E-commerce 2023: The latest data and forecasts for all things online retail growth
It's interesting to look back at e-commerce growth over the last few years and think forward to the future of this industry. As demonstrated by these charts from Statistica, the annual revenues of the US e-commerce industry shot up in 2020 and 2021.
What's more, despite recent growth slowing slightly, Statistica Market Insights estimates strong continued growth in this area in 2023 and beyond.
The reasons for this are two-fold - the rise of revenue from total retail sales, both in the US and worldwide, and also stark growth in the % of the total retail sales being e-commerce.
This constitutes a much larger share than previously to the pandemic, showing that some of the rapid changes to…
What needs to go into a marketing communications action plan to survive a recession?
In March 2020, we saw global brands like Apple, Nike and Starbucks closing stores around the world and posting Coronavirus advisories to their websites and social networks. Since then, many businesses and individuals have seen their fortunes transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic and following recession.
By May, we saw many countries moving from lockdown to re-opening some businesses, with new measures in place. But this wasn't enough.
By mid-June, the impending global recession had been confirmed, the worst economic hit since WWII. This forecast by the World Bank demonstrates a GDP drop in 2020 for all regions, Latin America and the Caribbean being hit the worst and East Asia Pacific the least.
To help consider the priorities and options from…
The latest results from the CMO Survey, a special COVID-19 edition, give a fascinating insight into our fellow marketers' business strategy and planning to drive growth this year.
Digital Marketing Strategy during COVID-19
84% of marketers confirm they have ‘improvised to generate new marketing strategies during the pandemic’ according to the CMO Special Covid-19 report in June 2020. So what did they do? And what can we learn about managing business growth right now?
“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change”
- Albert Einstein
So, by Einstein’s prognosis, 2020 has been a very intelligent year for marketers. While for some of us, the changes have been less grand, others have witnessed a complete transformation in less than half a year. Naturally, there are fluctuations by industry, so for more detailed data about your industry, check out this special …
Five steps that you can take to gain insight from your customer feedback and prepare for your recovery
Just as no one could have predicted this year’s events, no one knows exactly what a post-Covid world is going to look like. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that some change is on the cards. The longer this situation plays out, the more we’re all seeing shifts in consumer behaviour, product demand, customer relationships, and priorities – even the term ‘essential’ has taken on a different meaning for many of us over the past few months.
Changes in your business are happening right now. It’s time to react to your consumer’s behaviour, gather all of data that will help you take the steps to recovery, and make sure your customer experience (CX) is ready and suited to this new post-Covid customer base.
1. Evolve with your customers – find out what’s…
Don’t go quiet with your comms, but do avoid tone-deaf marketing
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the whole world to a standstill, reshaping the way we must approach almost all aspects of life. With health and safety being the priority, businesses must find their own way to approach the pandemic and rework their strategies to ensure they can continue to operate effectively. While many elements of our life are only changed on a temporary basis, we do not know for how long this will continue, and which elements may never return to how they were before.
The virtual world has become more important than ever before and the ability to connect with our family, friends and colleagues on a remote basis is crucial for any semblance of normality, our wellbeing and to maintain any business activity at all.
However, while many things are at a standstill, one area which is absolutely in…
Google and Facebook plan to offer SMBs ad credits to support them during the coronavirus pandemic. This is what you need to know to secure your share
On Friday the 27th of March, Google announced that they will be offering ad credits for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) who routinely advertise with them. Google have pledged $340 million in Google ads credit, to help companies “stay in touch with their customers during this difficult time” (Google Ads Help). More details have now been made available and this ad credit can be used at any point until the end of 2020, across any Google Ads platform.
On Monday the 20th April, Google provided updated information on their ad credit programme, particularly in regard to eligibility criteria. Those eligible for this programme are small and medium-sized businesses globally, who have spent with a Google Ads account in ten out of twelve months of 2019, and…
Practical copywriting tips and examples for e-commerce websites
As Coronavirus spreads around the world, e-commerce websites need messages telling customers what service they can expect from the new normal.
A few are doing these really well, but many are falling into the trap of writing in a stiff, legalistic language that does nothing to reassure or persuade customers to carry on buying.
It’s understandable. Plummeting sales figures (unless you’re selling Vitamin C) means that Business owners are panicked about keeping the company afloat, senior managers are petrified about their jobs and everyone is scrambling to get their work done. As human beings, they are worried about their friends, family and possibly their own health too.
Those huge levels of anxiety permeate through to stiff, formal wording that does nothing to reassure with statements like “Our existing business continuity plans have been designed to support the continued…
Legislation from Facebook and advice from Google to inform your marcomms. Plus, from Dyson to Prada, discover the manufacturers stepping up amidst COVID-19 pandemic
Guidance for navigating your campaigns through COVID-19
Google has published guidance for marketers on navigating COVID-19. The one-page document outlines considerations such as:
Tone
Imagery/assets
Adapting
Google Ads
Other Google tools which may help
Google doesn't have all the answers, but, even if you only take away one thing from this article, I strongly recommend allocating yourself 10 minutes to read this guidance and just double-check that your COVID-19 marketing plan is in line with advice from the top.
Still working out your company's response to COVID-19? You're not alone. Last week, Dr. Dave Chaffey published a free Smart Insights guide Creating a marketing action plan for a recession, to help inform strategy…
You and your team are stuck at home - that’s the current reality. By following these guidelines you can boost everyone’s work-from-home (WFH) morale and productivity.
Your customers don’t care where you work
Due to recent Coronavirus revelations, it’s not just you that’s working from home (WFH); your entire team may have gone remote. And stress can surely accompany this transition. But rather than succumbing to fears and pulling inward, it’s time to push outward — with strong leadership and tight collaboration, while also meeting your team’s emotional needs.
After all, your customers don’t care where you work, but how productive you are and how you care for them. Do this well and you remain a market leader; flail at WFH and watch your customers bail.
Fortunately, with the recent proliferation of project management apps, and some purposeful leadership, your team can still get…
Chart of the Week: Pandemic hits high-ticket air travel and cruises, alongside small pleasures such as eating out, as marketers reassess what constitutes value for customers right now and how digital marketing can help
Charts from Market Insider paint a grim picture of life for marketers in the travel industry as airline and cruise numbers plummet
The biggest cruise names in the pandemic are, of course, Princess Cruises' The Diamond Princess Yokohama (with 700 passengers infected and eight deaths) and the Grand Princess (now in day 14 of quarantine in San Francisco).
Analysts at Goldman Sachs are comparing the pandemic to similar scale events such as the 2001 recession, the 2008 financial crisis, and, the Costa Concordia disaster of 2012 (another cruise ship disaster, where 33 passengers died off the coast of Italy).
"Averaging the moves made after such events, cruise prices dipped by 6.3% and took roughly…
