The State of Digital Advertising report conducted by Criteo, surveying a total of 1,000 marketing executives in ten regional markets around the world, reveals that the Spanish advertising sector is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. Eighty percent of marketers in Spain say that, due to COVID-19, their business has suffered revenue losses in 2020 compared to 2019.
Sixty-one percent of marketers globally noted a decline in revenue compared to 2019, with the exception of Germany, which has recorded the best results, with only 8% reporting a “large decline” in revenue, and the UK with 10%, compared to 25% in Spain, 22% in the US, and 21% in France.
However, the COVID-19 effect on consumers has led to an increase in online sales and rapid digital transformation, helping to mitigate the revenue decline. In fact, 2 out of 5 marketers in Spain say that COVID-19 has led to an increase in online sales and a rapid digital transformation of business processes.
For the retail sector in particular, Criteo data shows that, despite a challenging year, e-commerce sales rose by 14% globally in December 2020 compared to the previous year.
In this regard, COVID-19 has forced significant changes in sales, marketing, and operations, thus impacting marketing’s role in driving full-funnel results. According to 65% of marketers in Spain, the percentage of digital marketing spend in their company has increased as a result of the pandemic.
Sixty-six percent of respondents believe this is mainly due to a greater need for companies to create performance marketing campaigns to drive sales. As such, marketing teams are now, more than ever, under pressure to generate the best results at all stages of the buying process, from customer acquisition to sales and retention.
In a world of confinement and telecommuting, society has transformed into an almost exclusively digital environment. As a result, marketers have reallocated digital marketing spend and revamped their strategies, creating a dramatic shift from traditional areas of investment and resource deployment to digital strategies. In fact, 49% of marketers confirmed that they had made major changes to their strategies due to the healthcare crisis.
The need to connect all touchpoints where consumers discover, evaluate, and buy became even more relevant in 2020, and businesses are responding to it in 2021. Two out of five marketers in Spain plan to increase their investment in omnichannel strategies in 2021, and 45% say they plan to spend more on advertising on websites and retail apps.
However, one of the pain points for 65% of marketers in Spain is the reliance on Facebook, Google, and Amazon for digital marketing campaigns, which underlines the appetite for powerful marketing solutions beyond walled gardens.