Real-Time Pricing: Savings or Shopper Frustration? 

Happy Holidays and welcome to Katalys Connect – your weekly shortcut to the latest in performance marketing.

[Read time: 4 minutes]

What’s in this issue? Each week we pack the latest trends, actionable insights, and industry breakthroughs into a quick read – ensuring you’re not just keeping up, you’re staying ahead.


• Monetization: Explore Wirecutter’s new local shopping tools, Meta’s enhanced affiliate features, and how publishers are reclaiming ad-blocked audiences.
  
• Growth: Discover how Cyber Week trends, Reddit’s unique ad opportunities, and healthcare’s retail media model are reshaping the advertising playbook.
  
• The Future of Commerce: Unpack TikTok’s legal battle updates, the rise of AI-driven dynamic pricing, and how influencer gifting is shifting from a perk to a performance-driven strategy.

💡 Katalys Insights

Unlock the Power of Listicles • Struggling to create engaging content? Listicles are a simple tool you can leverage to elevate your content strategy.

• This popular format grabs attention, makes information more digestible, and encourages shares and comments from your audience. It’s a win-win for creators and readers alike.

• Ready to take your content to the next level? Read our blog post for expert tips on crafting listicles that inform, inspire, and drive results.

Read the Blog

💸 Monetization

Wirecutter’s Local Shopping Push • Wirecutter partners with Google Shopping to help last-minute holiday shoppers find local gifts, prioritizing service over affiliate revenue.

• Wirecutter’s “Shop Nearby” buttons, featured on 150 curated products, guide readers to local stores through Google Shopping, helping last-minute shoppers bypass holiday delivery delays.

• This collaboration prioritizes user convenience over revenue by enabling in-person purchases without affiliate commissions. Despite the lack of direct earnings, Wirecutter captures valuable user behavior data, while Google strengthens its positioning as the go-to shopping platform.

Meta Boosts Affiliate Links • Previously limited to URLs in captions, Meta affiliate links now feature prominently in Reels, text posts, and comments, increasing clickability and exposure for promotions.

• New auto-detection for affiliate links pre-fills product details and reminds creators to use “paid partnership” labels, reducing friction and encouraging broader participation.

• These updates are now available worldwide for Pages and Professional Profiles, providing creators and brands a timely chance to drive affiliate sales during the last stretch of the holiday season.

The Ad-Blocking Problem • Ad-blockers are hiding up to 30% of publisher traffic, creating significant unmonetized audiences and revealing gaps in analytics and revenue.

• With ads frequently described as “excessive,” “intrusive,” and “distracting,” users are adopting ad-blockers for a more controlled browsing experience – with up to 21% of global internet users regularly using ad-blockers.

• Brutal ad-blockers not only block ads but also disable analytics tools like Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics, leaving publishers blind to millions of pageviews. Publishers are now turning to new solutions to reclaim ad-blocked traffic and enable ads even for users with ad-blockers.

📈 Growth

Cyber Week Analyzed • Pre-planning, wish lists, and research-first habits dominated Cyber Week 2024, requiring brands to adapt partnership strategies for a smarter, more strategic shopping landscape.

• 92% of shoppers researched purchases before the holidays; wish lists tracked price drops for 44%. Conversion rates rose 23% despite clicks dropping 14%.

• Black Friday outpaced Cyber Monday with 16% more transactions, while category-specific patterns, like Cyber Monday’s surge in Computers & Electronics, highlighted the need for targeted timing.

Winning Reddit Strategy • Authentic engagement on Reddit offers brands a creative edge in today’s advertising landscape.

• Reddit users actively seek product recommendations, with 85% relying on the platform for purchase decisions, providing brands a unique opportunity to connect authentically.

• Success requires tailoring campaigns to Reddit’s voice and ethos, but the platform’s lower costs and account management support make it a compelling option for resourceful teams.

Healthcare’s New Ad Frontier • Health systems are adopting retail media strategies to connect trusted health content with targeted advertising opportunities.

• Major providers like Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic now offer ad placements alongside patient-focused content. This positions health systems as both educators and advertisers, while providing a unique advertising opportunity for health and wellness brands.

• A $10 billion health system could see up to $65M in annual ad revenue within five years, per McKinsey, as patients trust provider content more than traditional ad channels like social media.

🚀 Future of Commerce

TikTok Ban Appeal Begins • The US Supreme Court will hear ByteDance’s appeal of a law that could ban TikTok, with oral arguments set for January 10.

• ByteDance argues the law violates free speech rights, a stance supported by the ACLU. Lower courts upheld the legislation, adding weight to concerns over privacy and state influence.

• The Supreme Court did not provisionally block the law upon accepting the case. With the law set to take effect on January 19, the case could reshape the future of TikTok in the US, affecting its millions of users and advertisers.
  

AI Drives Real-Time Pricing • Dynamic pricing has been reshaping e-commerce, enabling businesses to adapt fast while challenging consumers to keep up

• Platforms like Amazon (12.6 daily price changes), Wayfair (3.6 daily price changes), and Best Buy (2.6 daily price changes) use dynamic pricing to align with inventory levels, promotions, and demand forecasts, ensuring competitive positioning.

• Frequent price fluctuations, driven by AI algorithms, make it harder for shoppers to track deals, creating both opportunities for savings and frustration as prices change rapidly.
  

Influencer Gifting’s Comeback • Gifting has evolved from a “nice-to-have” to a vital strategy for brands, fueling authentic connections with audiences while upgraded tracking abilities allow brands to track ROI.

• Brands have seen gifting directly impact sales, with influencers creating organic, highly engaging content that resonates with followers, sometimes surpassing paid advertising results. Affiliate programs further incentivize influencers to create content that drives sales.

• Platforms like ShopMy and LTK now offer tools to track gifting effectiveness, helping brands identify key partners and optimize campaigns for better ROI in this growing marketing trend.