COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly around the globe and carries grave consequences for countries’ economies. The coronavirus outbreak has had a great impact on all of us and influences every part of our lives from the spot we can visit to the way we spend our time, to the priorities we have set up and, of course, to the way we spend our money.
The coronavirus pandemic has shaken all spheres of life, including the marketing industry. Besides, it has largely changed consumers’ behaviour. In March and April, only 14% of UK marketing campaigns continued to operate “as planned”. Econsultancy Team and Marketing Week have examined the state of the marketing industry and prepared the second survey covering the major ramifications from COVID-19.
In early April about 49% of UK-based marketers delayed their campaigns and 38% reviewed them. That was 86% of UK brand marketers. In mid-March, this figure was 55%. Due to the continuing uncertainty, marketing offerings and strategies also started to change and adapt to people’s needs in a time of the pandemic. Most marketing organisations shifted their focus on delivering just digital products, services and content. Compared to the first two weeks of the pandemic, the number of marketers who stated that they had to alter their strategies in light of the coronavirus outbreak has grown from 18% to 62%.
According to the Econsultancy Team and Marketing Week survey, at least 69% of UK marketing organisations are predicting a drop in demand for their services and products in May. For small businesses whose annual revenues are less than £50 million, this figure grows to 77%, for larger counterparts, this figure decreases to 64%. So that’s no big surprise as small firms usually have to make more radical and profound changes to their recruitment plans, budgets and marketing campaigns than larger corporations.
However, big businesses can face another serious problem in times of the global crisis. Large companies whose annual revenues are more than £50 million are strongly dependent on their supply chain. About 44% of big marketing organisations said that they have already experienced supply chain issues that affect their normal work because of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Luckily for retailers, today customers are getting ready for the summer season. Using the data from ccinsight.org, people require various garden equipment like lawnmowers, holiday equipment like barbecues and hammocks, and, of course, summer clothes.
“With the closure of physical stores, consumers are relying more and more on retailers who are continuing to sell online… Our data is showing staggering growth online in the garden equipment sector, showing that COVID-19 hasn’t completely destroyed consumer confidence, which is heartening for retailers in this time of uncertainty”, said Alex Timlin, Senior VP, Verticals at Emarsys.
One more category that still keeps sales afloat is electronics. Since February, the demand for electronics has increased up to 40% because people stayed home they started investing their money in entertainment products like laptops, gaming consoles, TVs and so on. In turn, remote workers purchased necessary office equipment like computer monitors to complete their home set ups.
Staying at their homes, UK consumers began to spend more money on beauty products. According to the Retail Gazette, the demand for beauty items has grown by 35%.
Although there’s not much good that comes from the coronavirus outbreak and the global economy suffers greatly from COVID-19. But from the marketing perspective, it’s not all bad and we can safely assume that the pandemic has provided a fresh impetus to the marketing industry. The coronavirus outbreak has made marketers redesign their promotion strategies and look for the appropriate and comfortable ways to sell their goods and services. Besides, brands have a chance to build and strengthen the lasting emotional bonds with their clients because of the global quarantine.
Guest blog written by Alex Marvin.
Alex Marvin is an editor of https://rigjobs.com/. Being a researcher by nature, writer by passion, he is happy to share his life experience and professional knowledge with the career junkies.