The madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday has now come and gone, and the countdown to Christmas and the January sales is now on. Read about the latest happenings from the busy last seven days here:
Online Beats Physical Stores In The Black Friday Battle
According to online retailers’ trade body IMRG, this Black Friday £1.4 billion was spent on online sales in the UK – 11.7 per cent up on last year. But figures from Springboard say footfall to physical stores on the high street, and in retail parks and shopping centres were down 3.6 per cent.
IMRG Strategy and Insight Director, Andy Mulcahy, said:
“People shop in a lot more places than they would normally. Because they know everyone is offering massive discounts then they are inclined to shop around more. Online lends itself well to that.”
Furthermore, it has been reported that online sales in the UK were up 3 per cent between 11am and 5pm this Cyber Monday when compared to last year. This peaked towards the end of the working day at 4:38pm says data specialist PCA Predict.
Facebook Outlines Its Advertising Principles
Of late, Facebook has come under scrutiny for how its ad platform can be misused. In order to confront this issue straight on, the social giant has published a list of the principles it uses.
Facebook’s VP of Ad Products, Rob Goldman, said:
“While the world and our services are always evolving, we thought it would be helpful to lay out the principles that guide our decision-making when it comes to advertising across Facebook, Messenger and Instagram,”
So, what do these principles include? Well, the list reveals elements such as protecting people’s personal information, being transparent and upholding community standards.
Personalisation Is Preferred Over Promotions In The UK
Harris Interactive has released new research, on behalf of Sizmek, that reveals there is a preference for personalised digital ads over one-off discounts or promotions.
The study found that prior to Black Friday this year, 40 per cent did not plan on purchasing during the sale weekend, however 49 per cent would engage with an ad that was personalised to the brands or products they like. This raised to 73 per cent among millennials.
Geo-located ads also seemed popular with 70 per cent of millennials and 48 per cent of 35-54 year olds reporting they would be more likely to engage with an ad if it was based on their current location.
Study Reveals Consequences Of Data Breaches
After the recent news about Uber and the 2018 introduction of GDPR, security is a hot topic. And a recent study has revealed that the majority of consumers would stop doing business with a company if there was a data breach.
Gemalto surveyed 10,000 people in 11 countries and found 70 per cent would end a relationship with a business if there was a serious security data breach. Whereas 69 per cent said they don’t think businesses are taking the security of consumer data seriously or not.
However, consumers also aren’t taking recommended security measures. For example, 56 per cent use the same passwords for multiple accounts, and 41 per cent don’t utilise two-factor authentication services when offered. This is because 62 per cent believe it is the company’s responsibility.
For more news updates, guides and opinion pieces, take a look at a few more of our articles.