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Global digital marketing spend hits $200bn

Admire Moyo
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb's news editor.
Johannesburg, 30 Apr 2015
Brand strategies are evolving to deliver campaigns within an omni-channel digital environment, says Juniper Research.
Brand strategies are evolving to deliver campaigns within an omni-channel digital environment, says Juniper Research.

Global brand and retail spend on digital marketing activities will reach $200 billion this year, up by 15% on 2014 levels.

That's according to a new study from Juniper Research, which observed that nearly 70% of the net increase on digital marketing spend this year would be concentrated on mobile and tablet devices, as brand strategies evolve to deliver campaigns within an omni-channel digital environment.

According to the research, factors behind the migration to smartphones and tablets include their capabilities to enable timely, targeted, personalised campaigns, to enhance customer engagement and to analyse the relative success of campaigns.

Until this year, says Juniper Research, North America accounted for the largest share of digital retail marketing spend, but during 2015, it will be overtaken by the Far East and China, largely due to the burgeoning Chinese e-retail market.

It notes that in the case of mobile coupons, redemption rates were typically significantly higher and costs per redemption much lower than for traditional mechanisms such as direct mail or newspaper coupons.

"The beauty of mobile and online marketing channels is that they can play an active role throughout the retail lifecycle, from product discovery to product purchase, enhancing customer value through personalised promotions," says Windsor Holden, research director at Juniper Research.

From a retailing perspective, he adds, the involvement of the mobile device in the shopping experience begins well before the purchase transaction, carries on through the in-store experience and then continues beyond. Mobile, therefore, plays a pivotal role in both customer acquisition and customer retention.

Holden points out that digital advertising is normally an activity performed remotely to the user and includes the key retail marketing and awareness functions of product information, search and discovery.

"Usually this is in the form of an advertisement delivered to the connected device, whether it be by SMS, e-mail, Internet or mobile application. Other more local delivery methods such as WiFi or bluecasting are sometimes used."

Juniper Research believes mobile and online retail value-added services and features such as coupons, promotions, smart posters, loyalty programmes, gift vouchers and other service possibilities together represent a strong proposition for connected devices in the retail environment to engage customers.

Mobile, in particular, is perceived as a key engagement mechanism, given it is with the owner 24/7, it adds.

Additionally, the report highlights the potential for using predictive analytics on the wealth of online data generated through consumer activities on Web sites and social media. It notes predictive analytics was increasingly being used in real-time, with retailers able to tailor advertising and product promotion while a customer is browsing their Web sites.

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