The Incredibly High Stakes Of Black Friday | AdExchanger

"Between rising costs for consumer goods, skittish consumers and an obliviously soaring stock market, the economy continues to be strange. Analysts had muted sales expectations, but people were spending. Black Friday sales were up 6% globally and 3% in the US, according to Salesforce data. And the whole of Cyber Weekend and Cyber Monday showed a 7% increase, according to the same context."

"But there is some missing context here. Prices overall are up around 7% - which means people are buying the same amount of stuff, only it's costing more. And we are also in a K-shaped economy, where the top 10% most affluent consumers account for half of all spending in the US. Meanwhile, lower-income people in the US are struggling, facing the loss of SNAP benefits and rising consumer prices."

"For the people with their joysticks on advertising platforms, Black Friday Cyber Monday means the arrival of Glitchmas. Our senior editor James Hercher spoke to the disenchanted ad buyers who manage spend on these platforms and see Meta as their villain, with its perfunctory, AI customer support and lack of transparency. A little pop-up window letting you know of a reporting delay? Pfft. That's for the challenger platforms. Hercher explains what can go wrong when the stakes are high."

Black Friday and Cyber Monday have merged into BFCM, creating four days of concentrated shopping and advertising activity. Global Black Friday sales rose 6% and US sales rose 3% per Salesforce, with Cyber Weekend and Cyber Monday up 7%. Overall consumer prices are about 7% higher, implying similar purchase volumes bought at higher costs. The economy shows a K-shaped pattern; the top 10% account for half of US spending while lower-income Americans face SNAP benefit cuts and rising prices. Brands increasingly depend on a smaller affluent audience for sales. Ad buyers report platform glitches, opaque support from Meta, and escalating B2B scam sophistication.

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