Temu, Shein, and TikTok Shop are winning this holiday season: Sales growth for all three outpaced larger players like Amazon and Target in November.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how folks viewed big ticket items over the Thanksgiving holiday shopping period, how in-store foot traffic shook out, and the impact of buy now, pay later (BNPL). Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff.

TikTok offers users Shop credits in last-ditch attempt to boost sales, downloads before US ban: The platform is dangling hundreds of dollars in incentives to increase engagement.

Consumers spent a record-breaking $314.9 billion online globally during this year’s Cyber Five, according to Salesforce. But there’s lots more to learn beyond top-line sales numbers—from Target's Taylor Swift-fueled Black Friday surge to Gen Z's big spending habits. Here are five key stats on Cyber Five performance you may have missed and what they mean for the rest of the holiday season.

But fraud still remained rampant across the holiday weekend, showing payment providers have more work to do to step up their protections

But the payment method’s volume grew slower than overall retail sales, suggesting providers need to do more to amp up growth

The company used its two-sided network to capitalize on the holiday weekend

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.

The buy button has been on a growth tear since Shopify opened it up to enterprise customers outside of its ecosystem

Amazon, Target, and malls were among this year’s Cyber Five winners: Roughly 197 million people shopped this year’s sales, leading to a surge in online and in-store spending.

Amazon’s shoppable video ads faced first big test: Marketers watched their performance over the holiday weekend to mull bigger commitments.

Cyber Monday will generate $13.93 billion in US ecommerce sales this year, the highest of any Cyber Five day, according to a July 2024 EMARKETER forecast.

Temu and Shein’s ad bidding war drove spending away from search: CPCs spiked after the two retailers claimed in-demand search ad space.

Although the Cyber Five will hit record ecommerce sales in the US this year at $41.43 billion, the retail event’s share of total retail ecommerce holiday season sales will continue to shrink, per our July 2024 forecast.

Chile is the fourth-largest retail ecommerce market by total sales and will be the No. 4 fastest-growing digital economy in Latin America. Understanding Chile’s 11.0 million digital buyers is essential for brands and retailers looking to capitalize on this resurging ecommerce market.​

Asia-Pacific’s many holiday and seasonal shopping events are hugely popular for finding deals. Traditionally Western and China-originated events are also gaining ground in the region as the consumption culture expands.

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.

For Walmart, Black Friday officially starts on November 11: The retailer will offer savings throughout the month, with exclusive deals and early sales access for online shoppers and Walmart+ members.

Amid shifting consumer priorities, competitive promotional activity, and an unusual calendar, brands and retailers must fine-tune their holiday 2024 marketing strategies to maximize sales during this critical period.

Consumers are turning to their TVs for holiday inspiration: 43% of connected TV (CTV) users say TV ads offer useful information on holiday shopping, and 72% would scan a QR code in a TV ad to make a purchase, according to a report from LG Ad Solutions.