ECOMMERCE NEWS IN NUMBERS

AI could reduce Black Friday “content chaos” as marketers work 11 extra hours this weekend

Black Friday requires more marketing materials than other annual holidays and AI could help save 10 hours in creating seasonal assets.

Retailers face exodus of marketers as economic pressure continues

Redundancies, budget constraints, unsold stock and skills shortages, where do all these dilemmas leave the retail industry?

Black Friday: sales expected to increase 7.5% with Amazon’s foothold on the younger market loosening

Christmas present purchases are expected to dominate 54% of spend this Black Friday period despite consumers’ faith in the efficacy of the shopping event floundering.

China’s six largest social media platforms – and how to engage its users

From Little Red Book to Weibo, how can western brands unlock the largest – and most varied – social media market in the world?

Retail marketers have lost control of social media ad spend, study finds

Consumers are flocking to social media for purchasing, but new research sparks concern in how retail marketers place their social ad spend.

Battle of the brands: 49% of UK adults discover new brands from streaming TV ads

Amazon Ads offers new insights for brands looking to break into the streaming TV ad game – from how much emphasis to place on innovation to ensuring you capture the correct audience.

Global ad spend recovers: to top $1trn for first time next year

Performance channels lead the recovery as five companies – Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Bytedance and Meta – now draw over half of global advertising investment.

ChatGPT hit 5 million app downloads in only three weeks…but how does it stack up against the competition?

Generative AI large language model and OpenAI’s global phenomenon, ChatGPT, hit global app stores late last month and in just three weeks has surpassed 5 million downloads across the iOS and Google Play stores.

Global adspend to rise by $23bn in 2023, but signs of slowing growth in digital pointing to maturity

The downgraded forecasts from dentsu’s latest analysis reveal media price inflation to drive growth and APAC enjoying the strongest regional uplift, but digital growth slowdown still paves way for the channel to take the lion’s share of spend for the next three years.

UK’s e-commerce sector investment bucks European trends as Google catches Meta for ad spend

E-commerce companies across Europe are backing themselves with increased investment across inventory and ad spend despite variable economic conditions.

Multi-channel madness: 47% of retailers believe there are too many channels to sell from

To meet all consumers’ shopping expectations, 94% of organisations have a multi-channel retail strategy in place, but almost half (49%) struggle to evaluate which channel is working for them best.

Saving every penny: shoppers turning to mobile apps for deals and rewards

Study indicates increasing popularity of in-store use of retailers’ mobile apps as consumers look to get bang for their buck with offers and reward schemes.

Half of brands eyeing a shift from paid advertising to earned content creation as budgets tighten

With a possible recession looming, brands’ marketing budgets are under increasing pressure to maximise ROI while minimising spend, and research suggests that UGC might be a winning strategy.

AI uncovers that digital ads which evoke emotions are four times more likely to drive brand equity

Kantar and Affectiva’s study suggests that “attention is necessary but insufficient for advertising effectiveness” and use of humour in digital ads presents a significant opportunity for marketers to leapfrog their competition and facilitate long-term consumer engagement.

Unsuccessful search: 80% of consumers abandoning e-commerce retailers’ on-site search bar due to poor user experience

Despite almost 7 in 10 consumers going directly to an online retailer’s search bar, converting searches into purchases remains a tricky task.

All to play for: gaming and CTV set to drive £4bn in adspend by 2026

Doubling of spend over the next three years means eyes are on these emerging channels, says new research.

“It’s time to be where your audience is”: 92% of TikTok users are ‘purchase ready’

The TikTok audience is more receptive to influencers and social commerce than on any other platform. Just don’t make your content look like an ad, new research suggests…

IPA Bellwether: marketing budgets weather economic storm… for now

Cost of living crisis weighs heavily on marketers in the UK, with adspend forecast to fall this year by 0.3%, but opportunities remain with increased reliance on digital and “the importance of investing in resources” to get through the downturn.

Meta cheaper than 2021 pre-Black Friday, as tech giant ‘reels’ in spend with 4000% rise on short-form video

Conversion rates recover post-iOS 14 as Black Friday alone attracts a 47% increase year-on-year, but TikTok shown to trump Meta in efficiency for Q4 2022.

Black Friday rivalries: retailers focus on big ticket items and researching competitors

Businesses spend more time researching rivals this year as retailers shift away from non-essential Goods in 2022's Black Friday with internet sales to generate $1.12trn globally.

One in five Brits ‘can’t afford to be loyal’ to brands

More than half of UK consumers have switched brands they were previously loyal to because of the cost of living crisis.

Meta tops the ranks as most used e-commerce platform but TikTok reach is on the up

New research reveals that despite tech giants pulling out of live shopping in the UK, almost two-thirds of surveyed customers bought more than one thing through a social platform over the summer.

Social media and search engines are neck and neck in guiding young shopper habits

Whether it’s influencer recommendations, trending products or reviews of services, will social media take over the likes of Google?

37% are prioritising buys to help cope with less heating this winter

Survey of UK consumers find that alternative ways to keep warm this winter and more ‘socialising’ at home are just some of the measures people are taking to save money.

Tracking the trackers: UK retail brands use on average 10 online trackers (with half used to share info to third parties)

Fashion retail brands use the most online trackers for advertising, while the UK’s top retail brands are not trusted by one in five consumers.

UK consumers would go back to shopping in the 80s and 90s if they had the choice

Shoppers pine for the shopping experience of old as nearly half regularly buy vintage.

70% of US consumers have shopped online from abroad in the past year

High delivery costs are named as a key barrier to shopping globally, but it hasn’t stopped many US shoppers, but 22% would abandon their carts if they can’t use their preferred payment method.

47% of UK shoppers expect bigger discounts this winter as bargains and family-only gift shopping takes priority

Three-quarters of UK consumers state they’ll cut back on Christmas spending this year, and almost half care less about Black Friday shopping. What are the lookouts to get people to spend in the festive quarter?

Christmas (shopping) comes early: 29% plan to start by the end of August

Value for money trumps the priorities lists for peoples’ Christmas shopping this year, with more than half concerned about affording Christmas amid the cost of living crisis.

Global adspend to slow as social media warned of $40bn black hole

Social media companies are set to record a multi-billion dollar shortfall over 2022 and 2023, while growth forecasts for adspend across all channels and markets are cut by $90bn.

“Creators are the new retailers” – but influencers are losing brands in an economic downturn

Latest poll from US and UK influencers reveals payment issues from brands in the last year, whilst LTK says spend on influencer marketing is growing.

Brand trust is in decline as 75% of US and UK consumers are not comfortable buying from companies with poor data ethics

The survey underscores declining consumer trust in targeted advertising and the need for responsible data strategies.

Brits swap staycations for Euro breaks as searches for airlines soar in summer travel peak

Package holiday firms also enjoy a rise in search, while in the fashion sector Shein continues to rise in growth and Next search volumes slump.

E-commerce competition holds up in Q2 as CPM rises 27% across the globe

Latest reporting on Meta ad trends indicates a dramatic drop in US click through rates, while sustainability-based messaging drives higher than average conversions across the world.

Referrals cited as important by 96% of marketers – but importance doesn’t translate to spend

Email remains the preferred communication channel for consumers – but the channel does not encourage a repeat purchase compared to discounts and rewards for loyalty and advocacy, finds research.

Brand versus performance marketing: is the classic ‘60:40’ split now defunct?

Survey of global marketers reveals that many multinationals still don’t use profit and revenue based KPIs to assess their e-commerce performance.

Commerce on the commute: UK adults spend £179bn a year on mobile devices while out of home

Mobile spenders in Britain are on the rise since the pandemic, with young adults averaging almost six mobile purchases a week whilst commuting.

"Market share isn’t won in physical stores": ASDA wins at converting offline shoppers

Analysis of TV advertising impact for ASDA vs Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco reveals it is easier to convert offline shoppers to online than existing online shoppers.

Digital dominates global marketing spend: 53% of marketers to boost social media budgets

Nielsen reveals that social media is marketers’ ‘most bankable’ channel - but few are confident about ROI measurements on their marketing spend

The AR generation: Gen Z are driving the shift towards more immersive shopping experiences

A study from Snap reveals Gen Z’s guiding influence through the digital landscape and their desire to create meaningful connections. How can brands combine the two with immersive shopping experiences?

The lead impressionist: Amazon increases Google Shopping share by more than 50 percent

Online giant dominated 2021 impressions on Google Shopping platform, while pandemic caused blips in search volume trends and CPC jumped by 50 percent.

Is brand loyalty dead? Data shows incentives, not emotions, drive the ‘habit’ generation

A new report reveals that consumers can become habitual but not ‘loyal’ to brands, while understanding customer pain points and offering them rewards to buy can increase repeat purchases.

Ready for take-off: why adspend on travel could grow 6 times faster than average

Adspend in the travel sector is poised to smash global growth trends. But how can performance marketers optimise for jittery post-pandemic travellers?

Shopping trends: search ads beat paid social for Christmas gift inspiration

As the golden quarter of e-commerce begins, exclusive survey results reveal 4 key insights into what shoppers really think of online ads.

The influencer generation: 10 percent of fashion shoppers start journey on TikTok

With physical retail shopping limited during 2020, social and mobile shopping gained in popularity. New research shows that TikTok is driving purchases.

A third of consumers ‘find diverse advertising more engaging’

Diversity and values-led shopping are now ‘key drivers’ for customer acquisition and engagement, according to new findings from the DMA.