Three-Quarters of Retail Marketers Are Exploring New Digital Channels in Response to the Pandemic

A survey by Edinburgh-based digital marketing agency QueryClick has revealed that 75% of marketers have added digital channels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

QueryClick surveyed 154 senior retail marketing professionals in the UK to understand emerging industry trends in light of the pandemic. It has revealed a strong trend towards marketers diversifying their channels, with a particular shift towards video marketing and programmatic.

The survey reveals that this shift is a result of marketers adapting to a rapidly changing landscape – with trends showing a strong movement towards emerging growth channels with lower conversion costs.

These trends illustrate a renewed pressure to invest in channels driving true value for a lower cost.

Understanding the impact of individual channels also emerged as a key concern, with 80% of respondents agreeing that attribution is of key importance in MarTech – with 62% of participants confirming they have a strategy in place for the removal of third-party cookies.

Other key findings in the survey include:

• Two-thirds of respondents have newly added video to their mix, with 41% reporting increased ROI from investment in video
• Programmatic has been integrated by 61% of CMOs
• TikTok has been adopted by 38% of CMOs
• Only 16% report increased ROI from incremental Paid Social spend
• A marked decline in performance and effectiveness of ads across Facebook has been seen by 60% of respondents since iOS 14

Speaking as the survey’s findings were published, CEO and founder of QueryClick Chris Liversidge, said:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything for retail.

“Our survey of trends in online retail has underlined just how radical a year 2021 was for retail marketers in almost all areas.

“We found that online sales grew substantially in that time with retailers being forced to adapt to this new landscape.

Brands which embrace the new digital world and new digital measurement systems, and new strategies will reap the rewards. By allowing digital to take the lead in media planning mixes and brand development in a harmony with performance optimisation that was out of reach until very recently.

It’s an exciting time to be a marketer, I hope you feel it too!