At GroundTruth, our mission is to use real-world behavior to help marketers deliver real business results. To help all of our customers achieve that success, we’ve identified 4 main consumer trends that should inform the way companies build their marketing and advertising strategies for 2024. Even if these don’t impact your industry directly, they will impact how your customers see your messaging and react to it. And we think that makes them important for every marketer to know. 

So without further ado, here are the top 4 consumer trends marketers should watch for in 2024. 

1. Smartphone Spending Continues to Grow

For the first time, total smartphone-based spending will top $1 trillion in 2024. Between in-store tap-and-pay transactions and internet-based (wallet, app, and browser) smartphone retail sales, a total payment value of $1.185 trillion is projected over the next twelve months. When you compare that to the $7.548 trillion total projected retail sales, you start to see just how many customers will make their purchasing decisions with their phone.

Additionally, most customers are expected to pay with digital wallets as younger generations drive tap-and-pay. In 2024, roughly two-thirds of US smartphone users will use a mobile wallet app for their transactions, up from about half in 2021. This marks the first year that approximately half of Gen Z users (49.8%) will tap-and-pay, following in the footsteps of Millennials (63.0%). For marketers, understanding these consumer spending trends on smartphones can help segmenting mobile advertising audiences based on location, which in turn helps boost conversion rates and improves mobile Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).

2. Digital Discovery Is Critical, but Physical Stores Still Matter to Customers

While consumer spending trends are important, consumer behavior trends will also be key for 2024. Consumer behavior shows that consumer spending is still higher in physical stores. 

Retail and brand sites (including mobile apps) collectively drive greater awareness, but stores are still highly relevant in most product categories, even those with high ecommerce sales rates (according to eMarketer/Insider Intelligence proprietary survey of 1,447 consumer goods shoppers). One of the key differences between online and in-store discovery is shoppers who find new brands and products inside the physical store are more likely (31.5% of shoppers) to make an immediate purchase compared to shoppers browsing online retail sites (19.1%) or brand sites (10.4%).

In-store discovery is also highly relevant in categories where “touch-and-try” shopping is popular. The ability to try on and physically evaluate products is likely what has kept stores relevant in categories like furniture and home goods, beauty, and clothing. According to The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce, Q3 2023, 84.4% of retail sales occur in-store. 

In terms of 2024 marketing strategies, this consumer trend suggests an omni-channel approach that reaches audiences online and off can give you an advantage when it comes time to make their purchase.

3. Connected TV Viewers Officially Surpass Traditional TV

In 2024, CTV, or non-pay TV, viewers (the sum of cord-cutters and cord-nevers) will surpass traditional TV viewers for the first time. We’ve seen habits trend in this direction for a while, but this year marks the official switch. Also, important to note that time spent with connected TV (CTV) by US adults will be within one hour of linear next year, at 2 hours and 3 minutes (2:03) and 2:48 per day respectively, according to eMarketer forecasts.

Again, this 2024 consumer trend toward CTV underscores the importance of omni-channel strategies, whether you are running awareness campaigns or targeting conversions. To ensure you reach audiences with the right frequency and on the channels they are most engaged with, consider how to incorporate CTV ads with your existing plan.

4. AI Will Be Part of Everything

Not everyone has welcomed AI with enthusiasm. Skepticism is still high in a fair number of consumers. However, in 2024, companies will integrate genAI capabilities into the apps and products that we all use all the time. Whether we like it or not (and whether we notice or not), generative AI will be part of the buying experience. 

What does the trend toward generative AI mean for marketers? Being thoughtful about what tools you use and when to create an exceptional experience will help turn consumer into repeat customers.

Putting It All Together

While there are many more 2024 consumer trends, these top 4 are key for your marketing success. This year brings incredible opportunities for smart marketers to use all the tools they have at their disposal to bring customers into their stores and drive purchases. By connecting to new CTV audiences, building omni-channel campaigns for target audiences, and creating memorable experiences in your stores and online, 2024 can be your best year yet! 

If you want to get started building your best advertising strategy, contact GroundTruth today!

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2020 will long be remembered as the year that impacted all tenets of life prompting consumers to adjust their lifestyles like never before. With daily activities such as work, school, and shopping reimagined, brands and marketers found new ways of operating in order to address consumers’ needs in a rapidly changing environment.

Not only did offline behaviors change, but media consumption soared to new levels. Time spent on digital increased by 12% YoY, with traditional media also gaining a slight boost of 4%.

As we embark on a new year, there are 5 key emerging consumer trends that brands and marketers can use to help guide their 2021 strategies and build impactful customer experiences for their core audiences while keeping up with changing industry and consumer trends.

Accelerated Consumer Behaviors

The disruptive impact of COVID-19 on everyday life has accelerated the adoption of several consumer behaviors, such as click-and-collect and grocery delivery. What’s more, it further blurred the line between bricks and clicks. Last year, Click-and-Collect sales in the United States alone grew by 60.4% when compared to the previous year.

As the boundaries between offline and digital continue to blend, providing flexible shopping options can help open more doors and browser tabs. Building integrated digital and in-store experiences are not only good for your customer, but they’re also good for your bottom line. In fact, a 2020 GroundTruth study in partnership with Numerator revealed that shoppers who make an in-store visit after being shown a GroundTruth location-based mobile ad are 25% more likely to make a purchase from that retailer online than those who are not shown an ad, reinforcing the buying power of omni-channel shoppers.

The Importance of Adaptability

Even in a so-called “normal” year, industry-wide changes are to be expected. Companies must be agile enough to evolve with industry shifts by creating diverse marketing strategies that are adaptable to these changes. Aside from real-time adjustments in response to the pandemic this past year, companies also had to prepare for upcoming changes like the phaseout of cookies and the introduction of iOS 14.

With the elimination of cookies and the roll out of iOS 14, partnering with a media company that can provide your brand with compliant and scalable solutions will help avoid disruption to “business as usual” once these changes take effect.

For example, in a cookie-less world, the value of 1st party data and the ability to leverage location-based data to uncover and build behavior-based audience segments become king. The rollout of iOS 14 has also added some pressure to the “death of the cookie”. However, with an assortment of alternative solutions, marketers can find ways to fill in the data gap.

Brand Purpose Can Help Build Loyalty

With the economic impact of 2020, supporting local businesses and community-based organizations has become more important than ever for consumers. According to a study by the Zeno group, 89% of Americans are “more likely to support a brand earning a profit if they also have a positive impact on the world”, with particularly strong support globally coming from younger generations, i.e. Gen Z and Millennials supporting purpose-driven brands 9-11% more than Gen X consumers.

This was particularly true for restaurants that were closed to in-person dining. Alternate methods like drive-thru, carry-out and delivery became crucial to supporting local business. In Q2 of 2020, drive-thru visits increased by 26% making up 42% of all restaurant visits during that time frame. For purpose-conscious consumers, supporting businesses within their communities promotes the overall economic health of their communities.

We believe that supporting local communities will continue to be a priority for consumers in 2021 as the country begins to rebound economically. Focusing on establishing regular communications around store hours and operating procedures as well as having a strong local community presence can help acquire first-time customers and increase visits from your loyal customers.

Work-Life Balance

It goes without saying that the pandemic had a major impact on normal work and home life patterns. Companies with employees who could work remotely during the pandemic shifted to a work from home format.  A September 2020 Gallup poll revealed that 33% of U.S. workers were working from home full-time. Opportunities for remote work led to an increase in residential moves, some temporary while some were permanent. A PEW research study found that “about a fifth of U.S. adults moved due to COVID-19 or know someone who did”.

While it’s too early to know the full impact of an increased remote workforce and on real estate, both residential and commercial, one thing we can be sure of is that daily routines have changed. Whether a person no longer commutes, has moved to a new city or state, or is finding a new work/life balance, routines have been disrupted. Brands that can lean into these changes as consumers build new habits can grow their loyalist audience and gain market share from competitors by leveraging these shifts to reach shoppers during the right moments in 2021.

Multi-channel Innovation

With the uncertainty that clouded much of last year, companies that were able to quickly innovate with a customer-first approach in 2020 were able to find new ways to limit the harsh economic impacts of the pandemic.

Some restaurants, for example, shifted their focus to pick up and delivery in order to comply with local regulations and provide safe alternatives allowing foodies to indulge in their favorite menu items. During a May 2020 fireside chat moderated by GroundTruth, Sweetgreen’s VP, Head of Marketing, Meenakshi Nagarajan, shared that the company shifted all of their emphasis on pick up and delivery in the early weeks of the pandemic.  “It’s been challenging but it has shown us that we can problem solve and move faster than we ever thought.”, said Nagarajan. Sweetgreen, a popular destination for simple, seasonal, healthy food, also leveraged its Outpost operations to provide meals for frontline workers to give back to local communities.

Another innovative solution that saw an increase in adoption was telehealth. Within the first month of the pandemic, the volume of telehealth visits made up 69% of all visits. While the percentage of visits dropped to 21% by July, the increase in patient confidence in the virtual solution will likely shape the future of health care in the coming years.

Digitally savvy brands with existing virtual operations, app integrations with meal delivery companies, and contactless pick-up logistics in place before the pandemic were able to ramp up quickly to meet the needs of their customers. 2020 proved the benefit of physical locations having a digital presence and customer-driven solutions, which will continue to be critical in 2021.

Plan in Action

The pandemic forced us all to pause and reconsider how we go about our daily lives, whether as marketers looking to create a new level of consumer engagement or as consumers learning how to navigate this new normal.

The 5 pillars outlined above are a mix of industry and consumer trends that have significantly gained traction over the past year, while others signal key changes in consumer behavior that should be considered for developing successful marketing campaigns in 2021.

Want to learn more about how location-based targeting and audience solutions can support your 2021 Marketing plans? Tell us a little bit about yourself by completing the form below and one of our location experts will follow up with you.

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Agenda:

• Keynote on the impact and importance of iOS 14 and what businesses/publishers should keep in mind as they make adjustments in preparation.
• Virtual fireside chat to talk with an agency partner on how they guided clients to make changes to their marketing strategies/tactics/budgets during this time.
• Insightful breakout sessions with the speakers and attendees to dive deeper into strategies for coping with rapid changes as well as swap best practices learned during these unprecedented times.

The post Tech Trends: Major Changes to “Business as Usual” appeared first on GroundTruth.

Join us for an all-star panel of diverse small business owners to learn how quarantine-life has not only impacted consumer behavior, but their business plans. Learn firsthand how they’ve adjusted to the “new normal” by leaning into location-based ad tech to tap into the right audiences.

The post Diverse Small Business LeadersDiscuss Challenges and Innovations with Location Tech Leader GroundTruth appeared first on GroundTruth.

Agenda:

1. Learn seamless ways to access and buy CTV inventory on the same Ads Manager platform as your mobile, and desktop campaigns and how to set up these campaigns
2. Discover use cases of when and where it will be optimal to use desktop and CTV along with mobile
3. Get to know the advantages of running these channels in the same platform such as:
   • Leverage GroundTruth’s audiences and targeting capabilities to reach specific users
   • Drive impactful messaging and contextual ads using CTV as an additional touchpoint to reach your consumers
   • Eliminate wasted impressions with highly localized and efficient targeting
   • Premium Inventory from all major exchanges and PMPs

The post Omni-Channel Strategy: Using Connected TV, Desktop and Mobile in One Platform appeared first on GroundTruth.

The post Reopen your Business, Reconnect with your Customers: Strategies to Maximize Your Marketing Efforts appeared first on GroundTruth.

During this time of rapidly changing consumer behaviors, learn how to leverage visitation patterns and trends to unlock key insights about your current and potential customers as you re-open your business.

Agenda:

1. Learn re-open campaign strategies and creative best practices for Retail, Restaurant, Outdoor Activities and more
2. Explore GroundTruth’s COVID-19 Foot Traffic Tracker with the guidance of a Platform Expert
3. Uncover visitation trends by filtering by category of business, state, zip code and custom timeframes in verticals key to your business
4. Learn how to translate data-based observations into your marketing media plan

The post Data-Driven Decision Making to Guide Re-Opening Strategies appeared first on GroundTruth.

Agenda:

• Help clients understand the types of banners/creative we find most effective
• Share examples and tools they can access within Ads Manager
• Help expedite creative upload for new and existing clients

The post Creative Best Practices appeared first on GroundTruth.

Agenda:

• Mostly retailer focused: Big box, electronics stores, and department stores
• Review past visitation and audience behaviors
• Share innovative solutions that leverage location-based insights to power impactful media activations

The post Back to School Strategy Guide in the Times of COVID appeared first on GroundTruth.

As the global economy embarks on the road to recovery, questions loom large as to what people will be doing and how they will be spending their time once they can leave their homes and go to more public spaces. Many of us have been asking ourselves, how will we spend our time once the quarantine is lifted? It’s difficult to know what to expect, so observing patterns and behaviors as they emerge will be vital to making business decisions in the near future.

GroundTruth has built a customizable dashboard that highlights various movement trends to public spaces and businesses all over the United States.   

While this dashboard can serve a variety of purposes, we wanted to share a few suggested applications with some guidance to help unlock the potential for the data shared on the dashboard. 

Observing New  Behaviors

The prime, and most broad, use for the dashboard is to encourage visibility into overall behavior as the country begins to open back up. If a specific region or state decides to start opening doors again, there is transparency into how quickly, or gradually, people begin to move back into more normalized levels of foot traffic. Additionally, it gives an opportunity to see traffic broken out by various categories of interest, from beaches to restaurants. 

What’s Ahead for Industry

The tracker is an opportunity for marketers to stay on the pulse of where people are going as the country gets back to business. Curating your search to view specific verticals of business will give an overview of patterns or shifts in behavior as retailers, restaurants, and other types of business open back up. From advertisers to brands, this can give a real-time view of movement trends and highlight opportunities to maximize reopening.

Hyper Localization for SMBs

For SMBs, access to localized data as granular as the zip code level can help them base their marketing strategies on accurate and reliable data. As communities depend on different types of tourism and businesses to thrive, it is important to have an overview of where people are gravitating as the public reaches increased comfort levels for travel. Understanding not only what is motivating consumers to resume “normal” behavior, but when those behavioral shifts begin to happen, could be key to their success.

Common FAQ

How often is the data updated? 

Data is updated on a daily basis but on a five-day delay, so the most updated day will be 5 days prior to the current date.

Where does this data come from?

This data is derived from the 30 billion annual global visits GroundTruth observes on its platform.

What does “Indexed Daily Foot Traffic” mean?

We use indexed foot traffic to demonstrate the relative increase or decrease in visits to different places of interest. Daily foot traffic from before COVID-19 impact is indexed against average daily visits from December 30th, 2019 to March 8th 2020. Daily foot traffic from after COVID-19 impact is indexed against average daily visits starting from March 9th 2020 to current.

Can I see foot traffic to my specific brand/business?

Yes, if you are interested in seeing a custom analysis, please reach out to your GroundTruth rep or email us directly at requests@groundtruth.com.

The post Stepping into the New Normal: Uncover and Understand Consumer Sentiment based on Visitation Trends appeared first on GroundTruth.