Video viewing, programmatic ad spend, Black Friday fatigue: 5 killer stats to start your week

We arm you with the numbers marketers need for the coming week including consumers’ video viewing habits, programmatic ad spend growth and mounting Black Friday fatigue among shoppers.

1. Brits watch five hours of video a day

Brits are watching five hours of video a day, and live television is the most popular form accounting for 56% of all daily video consumption at two hours and 38 minutes a day.

There are eight reasons for watching: to unwind, which accounts for 26% of time spent; to distract (18%); for comfort (16%); to stay in touch (12%); for the experience (10%); to indulge (9%); to escape (7%); and to seek practical information (2%).

Brits say the reason they watch opt to watch live TV is because it helps them stay in touch with the world and share viewing experiences, while those who watch on-demand subscription services such as Netflix say it’s because they can lose themselves in another world.

However, young viewers are more likely to choose the latter as a form of escapism, accounting for 42% of 16- to 34-year-olds viewing in this need state (escapism) compared to live TV’s 24%.

While there are similarities across age brackets, the research did identify some significant differences. Younger people want more distraction, with 29% of 16- to 24-year-olds saying their total viewing is to satisfy the ‘distract’ need state, compared to 13% of 55- to 64-year-olds.

Source: Thinkbox

2. 65% of digital media ad spend to be programmatic in 2019

Two-thirds (65%) of digital media ad spend will be programmatic in 2019, equal to $84bn and up 19% year on year from the $70bn spent this year.

By 2020, advertisers are predicted to spend $98bn on programmatic advertising, representing 68% of their expenditure on digital media advertising.

The UK is the third largest programmatic market with £3.7bn of programmatic ad spend, behind the US (£26.6bn) and China at (£5.2bn). Britain has also been trading 76% of all digital media programmatically this year, up almost 3% on last year.

It is predicted that by 2020 programmatic advertising will account for more than 80% of digital media spend in the UK market, climbing to £4.6bn.

Source: Zenith

3. Black Friday fatigue setting in among consumers

British consumers are becoming bored of Black Friday, with 81% thinking they can get a good deal all year and 18% believing if an item is reduced on Black Friday it isn’t worth buying in the first place.

Despite Black Friday growing in size and scale, just 13% of consumers claim to do their Christmas shopping on Black Friday, up from 10% two years ago. And many are finding it overwhelming, with 47% claiming they get lost in the sea of promotions and often don’t know when to start.

It is also more popular among younger shoppers, with 35% of 18- to 24-year-olds claiming to hold off buying things until the event, compared with only 5% of those aged over 65. And just a quarter of the younger generation say they prefer Black Friday to the post-Christmas sales, falling to 3% among older consumers.

Source: the7stars

4. Marketers don’t have the right tech to do their jobs effectively

The majority (58%) of marketers do not have the right technology to do their jobs effectively, which is holding back innovation. This despite the fact that 92% of organisations use language that suggests technology and innovation are vital to their future.

The top three barriers to communication innovation are internal processes, cited by 53% of respondents, IT infrastructure on 49%, and lack of technology on 39%. And 71% said they do not think their organisation is investing enough in technology and innovation for communication.

Source: DRP

5. Holiday spending set to jump nearly 25% in UK this year

UK shoppers are expected to spend up to three times as much as consumers in France and Germany over the festive period.

The average UK consumer is predicted to spend £2,046 over Christmas, up 5% year on year. In comparison, French consumers have budgeted £635 for festive spending, a 19% increase from last year. And German consumers plan to spend £587, marking the biggest increase at 46%.

More than half (56%) of UK shopping budgets are expected to be spent online this year, with 80% planning to spend the same or more online than they did in 2017.

Source: Adobe