Overview

During the 2021 Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend, the doll category on Amazon experienced a pronounced surge in advertising activity. Pay‑per‑click (PPC) metrics recorded sharp increases in impressions, clicks, and spend, while conversion rates showed noticeable volatility. Sellers who understand these fluctuations can adjust their campaigns for the remainder of the holiday season and for future high‑traffic events.

Key Points

• Impression Spike — Total ad impressions for doll listings surged, with the most active hour occurring on Black Friday afternoon when shoppers rapidly scrolled through thousands of products.
• CTR Jump — The average click‑through rate climbed from the usual 0.5 % baseline to nearly 0.8 % during the peak BFCM window, signaling heightened interest in advertised doll offers.
• CPC Rise — Competitive bidding pushed cost‑per‑click up by roughly 20 % for high‑ranking keywords compared with pre‑holiday averages.
• Conversion Fluctuation — Although overall sales volume increased, the conversion rate dipped slightly as many buyers added items to carts but postponed checkout until after the weekend.
• Budget Exhaustion — Campaigns with daily budgets set too low ran out of funds within the first few hours of Black Friday, missing out on later‑day traffic peaks.
• Keyword Shift — Long‑tail terms such as “holiday doll gifts” outperformed broad keywords like “dolls,” highlighting the advantage of seasonal relevance.

How PPC Dynamics Shifted Over BFCM

1. Budget Expansion — Sellers that lifted daily budgets by at least 30 % captured the early‑morning traffic surge; for example, a vendor raising the budget from $50 to $65 saw a 45 % increase in impressions between 6 am and 9 am on Black Friday.
2. Seasonal Bid Boost — Increasing bids on holiday‑specific phrases (e.g., “Christmas doll set”) moved ads into higher positions; a brand that doubled its bid on that keyword jumped from position 5 to position 2 and added roughly 150 extra clicks over the weekend.