Twilio’s Record Breaking Cyber Week 2024

Twilio’s Record Breaking Cyber Week 2024

This year, our customers shattered records by sending over 5.2 billion messages and processing over 65.5 billion emails—enough to fill every person on Earth’s inbox multiple times. This level of engagement is a testament to how far digital communication has come—and how much potential there is for brands to reach consumers when it matters most.

On Black Friday 2024, Twilio SendGrid processed a record-breaking 12 billion emails, marking 13.5% year-over-year growth. Even more impressively, SendGrid processed a further 11.7 billion emails on Cyber Monday—an increase of 14.2% compared to the same period last year.

Our customers also sent 1 billion messages on Black Friday and 1.1 billion messages on Cyber Monday. Overall, we saw a 29.8% increase in the number of messages sent during Cyber Week YoY. And, it doesn’t stop there; Twilio Voice saw a total of 146.2 million calls on Cyber Monday– a 20% increase YoY, while Twilio Segment processed 264.8 billion events between November 27th and December 3rd.

Quarters of planning alongside our customers ensured all of those communications reached consumers with zero Twilio outages. As a platform for builders, Twilio’s deep partnerships across carriers and ISPs, scalable infrastructure, and routing and optimization features enable us to power your most critical communications year round.These numbers aren’t just milestones. The data tells an exciting story: whether over email, messages, or voice calls, customers now expect seamless experiences across every channel they use—and businesses are delivering. By being present, responsive, and connected, businesses are building stronger relationships and setting a new standard for customer engagement.

Cyber Week: an opportunity to nurture customer relationships

Beyond the sheer scale of messaging during Cyber Week, what’s clear is how businesses have evolved from sending transactional messages to building deeper, more meaningful connections with customers. As Cyber Week 2024 concludes, businesses have a unique opportunity to harness valuable consumer data at a time when engagement is at its peak.

Cyber Week is not just about driving sales; it's an opportunity to nurture relationships and learn about consumer preferences that last well beyond the holiday season. During Twilio’s recent webinar, 2024 Cyber Week Preparation, Kiersti Esparza from Klaviyo pointed out, “nearly 47% of Cyber Week purchases come from repeat customers. This highlights the incredible opportunity to use digital channels not just for immediate sales but to foster lasting customer loyalty."

Top trends from Cyber Week 2024

Personalization is here to stay

Companies with faster growth rates derive 40 percent more of their revenue from personalization. As Twilio’s Consumer Preferences Survey revealed, 91% of consumers expect brands to communicate through their preferred channel—email, SMS, or voice. Brands that meet consumers where they are and communicate in a way that feels human and personal have a distinct advantage. By leveraging the right tools, brands can scale personalized experiences without losing the human touch. Twilio’s Engagement Suite streamlines complex campaigns, making them easier to manage and track, while still providing valuable insights into consumer behavior. Additionally, Generative AI-powered tools, such as Twilio’s Agent Copilot, equip agents to provide personalized, data-informed experiences that extend far beyond the holiday season.

In an increasingly crowded digital marketplace, standing out can be challenging. While traditional email campaigns or SMS messages can be effective, 2024 marks the first year that brands can fully leverage RCS (Rich Communication Services). RCS enables interactive, branded messages with features like carousels, buttons, and rich media. By using RCS, businesses can enhance their customer communications beyond the typical email or SMS, improving the customer experience during the holiday rush and well beyond.

Kiersti Esparza adds:

As we reflect on market trends from last year to this year, one thing is clear: consumers are no longer just looking for products—they’re seeking meaningful, personalized experiences on their preferred channel.

Businesses and consumers are embracing richer ways to engage consumers. In 2024, WhatsApp growth was higher than average at 35% YoY, and MMS saw a 14.7% increase in messages. Cyber Week is no longer just a U.S. or North American event. It's expanded beyond into Europe and Asia, where companies are ramping up offers and their target audiences in regions that are more WhatsApp dominant.

According to Twilio's Consumer Preferences Survey, WhatsApp is a preferred channel in Brazil, Mexico, and parts of Europe. Its wide accessibility across different regions and demographics continues to fuel growth while the accessibility of MMS can be limited compared to WhatsApp. The busiest time for email engagement (opens) was on Cyber Monday, specifically from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EST. Similarly, the peak hour for messaging saw 3.5 million outbound messages on Cyber Monday from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EST and peaked at 68,316 messages per second. While retailers may begin promoting discounts earlier, consumers are engaging on Monday. Channels should be strategically timed and personalized during this time for maximum impact.

Data is driving engagement

Delivering that personalization at scale requires contextual data. Meeting customers on their preferred channel—whether that’s SMS, email, or voice—can elevate the customer experience. But it’s not just about the channel; it’s about tailoring the message to feel human. Brands need to bridge the gap between generic, one-size-fits-all messages and personalized, meaningful interactions that resonate with customers. Twilio Segment allows customers to leverage a powerful CDP to build in-depth profiles about their customers so they can better understand their needs, wants, and interests and share more relevant content with them.

From November 27th to December 3rd, Twilio Segment delivered 254.2 billion rows to our customers' data warehouses, highlighting the scale at which Twilio Segment is processing and managing data for customers. This ensures that large amounts of cleaned and organized data are available in data warehouses for analysis and decision making.

Investment in fraud reduction is growing

While we tend to focus on marketing, sales, and support interactions during Cyber Week, it’s also more critical than ever to keep consumers safe. Bad actors are becoming more sophisticated, making it nearly impossible for companies to respond quickly enough to protect against evolving threats. With scale comes its own set of challenges, and the breadth of traffic that Twilio manages globally across various industries provides a unique vantage point to identify and mitigate risks.

Twilio takes on the heavy lifting, especially during peak periods like Cyber Week, by proactively identifying fraudulent artificially inflated traffic and spam trends. For instance, Twilio sent an estimated 1.73 billion SMS authentications during Cyber Week, with one global shopping platform experiencing a 137% MoM increase from October to November by sending over 25.2 million SMS authentications using Twilio Verify . Additionally, Verify Fraud Guard blocked over 6.04 million SMS pumping fraud attempts across 51 countries during Cyber Week.

Compliance can’t be overlooked

As businesses prepared for the surge in traffic and sales during Cyber Week, ensuring compliance with evolving regulations was critical to maintaining trust, delivering targeted messages, and avoiding costly disruptions. According to Twilio’s Global Regulatory & Compliance Guide for Marketers, giving your subscribers a clear opt-out option with every message, or even a double opt-in process allows users to provide their information before confirming their subscription.

Google and Yahoo rolled out new requirements last year for bulk email senders. Amongst the changes they required was the need to publish a DMARC record. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were considered best practices up to this time, but with this announcement providers have pivoted to make them enforceable requirements.

The bottom line: Intentional engagement equals growth

Digital growth isn't just about selling—it’s about creating genuine, intentional engagement. Brands that connect with customers across their preferred channels and leverage data effectively will not only thrive during Cyber Week, but build lasting loyalty.

So, to all of you who burned the midnight oil to make this Cyber Week a success, we hope you take some time to relax and enjoy the holiday season. And when it comes time to start planning for Cyber Week 2025, know that whether it’s Cyber Monday or just another Monday, you can engage your customers confidently, knowing Twilio is built on scale and trust.