Advertisers paid more for clicks and impressions in Q2 2024, but Skai's Quarterly Trends Report predicts price moderation in the latter half of the year

Skai, the leading omnichannel advertising platform specializing in walled garden media, has published its Q2 2024 Digital Marketing Quarterly Trends Report. This in-depth analysis highlights the digital marketing trends that defined the second quarter of 2024, along with an interactive infographic detailing key insights. The report shows positive topline growth numbers in retail media, paid search, and paid social, maintaining similar levels to those reported by Skai last quarter.

• Spending Trends:

  • Overall investment levels in retail media, paid search, and paid social continued to grow.
  • Year-over-year (YoY) and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) spending increased across all channels.
  • Most Skai accounts increased spending by at least 5% over Q2 of the previous year.

• Price and Volume Trends:

  • Retail media and paid search CPC increased YoY for four consecutive quarters.
  • Paid social CPM increased YoY for the last two quarters.
  • Click and impression growth slowed as prices rose, indicating a potential shift in ad buying behavior.

• Retail Media Performance:

  • Conversion rate in retail media grew 12% YoY, matching the CPC increase.
  • Total conversion volume grew 18%, slightly below the spending increase.
  • This suggests that higher purchase intent and fewer clicks to convert are driving price inflation without sacrificing ROAS.

Growth Drivers in Search and Social

• Commerce Media:
  • Sequential growth for product ad and campaign types outpaced overall channel growth.
  • New formats like Performance Max (search) and Advantage Shopping Campaigns+ (social) gained traction.
  • Performance Max was adopted by half of Skai search accounts, while ASC+ was used by one-third.

Expert Insight

Chris Costello, Senior Director of Marketing Research at Skai, commented on the current trends:

"We've heard reports of advertisers concerned about higher prices, and they're clearly experiencing some pain as CPC and CPM are up across the board. Our long-term data analysis suggests these price increases are cyclical. With year-over-year increases slowing from Q1 to Q2, we may be nearing the end of this cycle. Marketers adapt their strategy in times of high prices with tools like dayparting, audience targeting, and budget caps until the trend reverses. Other factors, such as changes in ad load that artificially moves inventory, or macroeconomic conditions, may also influence these cycles."

The Q2 2024 Digital Marketing Quarterly Trends Report by Skai provides valuable insights into the current state of digital marketing. With positive growth in retail media, paid search, and paid social, marketers can continue to leverage these channels while adapting to cyclical price trends and evolving ad formats.