Branded products, Brexit, online spending: 5 killer stats to start your week

1. GDPR three months on: Most consumers feel no better off

It’s been three months since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect yet consumers don’t feel any better off.

Despite 57% of people say they now feel they have a better understanding of how companies are using their personal data, just 27% believe their overall experience with brands is better.

Most people (65%) believe GDPR has made no difference at all, while 8% say things have gotten worse.

More than third of consumers (36%) also believe companies have used their personal data without their consent since the introduction of GDPR and another 21% say they have seen companies acting illegally.

However, 54% of respondents say they’re not sure whether they’ve seen any companies breaching the regulation. Though, 51% say it is easier to tell companies how they want their data to be used.

Source: Marketing Week/Toluna

2. Four in 10 brands deliver ads on unsafe sites

Four in 10 (38%) of marketers say they’ve delivered an advert on a controversial or unsafe web page with 64% finding it challenging to implement an effective brand safety solution and 57% saying their current solution is too expensive.

Another 64% say achieving brand safety on campaigns negatively impacts the performance and 71% struggle to achieve reach while delivering content to the relevant audience in the right context.

In terms of taking responsibility, 38% believe it’s up to the brand itself compared to only 24% of marketers believe primary responsibility should lie with demand-side platforms and other ad-tech vendors.

Source: Sizmek

3. Growth of branded products overtakes own-label lines

Growth of branded products has outstripped total own-label lines for the first time since May 2015. Branded products saw a growth rate of 3.9%, compared to 3.5% across the wider grocery market.

The grocery market experienced “strong growth” overall as the heatwave led to more people doing top-up shops and spending on items such as alcoholic drinks. In July, Brits spent £67m more than normal on alcoholic drinks, while sales of non-alcoholic beer was up 58%.

Meanwhile, more expensive premium own-label lines across the market are still growing strongly though – up 6.3%. And the sales of men’s skincare products at Superdrug jumped by 16% thanks to its partnership with Love Island.

Grocery inflation now stands at 1.9%, continuing a trend of increasing prices that began in the final three months of 2016.

Source: Kantar WorldPanel

4. British consumers to spend less if there’s a ‘no deal’ Brexit

More than half (54%) of the 3,000 people surveyed believe a ‘no deal’ Brexit’ is more likely than a not, with just 20% saying they think a ‘no deal’ is unlikely.

If there were a ‘no deal’ scenario, 70% believe prices would climb and 69% say they would change their consumer behaviour. Also 45% believe a no-deal’ scenario will be bad for the country compared with 25% who think it will be good.

Despite concerns, the majority of voters have not changed their mind since the 2016 referendum. Some 89% of ‘Leave’ voters said they would still vote leave and 93% of ‘Remain’ voters said they would still vote remain.

How the general public will respond if there’s a ‘no deal’ Brexit:

• 43% are very likely or likely to cut everyday spending.
• 45% are very likely or likely to cut non-essential spending.
• 48% are very likely or likely to cut luxury spending.
• 47% are very likely or likely to delay major purchase.

Source: KPMG

5. Online retail spending halts after England’s World Cup exit

UK retail sales slipped to their lowest year-on-year growth in July, as consumer spending dropped following England’s FIFA World Cup exit.

Online sales increased by just 10% in July, well below the three-, six- and 12-month rolling averages of 14.7%, 15% and 12.7% respectively.

The clothing sector appeared most affected by the slump, experiencing its lowest year-on-year growth (7.5%) so far in 2018. This includes the most significant year-on-year decreases experienced in footwear (30.6%) and accessories (13.4%) since 2013.

The heatwave did bring relief to the garden sector however, which built on its 49.9% growth in June to record a 22.4% sales increase in July. And overall online retail enjoyed record growth in the first half of 2018, with sales up 14.4% year on year.

Source: Capgemini and IMRG