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Greetings from the Forbes CMO Network,
With the 2020 election partially over, marketers and consumers alike are turning to a less contentious, more joyous season: the holidays. However, with Covid-19 changing everything from travel patterns to buying habits, this year's shopping season could bring good tidings. And that seems to be especially true for shopping holidays within the holidays.
Of the 3,500 consumers surveyed in September by McKinsey 80% say they plan to spend the same or more than in 2019 on "blockbuster" events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday than they did in 2019. In fact, more people plan to shop on Black Friday 2020 than they did in 2019—60% up from 50%. Some, 39%, say they plan to shop online more than in the past, while just 10% plan to spend more time in brick-and-mortar locations. However, just 45% plan to browse in-store, down from 65% in 2019. But there's one other big caveat: Consumers also plan to spend less on holiday shopping overall this year—with the exception of those surveyed in China, who plan to spend more than they did in 2019.
Meanwhile, nearly half of shoppers say they plan to shop earlier this year. And while one might guess it’s to stay safe and socially distanced during a raging pandemic, many say they simply don’t want to miss out before stores sell out. Already, retailers are expanding their blockbuster sales events into several days while also expanding new digital offerings. That doesn’t mean shoppers aren’t stressed. McKinsey points out that 24% say they’re anxious or stressed, and that’s especially true for respondents in the U.S. (30%) and U.K. (36%) but far less for shoppers in China (5%). Loyalty also continues to evolve. According to McKinsey, 40% of respondents say they have shopped with a new retailer during 2020 while a third of shoppers say they "experimented with a different, often less expensive brand of a product" and just 12% plan to stick with their old options.
And with holiday shopping comes holiday ads. A few days ago, Facebook debuted a new ad for Portal—the social networks’ smart video device—starring Rebel Wilson baking rolls while kneading out some grievances. (However, anyone interested in buying a Portal might first want to check out Mozilla’s Gift Guide, which calls out dozens of devices for their potential threats to data privacy.) Other new holiday ad campaigns include those from Ritz, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Cracker Barrel (which has an ad starring Dolly Parton).
WPP announced on Wednesday that it's merging its subsidiary agencies Grey and AKQA into a single firm. And in other news, Shutterstock announced it's acquiring the AI-driven music creation startup Amper Music.
There have also been a number of notable CMO changes in the past week. On Wednesday, AT&T announced former Hilton global CMO Kellyn Smith Kenny was joining the telecom as its new chief marketing and growth officer. Meanwhile, Deloitte Digital has promoted Alicia Hatch as Deloitte's new CMO and ViacomCBS CMO Jacqueline Parkes plans to leave her role by the end of 2020.
We have two remaining episodes of our CMO Summit Virtual Series, which will take place on November 17 and December 10 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET. Register for these free events featuring nearly two dozen top CMOs and conversations ranging from the future of entertainment and travel to how marketers are navigating global consumer and societal shifts amid increasing uncertainty.
Stay well,
Marty
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