Black Friday ad spend breakdown: Applovin outperforming Meta, TikTok shop underwhelming, and the return of high-intent shopping
Nov 28, 2025
Key Points
- AppLovin is outperforming Meta on Black Friday despite receiving a fraction of spend, with one manager allocating $30,000 to AppLovin versus $220,000 to Meta.
- Ad spend efficiency surged as Black Friday's high-intent shoppers gravitated toward brands they'd seen all year, allowing one agency to cut spend 48% while declining revenue only 6%.
- TikTok Shop remains negligible for merchants, with one brand reporting $711 in sales despite industry claims of rapid scaling.
Summary
Black Friday is tracking in line with historical patterns, but ad spend efficiency is fracturing across platforms. Meta is underperforming while AppLovin is outrunning expectations, and TikTok Shop remains a negligible revenue driver.
Zach Stuck, who manages multiple brands, allocated $300,000 across platforms on Black Friday: $220,000 to Meta, $30,000 to AppLovin, $25,000 to Google, $20,000 to YouTube, and smaller buckets elsewhere. AppLovin is receiving more spend than Google or YouTube combined.
David Herman, an ad agency operator, cut Black Friday ad spend by 48% year-over-year for one client while only seeing a 6% revenue decline. Black Friday operates differently from a typical Tuesday. Consumers arrive with predetermined needs and gravitate toward brands they've seen messaging from all year—a Super Bowl ad, summer campaigns, in-store visits. They work backward from intent, not forward from impulse.
That shift is reshaping where dollars flow. AppLovin's ad pacing has been strong, tracking spend changes seamlessly. Meta is struggling. Despite increasing budget four times over, actual spend is down 30 to 70% day-over-day, suggesting Meta's auction dynamics are either saturated or consumers are not responsive at that price point.
One advertiser reported spending 70% of their Black Friday budget by 9AM Eastern, illustrating how unpredictable pacing becomes when intent is concentrated.
TikTok Shop remains marginal. Sean Frank, running a brand, logged a "7 figure day" after making $711 on TikTok Shop. The gap between reported momentum and actual merchant payouts suggests either the platform is pulling back or early adopters were an outlier.
Black Friday's high-intent nature rewards platforms and messaging that capitalize on awareness and prior engagement, not algorithmic reach. Meta's mass-market playbook is less effective when shoppers know what they want. AppLovin's programmatic efficiency—and its invisibility as a brand—gives it an edge that Wall Street valuation has not yet fully priced in. AppLovin trades at a 101-103 PE multiple.