14.6% YoY the day after Thanksgiving.

Amazon, Best Buy, and Google will launch sales on November 21: The shorter-than-usual period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is driving retailers and brands to start their holiday pushes early.

Grocery prices remain front of mind for many consumers: That presents an opportunity for value-oriented merchants such as Aldi, Target, and Walmart to steal share by offering low prices for Thanksgiving staples.

鈥淭he holiday season really starts October 1,鈥� Megan Gaffey, senior director of publisher partnerships at Rakuten Advertising, said on our Tech-Talk webinar Performance Marketing Playbook for Q4 Holiday Success. 鈥淎nd you see a lot of advertisers launch Black Friday promotions the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to get ahead of the noise.鈥�

A truncated holiday spending period with fewer days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the election will throw a curveball to retail sales this season, our analyst Sky Canaves said on an episode of the 鈥淏ehind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail鈥� podcast. In-store retail will see healthy growth, consumers will continue holding back on splurges, and mobile will uplift overall ecommerce. Here are three trends we鈥檙e predicting for the upcoming holiday season.

Tinder鈥檚 lens allows users to create personalized selfies with the caption 鈥淢y 2025 Dating Vibe,鈥� and Uber piloted the feature for a Thanksgiving-themed AI lens. Our take: Brands can use generative AI (genAI) to create tailored ad experiences that resonate more with individual preferences.

While advertising during major sporting events like the Super Bowl or Thanksgiving NFL games offers access to the largest audiences, there鈥檚 value in any live sporting event. Sports create natural ad opportunities during timeouts and stoppages, and advertising during these events is especially promising, as younger viewers show a high acceptance of live TV ads.

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Fourth of July, there are brands and categories within the consumer packaged goods (CPG) category that are relevant to each of those holidays,鈥� said Galvin. Brands can benefit even when their product isn鈥檛 typically in season.

The fall Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day), Christmas, and Singles Day, which is growing in South Korea as Chinese ecommerce platforms gain popularity, are also significant shopping events. Though online shopping has grown at a much faster rate than total retail, the brick-and-mortar store remains an integral part of holiday shopping.

Macy鈥檚 reportedly tripled its asking price for broadcast rights to the Thanksgiving Day Parade and Fourth of July fireworks. Our take: The Grammys鈥� viewership slippage could spell bad news for the upcoming Academy Awards on March 2, but those events still attract higher viewership than many other TV broadcasts, making them coveted inventory for advertisers and streaming services.

A later Thanksgiving leaves fewer shopping days before Christmas. The fourth Thursday of November falls on the latest possible date in 2024, November 28, meaning a shorter window for shopping鈥攁nd marketing鈥攂etween Cyber Monday and Christmas. Optimized planning for inventory and fulfillment will be critical.

27% of UK and US adults plan to start buying holiday gifts as early as October, according to an April 2024 survey from Salsify.

Yeah, and you were telling me that the Thanksgiving Day parade eclipses all these guys, all of these award shows in viewership. Daniel Konstantinovic (21:25):. Yeah, that is a very interesting one. I don't have the numbers handy, but the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade just renewed its contract with NBCUniversal. Marcus Johnson (21:35):.

Providers like Adyen have been investing heavily in the technology to capitalize on these benefits and fight back against rampant fraud. 4.2% of all attempted US ecommerce transactions were suspected to have been fraud between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, per TransUnion.

Which I think is a reflection of the very short window between Thanksgiving and Christmas, because as soon as Thanksgiving was over, it was basically December. People were like, "Uh-oh, I've got to buy stuff now to ensure that it gets to my door so I can get it on Christmas or Hanukkah.". Sara Lebow (02:30):. Yeah. You didn't have that extra week of padding. Zak Stambor (02:33):. No, right.

It鈥檚 official. The Cyber Five (the five-day period between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday) have not lost their touch. Let鈥檚 dig into the data as retailers take a deep breath and ready themselves for what鈥檚 shaping up to be a pretty busy holiday season.