Budgets tend to increase with competition in various industries. According to our data collected through our advertising toolkit , general and fashion retailers are the biggest spenders on advertising, with approximately 50% of the domains analyzed within these sectors spending over $150,000 per month.
Online advertising spending during the COVID-19 crisis
Budget cuts and widening gaps
From our data, it is clear that the coronavirus crisis has impacted global digital advertising spend.
Comparing year-over-year data for the pandemic months (March-June 2019 vs. 2020), we found that almost everyone, from small to large-scale advertisers, has reduced online advertising budgets by an average of 20%.
Initially, those spending more than $1 million a month on online ads were more reluctant to make significant cuts, but by June 2020, all advertisers had begun to show less confidence in digital ad spending.
Changes in online advertising June 2020
(Lost) opportunities
With advertising spending down, online advertising costs are also falling. Due to the pandemic, most eCommerce sectors have seen a drop in average cost per click (CPC), which could mean advertisers can get more for every dollar they spend.
This opportunity is not consistent across all eCommerce industries – you can find a more detailed overview of digital advertising spending during the COVID-19 crisis and a look at industry-specific data in our recent blog post .
Emotional triggers and CTAs in eCommerce ads
Finding the right emotional trigger to encourage users to click on an ad is often the difference between the success or failure of an advertising campaign.
Examples like “Free Shipping,” “Free Returns,” and “Shipping Available” are dominating the CTA landscape among ecommerce ads; our research showed that 32% of all ads emphasize free delivery. This messaging has become increasingly popular during coronavirus times as consumers increasingly shop online for items they never bought online before.
However, a one-size-fits-all approach to advertising is not enough for online campaigns, as each industry has its own peculiarities:
Health & Beauty and Home & Garden ads often highlight exclusive factors with CTAs like “limited edition”;
Message quality is very important for sectors such as Pets ("recommended by veterinarians") and Electronics ("[trusted] from", "authorized company"); and
Sports & Outdoors and Fashion ads frequently use CTAs focused on urgency and novelty, with favorites like “new arrivals,” “shop the latest,” and “new collection” present in 26% of ads analyzed in these industries.
Popular calls-to-action in ecommerce advertising messages
Consumer demand in