Going Digital: Why Your Marketing Strategy Needs to Shift

2020 is drawing to a close and whew, what a year it’s been. Politics aside, the way that the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the global economy can’t be understated. As a society, we were already on the fast track to a primarily digital world pre-pandemic. But stay-at-home orders and remote work accelerated our trajectory.

Now more than ever, we need to be running all of our marketing systems and strategies through the lens of a digital consumer.

The E-Commerce Takeover

The first thing for businesses of all sizes to recognize is the massive shift to online shopping over the past decade. Think With Google stats showed that 63% of shopping occasions began online and 84% of Americans were shopping for something in any given 48-hour period... prior to the pandemic.

But this year is unprecedented. From March to August 2020, people in the U.S. alone spent $497 billion online, an additional $107 billion more than usual due to social distancing and citywide lockdowns.

Emarketer data forecasts for retail eCommerce in 2020 increased by $119.62 billion due to the pandemic, while the brick-and-mortar retail forecast came out at $234.50 billion less than it was prior to the pandemic.

While going digital may have been a smart option in years past, now it’s a non-negotiable. According to Oberlo, global e-retail sales are expected to grow to up to $4.8 trillion by 2021. The takeaway is this: people are doing increasingly more of their shopping online with no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

Digital Ad Reach

The second thing to consider is where your target market spends its time. The average global internet user spends almost 7 hours online each day, and there are about 4.66 billion global internet users as of October 2020.

While going digital may have been a smart option in years past, now it’s a non-negotiable.

Depending on your demographic, this 7-hour data point could actually be much higher. From communications technology like Zoom to social media platforms to online banking and fitness apps, the Western world is connected to their tech at all hours of the day.

And let’s not forget the cord-cutters who gave up linear television in favor of streaming. CTV has been surpassing linear TV in viewership for some time. As of February 2020 (prior to the pandemic in the U.S.), there were over 212 million connected TV users vs. 125 million pay-TV viewers.

How Can We Help?

If you’re spending your ad budget in places your customers aren’t spending their time or money, you’re likely wasting resources.

Don’t get left behind while your competitors adapt to the changing landscape. Going digital allows you to reach the 21st-century consumer effectively.

Let IMM help make your digital transformation a success, whether you’re just beginning the journey or already well on your way.