This ongoing report on consumers provides valuable advertising and media news for marketers and advertisers. We curate stories of interest and insight. Use the button below to have each Audience Intel Report delivered directly to your inbox.
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Did online shopping hit peak? A recent consumer study sponsored by Valassis suggests that online shopping may have peaked in 2020. Self-reporting by consumers in the categories of food and household goods show declines from 2019 after substantial increases in 2020.
Votes of less confidence. This year has seen U.S. adults lose confidence in many of the nation’s institutions according to a recent study by Gallup. Notable among the numbers: Fewer than 1 in 3 adults have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in Tech Companies and fewer than 1 in 5 for Newspapers and even less for Television News.
Trust built with brick and mortar. According to industry research firm, Morning Consult, Roughly one-third of U.S. adults said retailers with no physical store and just an online presence have to work harder to earn trust. The report also placed three home-improvement names in its top 5 most trusted retail brands: Home Depot, Lowe’s and Ace Hardware.
Pumpkin spice time. If you think the ubiquitous annual roll out of all things pumpkin spice happens too soon this year, blame Millennials and Gen Z. According to a recent study, 1 in 4 U.S. adults say late August is the perfect time for selling pumpkin spice products. That number is up from 19% last year, driven largely by gains among younger consumers.
Media Strategies
You get an influencer and you get an influencer. Marketers are investing record dollars in promotion of products and brands on personality-driven, user-generated content. Projections by eMarketer indicate influencer marketing spending will grow more than 30% this year and hit $4 Billion in 2022.
Playing offense needs a defense. The widespread strategy of bidding on competitors’ names in search ad campaigns is going to court. 1-800-Contacts has filed suit in U.S. District Court against Warby Parker for the practice. The complaint alleges that “Warby Parker’s plan is designed in purpose and effect to trade off 1-800 Contacts’ brand name and reputation through unauthorized bidding on 1-800 Contacts’ trademarks as search engine keywords that generate Warby Parker advertisements.”
Moving Day
Country rocks and rolls away. The Academy of Country Music Awards show, a CBS staple since 1998, will forego broadcast networks in 2022 and move to Amazon Prime Video.
More street address, less URL. Ubiquitous online retailer, Amazon, is planning to open brick and mortar retail stores according to recent reports. Anticipated as a “department store” concept, experts expect the experiment to take aim at brick and mortar stalwarts like Kohl’s, Target and Walmart.
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