Proving ROI, influencers, online sales: 5 interesting stats to start your week

We arm you with all the numbers you need to tackle the week ahead.

Marketers feel under pressure to prove ROI

Four out of five marketers feel under pressure internally to provide marketing ROI but most lack confidence in their marketing data.

The majority of marketers (84%) say they need to provide ROI to justify marketing spend or budget increases for campaigns and initiatives.

Many are struggling to effectively measure ROI, with 61% saying they do not use ROI when making strategy decisions because they aren’t confident in their own data.

Another problem highlighted is the lack of alignment between marketing, sales and finance, which has resulted in four in 10 stating there is no agreement across the organisation on what ROI looks like, or a clear definition and measurement of marketing ROI across organisations.

Source: Allocadia

Online grocery purchases fall amid recovering in-store sales

With most Covid restrictions lifted, UK supermarkets experienced 50 million more in-store visits in the four weeks ending 14 August than during the same period last year, driving £7.7bn in in-store sales.

Consequently, online grocery sales have dropped by 10% to £1.1bn. However, online remains a popular channel with UK shoppers even as pandemic regulations ease. Online share of grocery spend has declined to 12.7%, but remains close to the 13.4% recorded in May 2020 during the height of the first lockdown.

Visits to stores rose 12%, an increase attributed to improved shopper confidence following the growth in vaccination rates, the removal of social distancing restrictions, and a boost from summer weather.

Indeed, total till grocery sales grew by 1.1% over the period, assisted by a short heatwave in the week ending 24 July when sales peaked at +6.2% – the most upbeat weekly sales since Easter.

Categories experiencing healthy growth include confectionery (+9.6%), soft drinks (+5.5%), delicatessen (+9.5%), and bakery (+8.1%). On the other hand, frozen food and alcohol saw sales decline by -4% and -6% respectively, although this is due to the categories having experienced exceptionally high sales last year.

Discount supermarkets Lidl (16%) and Aldi (7.3%) led the market in terms of growth in the last 12 weeks, while at the more premium end, Marks & Spencer (5.5%) also continued to experience good growth.

Source: NielsenIQ

83% of department stores wiped from UK high street in 5 years

The vast majority of major department stores (83%) have vanished from the UK high street since the collapse of BHS in 2016.

With the shuttering of high street stalwarts including House of Fraser, Debenhams and Beales in the past five years, the number of department stores has dropped from 467 in 2016 to just 79 today.

Two-thirds of this retail space remains unoccupied since these brands exited, with 237 big shops yet to be taken by a new business. Some 237 are currently sitting empty, while 52 have plans in place or early planning approval for a change of use or repurposing.

Source: BBC/CoStar Group 

Digital advertising and subscriptions fuel publisher growth

Digital publishing revenues increased to £152m in the first quarter of 2021, up 31.9% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Digital advertising remains the largest driver of revenue, with income reaching £53.6m in the first three months of 2021, a 4.7% increase versus last year. Subscriptions also contributed heavily, with revenue growing 48.8% compared to 2020. By comparison, subscription revenue saw a 4% increase in the first three months of 2019.

Both B2B and B2C publishers saw double-digit growth in digital revenues during the quarter, with B2C publisher revenues increasing by 34.2% to £139.2m, fuelled by the surge in subscriptions (64%). B2B revenue increased by 11.1%, driven by increases in subscriptions (4.7%) and display advertising (18.7%).

Source: AOP/Deloitte

Consumers losing confidence in influencers

Almost three quarters (73%) of 18- to 44-year-olds say the now find influencers vain and annoying.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds (64%) say they don’t trust what influencers promote through their social channels. However, a quarter (24%) admit they use influencers as a source of inspiration and 26% say they can relate to influencers.

The data suggests people are increasingly growing weary of potential brand ambassadors, such as those made famous by reality TV shows like Love Island, seen to simply be cashing in on new-found fame while showing no link to what they’re promoting.

Source: Sitecore

 

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