Driving Business Growth, Boosting Retail Footfall, and Harnessing Generative AI: 5 Intriguing Metrics to Kickstart Your Week

Most marketers don’t think marketing’s impact on growth is understood by leadership

Only 23% of marketing professionals are confident that senior leadership truly understands the impact of customer marketing on business growth. Senior marketers are most stressed about proving the value of marketing in order to protect budgets. The lack of belief from senior leadership in marketing's ability to drive growth seems to be creating a cycle, with 68% reporting that inadequate resources and funding are limiting marketing's ability to drive growth.

More than a third (36%) of marketers acknowledge that due to insufficient resources, they are still at least four years away from achieving a 'true customer-first approach'. Additionally, 44% feel that their company's personalization approach is not advanced enough. In the UK, 81% of senior marketers working for local brands report difficulties in accessing the necessary customer data for personalized and targeted campaigns.

Source: Plinc

Retail footfall drops in December

Last month, retail footfall experienced a 5% decline compared to December 2022 levels, with shoppers opting to shop online due to wet weather.

This drop in footfall is also a more significant decrease than the previous month, where footfall decreased by 0.9% compared to the previous year in November 2023.

The rainy weather in December led to a significant decline in foot traffic at shopping centres, with a 7.4% decrease. High street shops and retail parks also experienced lower but still notable declines at 4.2% and 4.8%, respectively. According to Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, the heavy rain made many shoppers hesitant to venture out and instead choose to browse and shop online, resulting in a substantial decrease in footfall compared to December 2022.

Shopper footfall was disappointing overall, but discounting events drove foot traffic, with Boxing Day showing a 39.2% week-on-week improvement.

AI ‘most important’ consumer trend for over half of brands and agencies

A survey by Mediaocean revealed that generative AI is considered the top consumer trend for the upcoming year by 57% of leading brands, agencies, and media providers.

The perceived usefulness of generative AI has shifted among brands, agencies, and media owners in recent months. In April 2023, 59% of survey respondents believed AI could be most useful in copywriting. However, in the latest November survey, marketers now see data analysis (39%) and market research (35%) as the most promising areas for AI's application.

Additionally, generative AI has surpassed the metaverse as the most significant consumer trend for many marketers. In October 2022, 34% considered the metaverse the most important consumer trend, but in the recent survey, only 16% shared this view.

Source: Mediaocean

Financial security was a priority for British consumers in the lead up to Christmas

Prior to Christmas, the majority of consumers (64%) stated that they prioritized money management during the holiday season. This focused approach appears to have yielded positive results, as 14% more consumers reported having enough disposable income left after purchasing essentials to cover their Christmas expenses, rather than relying on overdrafts or credit cards.

In 2022, a quarter (25%) of British consumers used their credit cards to finance Christmas, while 12% utilized buy now, pay later (BNPL) services such as Klarna or Clearpay. The use of credit cards and BNPL schemes decreased by 13%. Additionally, the use of overdrafts saw a 50% decline compared to 2022 levels.

Nearly 28% more consumers are confident that they will have paid off their Christmas debt by February this year, compared to last year when many were still facing the prospect of paying it off at Easter.

UK shoppers spent over £24bn online during Christmas period

UK shoppers spent £24.4bn online over the holiday period, which brings the total spent online in 2023 up to £111.2bn.

In 2023, festive season spending saw a 3.7% rise compared to Christmas 2022. Overall, online spending in 2023 decreased by 1.3% from the previous year, with shoppers spending £112.7bn online. Discount days, especially Black Friday, were the top online spending days, with Black Friday alone seeing a 4.1% increase in spending, reaching £1.04bn.

Sales on Cyber Monday 2023 increased by 7.4% compared to the previous year, reaching £881m. Online Boxing Day sales also saw a 4.4% increase, totaling £461.8m. On average, online prices during the holiday season were discounted by around 11% compared to pre-holiday levels, with the biggest discounts offered on Cyber Monday.

Source: Adobe Digital Insights