The start of summer is the halfway point to the all-important holiday season — a natural time to lock in Q4 campaigns. Contrary to predictions of a spending slowdown last year, 2023 holiday sales increased nearly 4% YOY to $964.4 billion. These receipts beat pre-pandemic norms, and we anticipate 2024 will continue the trend.¹
For brands looking to break through this holiday season, Roku presents the following five takeaways on streamer and shopper behavior to help your team make the most of the Q4 shopping frenzy.
Our top 5 holiday recommendations for marketers
1. The holiday season starts before the first snowfall
Marketers looking to unwrap holiday success should know that streaming skyrockets during this time. On Roku, Q4 2023 streaming increased 21% year-over-year to 29 billion hours.² And the top 5 most-streamed weekends in 2023 all took place between mid-November and New Year’s.³
Consumers start longing for the coziness of winter before the trees have shed their leaves. According to McKinsey, the holiday shopping season is growing “increasingly long.” Last year, 50% of the season’s shopping started in October or earlier, and 40% began in November.⁴
By shopping early, customers can target savings — including big retail events that mark the start of buying season — like Amazon’s Big Deal Days sale in October and Walmart’s Holiday Kickoff Sale. Research firm Gartner predicts that by 2026, 30% of consumers will shop for winter holiday gifts year-round.⁵
On Roku, the holiday spirit tracks with these shopping trends. Searches for holiday classics spike as early as the first week of October, and in 2023, eight of the top 10 searches across Q4 were holiday titles.⁶ Whatever holiday favorites streamers are looking for, it’s all on Roku.
Did you know? Warmer southern states are the first to start searching for holiday movies far before their western, snowy counterparts. Mississippi and Louisiana tend to be among the first while Colorado and Utah are among the last.⁷
As shoppers and streamers get into the holiday spirit earlier each year, marketers can find success by reaching these consumers where they are — often gathered around connected TVs, shopping online for deals while rewatching holiday favorites.
Roku solutions
Go beyond the :30 second commercial. Stand out from the crowd by sponsoring a holiday Movie and Show Playlist on Roku. These themed collections of movies and shows increase message association and,⁸ when coupled with video ads, helped one brand drive $1.65 million in incremental sales during the holidays.⁹
Light up your brand in Roku City. Claiming a spot in Roku’s cityscape screensaver, seen by 40 million households every month,⁵ is a great way to capture the attention of holiday streamers. One brand’s holiday-themed activation in Roku City reached incremental audiences, 88% of which were exclusive from the brand’s linear TV campaign.¹⁰
2. Tap into Cyber Week
The five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday are some of the biggest shopping days of the holiday season. This “Cyber Week” accounts for nearly one-in-five dollars spent all season, with $38 billion in online sales last year.¹¹
On Roku, Thanksgiving weekend is the most-streamed weekend all year. While streamers are hunting for online deals, they are also relaxing on the couch and spending time with family. Black Friday 2023 saw 286 million streaming hours on Roku, representing an 18% increase over norms, and Cyber Monday was close behind.¹²
Did you know? The Sunday in-between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Roku’s most-streamed day of the year for the past three years. Despite often being neglected by brand’s media plans, this can be a key day for marketers to heavy-up!
Roku solutions
Marquee takeovers. With home screen ad formats such as Roku’s Marquee Ads, you can maximize your share of voice on Roku during this five-day window. The opportunity is huge when you consider that every day, Roku reaches US households with nearly 120 million people.
3. Give the gift of deals
Time and again, Roku customers identify convenience as a prime shopping motivator.¹³ Value is close behind, as shoppers increasingly take advantage of the ability to compare prices across retailers. Roku streamers tell us price comparison is the #1 reason they prefer to shop online.¹⁴ And holiday e-commerce continues to boom, with online holiday sales growing three-times faster than in-person transactions.¹⁵
On Roku, brands can marry savings and convenience. One in three Roku streamers are interested in ads that send special offers and promotions to their mobile device,¹⁶ and 60% say that they always look for discount codes before making a purchase online.¹⁷
Did you know? Consumers seek out holiday deals on streaming subscriptions too! During Cyber Week, the number of discounted subscriptions started via Roku Pay nearly tripled week-over-week.¹⁸
Roku solutions
Turn passive streamers into active shoppers. Action Ads on Roku can seamlessly turn a viewer’s streaming session into a shopping trip with Roku’s one-click “OK-to-Checkout” feature. Marketers can also shorten the path to purchase with Marquee Ads that promote deals, prompt research, and collect valuable insights on user engagement.
4. Mobile and streaming, hand–in-hand
While online shopping continues to grow, mobile commerce is on track to outpace both traditional online and physical retail in 2024. According to eMarketer, more than half of online holiday sales will be made on a mobile device this year.¹⁹
Last year, Walmart created a 23-part first of its kind shoppable series of commercials called Add to Heart. In addition to this series living on TikTok and YouTube, it also lived on Roku via a branded entertainment playlist and made it easy to shop over 300 products that can be used for holiday-gift giving.
On Roku, marketers can bring social-made videos to the home’s biggest screen to amplify distribution and maximize content spend.
Did you know? The average Roku user clicks their remote 222 times per day. That’s a lot of opportunity for brands to drive real-time engagement.²⁰
Roku solutions
Match the right content to the right customer. Branded entertainment playlists and shoppable custom vignettes can help resonate with younger shoppers. When a department store ran OK-to-text overlays over their custom vignette on Roku last year, 76% of viewers found it attention-grabbing. These shoppable ad units delivered a link to shop right to viewers mobile devices.
“Time and again, our brand partners find their customer on Roku by thinking outside of the media planning box. The average Roku user clicks their remote 222 times per day,²¹ making them the ideal audience for interactive, shoppable content,” said Sarah Monahan, head of verticals (Retail, Tech, Telco, Financial Services) at Roku.
5. The holidays don’t end on 12/25
Even after all the presents have been unwrapped, the shopping season rolls on. In fact, over two-thirds of consumers report planning to shop the week after Christmas.²²
These continuing shoppers might be looking to take advantage of ongoing sales and promotions, use gift cards they received on Christmas day, or return and exchange unwanted holiday gifts. All of these needs present opportunities for marketers.
Streaming continues to surge post-Christmas, with December 25th being the largest day for new Roku account creation all year.²³ And Roku accounts on average stream nearly 3 hours more content in the week after Christmas than the preceding week.¹⁷
Did you know? It’s the shortest stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The shortest interval being 27 days (this year) while the longest possible is 33. Good luck last-minute shoppers!
Roku solutions
Extend the holiday spirit to maximize additional sales. Keep advertising during Q5 (the period from December 26 through mid-January) to capture post-holiday shopping behaviors. For example, sponsoring a New Year, New You-themed playlist or experience on Roku can capture attention and keep your brand top of mind as viewers close out the holiday season.
Ready to put these holiday insights into action?
Unwrap success this holiday season by prioritizing value and convenience, tapping into viewers’ holiday streaming favorites, and catering to new e-commerce preferences.
“Roku champions creativity as the key to effective advertising. With super-sized reach, especially during the holidays, the opportunities are endless,” said Rachel Helfman, director, ad marketing and creative solutions at Roku. “Every year, more brands turn to streaming TV to break through and reach their audience during the holiday season.”
Contact a Roku representative today to begin planning your customized holiday campaign.
¹ National Retail Federation, Jan 2024
² Roku Shareholder Letter, Q4 2023
³ Roku Internal Data, 2023; Based on hours streamed
⁶ Roku Internal Data, 2023
⁷ Roku Internal Data, Q4 2023
⁸ Kantar Millward Brown Brand Lift Results, based on one brand's Q4 Movie & Show Playlist
⁹ InMarket Location Attribution Study; Campaign Date: October – December 2023
¹⁰ Roku Internal Data, Campaign Date December 2023;Among Roku TV households, Roku ACR data
¹² Roku Internal Data, 2023
¹³ Lucid “Examining the Roku Shopper” Retail Study, 2023
¹⁴ Lucid Retail Thought Leadership Study, 2023
¹⁵ eMarketer YoY eCommerce vs. Physical Retail Holiday Sales Growth, 2023
¹⁶ Lucid Retail Thought Leadership Study, 2023.
¹⁷ Simmons, 2023
¹⁸ Roku Internal Data, Q4 2023
¹⁹ eMarketer, 2023
²⁰ Roku Internal Data, 2024; remote clicks per device, 4/1/23 - 3/31/24
²¹ Roku Internal Data, 2024; remote clicks per device, 4/1/23 - 3/31/24
²² National Retail Federation, 2023
²³ Roku Internal Data, 2023
