Himanshu PatelWhat’s trending on social channels these days? Which news is hitting the headlines of leading publications? Which topic has become a talk of the show in every corner of the world? Any guesses?
You are right- it’s none other than COVID 19.
You may have got bored with hearing about COVID 19’s impact over different geographic nations and the economy from the last two months. But, it seems the news around the virus and its influence is here to stay. Well, with crossed fingers, we wish the corona outbreak halt sooner.
But, in the meantime, COVID 19 has plagued the retail, marketing, and advertising industry very badly. The businesses are trying to mitigate the impact, but its sizeable negative effects have changed the big industry trends. In this blog, we have sized up corona impact on businesses, marketing events, and advertising spends.
Let’s dive in!
Shoppers facing shortages of retail products
The people of corona affected regions are changing the lifestyle in the wake of COVID 19 spread. The footfall to the physical stores has drastically reduced due to the social distancing measure. However, it has given birth to stockpiling phenomena which are creating shortages of food across many countries.
This is why 64% of UK buyers buying the products online to avoid public transportation and physical contact. Around 25% of UK shoppers have admitted they are stockpiling goods as the virus continues to take its toll, but it has created shortages of food products for nearly 72% of UK shoppers.
More consumers turning to grocery apps
To avoid the risks of taking a trip to the nearby grocery stores and getting infected by corona, the US people are increasingly downloading the grocery apps to get the grocery items delivered at the doorstep. A couple of grocery app stats:
- Instacart app has experienced a 218% increase in the app installation and the sales are improved by ten-folds in the first week of March.
- Walmart grocery app has also registered a 160% increase in app downloads.
- The US retail giant Target has witnessed a 124% growth in mobile app downloads with contact-free delivery options.
Global ad spending got worsen
The ad revenue is severely impacted by corona’s smashing hit. Not just the leading player like- Facebook, or Google’s ad revenue, but the global ad spending and revenue are dropped after the corona outbreak. The facts illustrating the same:
- The media ad spending, which is
expected to 7% up in 2020, the figures are 7.4% down than what was projected in
the Q1 of the year 2020.
- Lower spending in the travel industry has dropped Google’s ad revenue by 15% in Q1 and expected to fall by 20% more in Q2 if the social distancing and self- isolation persists.
- Outdoor ad spending from different sectors such as cinema, retail, restaurants, and entertainment also gets negatively impacted as people altering the spending habits.
Gen X turning to TV
As people are encouraged to stay at home due to the corona outbreak, they are spending more time on television for watching the news or entertainment activities. Netflix’s year-on-year subscriptions’ growth in the USA and Canada, which is expected to become double than what’s previously estimated is the best instance of it.
In the same vein, Prime Video, Hulu, Now TV, and other streaming service providers are expected to gain major traction. The data will further help them to uplift sales and revenue.
ITV has also reported that the viewership for lunchtime news is rose by 160% and for the news at Ten programs, it rose by 33% among the younger demographics.
PC gaming platform breaking the records
Worldwide corona pandemic has taken the gaming world by storm. The unexpected growth is seen in the number of online users concurrently in-game and breaking the previous records, in contrast to other industries that are struggling.
- Steam has attracted a whopping
20.3 million concurrent users and made a new record in 16 years of history.
- Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, the multiplayer first-person shooter video game has also made a new mark in the period of the corona outbreak.
Wanderlusts are now like to stay at home
Coronavirus outbreak has made the people cancel the pre-booked travel or not to travel as confining to home is the only way to prevent its infection. It doesn’t signal the people won’t like to travel soon.
55% of the US travelers who travels frequently said that they will likely purchase holidays when the virus dies completely. No refunds made by the hotels and planes upon random cancelations have made the US travelers refuse bookings with those hotels, even if higher discounts are offered due to the non-refund element.
Marketing events got canceled
Across the globe, event organizers have witnessed the marketing events are canceled, postponed, or transformed into an online format.
In addition to marketing events, there is a long list of IT events such as Google Cloud Next and Adobe Summit that have moved online and in contact with all delegates to ensure the work doesn’t stop abruptly. The interested people can check how they are going to attend the next event or conference where they are enrolled. Thanks to technology that’s allowing us to continue everything.
Conclusion
The unwelcome coronavirus has impacted the planet at scale, which was never expected. With no cure, the virus is not just killing the people, but retail space, marketing, advertising, and travel have experienced a significant impact worldwide. Based on industry insights, surveys, and company reports, we have rounded up the COVID 19 impact on different industry verticals which will help you understand the market trends and prepare for the future. Stay tuned with us to know more about its global impact.
