Study: Post-pandemic confidence grows
May 4, 2021
Research from programmatic video platform Tremor Video and ad platform Unruly reveals that 56 per cent of consumers feel optimistic about the year ahead and 60 per cent predict a return toward normality within the year.
The study, 2021 Consumer Insights Report, uncovers how consumers are feeling about the future—including their attitudes regarding shopping, traveling, dining and TV viewing—now that more than a year has passed since the Covid-19 pandemic first surfaced.
According to the research, 83 per cent of consumers plan to either maintain or increase their current spend levels when returning to a more normal life, on average across categories. Consumers report that they plan to either maintain or increase their spend at the highest rates for the following categories: groceries (92 per cent), beauty & personal care (86 per cent), consumer electronics (84 per cent), home & garden (84 per cent) and home entertainment (83 per cent).
With this likely increase in spending comes promising news for brands with brick-and-mortar dimensions of their businesses, as 84 per cent of consumers plan on shopping in-person during the year, with 29 per cent reporting that they will do all of their shopping in-person and 23 per cent reporting that they will do most of their shopping in-person with some online shopping.
Although the research suggests that consumers are eager to resume their pre-Covid activities, their enthusiasm for this return to more normal lifestyles does not necessarily mean that their rates of TV engagement will decline as a result. In fact, most consumers are likely to engage with CTV at comparable or higher rates as the pandemic dissipates. Over the next six months, 86 per cent of consumers plan to watch live TV at the same or increased rates, 88 per cent plan to watch the same or higher amounts of TV via paid streaming (SVoD), and 81 per cent plan to maintain or increase their viewing of TV via free streaming (AVoD).
“After a long period of being homebound, consumers are feeling positive about the future, as they look to resume activities like dining out, traveling and in-store shopping, all of which should give advertisers a renewed sense of confidence in the months ahead,” notes Terence Scroope, VP of Media Insights and Analytics, Tremor Video. “In parallel, our study suggests that consumers plan to increase their time with CTV content, reinforcing just how essential the medium will continue to be for advertisers as they look to fine-tune their 2021 media strategies.”
Tremor Video and Unruly conducted this research to learn more about what factors are making consumers more hopeful about the months ahead and to what extent this may impact how, when and where they spend throughout the year. Additional key findings include:
- Increase in TV Engagement: Since March 2020, TV viewing has spiked considerably, with 61 per cent of consumers saying they have watched more TV than before the outbreak of the pandemic
- Acceleration of TV Streaming: Over the next six months, increased engagement with both paid and free TV streaming will be most pronounced among younger age demos (18-44s) and higher income ($100,000 or more, annually) demos
- Support of Local Businesses: Consumers report that they will be more supportive of local businesses with most (59 per cent) planning to continue shopping locally
- Evolution of Behaviours: Most (58 per cent) consumers have adopted new behaviors thanks to increased time shopping online during Covid; this is especially prevalent among the 18-34s age group
Tremor Video and Unruly’s recently-released CTV Advertiser Insights Report reflects how advertisers are increasingly leveraging CTV as an effective platform to reach relevant consumers and encourage them to embrace these desired buying behaviours through advertising. In fact, nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of US digital advertising professionals believe that CTV reaches target audiences more effectively than linear TV, with 85 per cent making CTV a key part of their video strategy.
Tremor Video and Unruly believe that CTV is a significant growth engine for Tremor International, with their parent company recently reporting 116 per cent net revenue growth in the CTV space in Q4 2020 compared to Q4 2019. The company has also reported that its performance during the first quarter of 2021 is significantly ahead of the same period in 2020 and it expects trading for the year to be ahead of management expectations. This positive momentum is underpinned by the successful execution of Tremor’s strategy, which focuses on video and data, with the company’s core solutions of CTV, private marketplaces (PMPs), and its self-service platform.
Scheduled to launch in late May 2021, Tremor Video’s new TV Intelligence offering will leverage its experience in CTV and addressable TV retargeting to allow advertisers to reach the most relevant consumers with precision, using a wide breadth and depth of audience data assets.