Cross-Channel Integrated Planning
Ovative Trends and Performance Update: July 2021
With Back-to-School and holiday seasons fast approaching, marketers must plan ahead to account for supply chain disruptions, take advantage of emerging channels and platforms, and capitalize on some American families receiving a financial boost. Read on for actionable insights to help you prepare.
July Macro Trends
- Consumer confidence is beginning to steady, but still remains at its highest level since February 2020. Though confidence was flat in July, spending intentions picked up with a larger percentage of consumers planning to purchase homes, major appliances, and more in the coming months¹.
- Continued disruptions to the supply chain, largely caused by COVID outbreaks, may leave some US retailers with product shortages during the back-to-school (BTS) and holiday seasons.
- 35 million families received a financial boost from The American Rescue Plan in mid-July. Families are eligible to receive up to $300 per child every month through the remainder of the year. Additional child tax credit payment dates include 8/13, 9/15, 10/15, 11/15, and 12/15².
What Trends Did We Observe Across Ovative Clients Last Month?
- Across some Ovative clients, July was a quieter month in terms of promotions. Even some 4th of July promotions under-performed expectations. A portion of clients were focused on evergreen programs, like loyalty and clearance, to manage to their current inventory levels.
- With the holiday season approaching, Ovative clients prioritized establishing media testing roadmaps to drive learnings that can be applied during the higher demand timeframe come end of year. Customer analysis and strategy conversations increased during July as clients want to further understand consumer behavior and the value of their customers to help plan for holiday.
- Following the success seen from Amazon Prime Day during June, many clients are beginning to think about how they could use Amazon to reach new customers or re-engage with current customers in new ways. To learn more about adding Amazon to your media mix, read our latest article, “Transitioning to Amazon”³.
What Trends Did We Observe Across Google and Facebook Last Month?
- Both Facebook and Google saw significant spend decreases MoM as a function of mild cost decreases, which could be due to lower traffic and lighter promotions typical during the summer months.
- During July, Facebook CVR hit its highest point and spend dropped to its lowest point since March 2021. Over the Fourth of July weekend specifically, we saw the strongest CVR all month on Google while coming in below average on Facebook, which could be due to high competition over the holiday weekend, and lower demand with many people celebrating.
Ovative Cross Client Data, July 2021⁴
How Can You Turn These Insights Into Action?
Plan ahead for continued supply chain delays
Supply lines are expected to remain backed up through at least the first half of 2022, so current inventory and supply issues are here to stay. Marketers should determine strategies to support current demands given tight supply chains and high prices, balancing promotions and inventory carefully. Diversifying suppliers and manufacturer partners, managing product demand, and investing in technology that gives a full-funnel view can help brands avoid major disruptions⁵.
Align BTS and holiday promos to child tax credit payment dates
Americans receiving child tax payments will be getting a boost right in time for back-to-school shopping and core holiday promotions, making it the prime time to strike while the iron is hot. Consider aligning promotional content around payment dates (8/13, 9/15, 10/15, 11/15, and 12/15) to entice consumers to shop around the times they are receiving these payments.
Prioritize your holiday testing strategy
Make sure to streamline your testing roadmap, prioritizing tests that will inform your holiday strategy and enable decisions that could impact this time period. Running any tests past the month of October makes it difficult to get statistically significant results, and insights from tests during holiday may not apply year over year.
Consider the ‘why’ before transitioning to Amazon
If you are curious about selling on Amazon, consider the reasoning behind why you want to make this transition: are you looking to increase customer reach or increase brand presence? If so, selling on Amazon could be a great option for your brand. Even without selling on Amazon, brands can use Amazon’s DSP to programmatically buy display, video, and audio ads on Amazon. For more information about whether your brand should make the move to sell or advertise on Amazon, check out Ovative’s recent insights piece.²
As you prepare for big events like back-to-school and holiday, especially with changing consumer behavior following COVID-19, set your brand up for success by planning for supply chain disruptions, prioritizing your testing strategy, adding to your media mix, and as always, thinking customer-first.
Ovative is a digital-first media and measurement firm seeking to transform the measure of marketing success. At Ovative, we help brands move the needle. We are curious. We value your brand. We want to see you succeed. Connect with us to learn more!
Sources:
1 | Consumer Confidence Index, July 2021
2 | CNBC, Child Tax Credit Payments, May 2021
3| Ovative Group, Transitioning to Amazon, June 2021
4 | Ovative Group, Cross Client Insights Data, July 2021
5 | Forbes, Protecting Against Supply Chain Disruptions, June 2021
