Dear ROGER,

Welcome to the December 2024 issue of Key Notes - Marketing Keys' monthly newsletter! As the holiday season is in full swing, we’re wishing you and your business a successful close to the year! Key Notes is an informative, quick-read newsletter to get you caught up on all things media and marketing. Our goal is for you to be informed and entertained with the latest media and marketing happenings quickly and efficiently. 

This year, Black Friday took on a new look as shoppers increasingly turned to online shopping rather than visiting stores in person. With sales reaching a record $10.8 billion, online spending rose by over 10% compared to last year. The milestone highlights a growing trend away from the traditional in-store rush. Many consumers are finding the convenience of shopping from their phones or computers hard to resist, as technology continues to improve the overall experience.

Mobile devices emerged as a favorite tool for shoppers, accounting for more than half of online purchases. With $5.9 billion spent through smartphones alone, mobile shopping jumped over 12% from last year. While desktops and other devices played a supporting role, the ease and accessibility of shopping on-the-go proved especially popular. During the busiest part of the day, from mid-morning to early afternoon, online purchases soared, with millions of dollars being spent every minute.

Meanwhile, fewer shoppers ventured out to stores, with in-person foot traffic dropping by just over 3%. This shift aligns with growing preferences for avoiding crowds and long checkout lines. Instead, consumers focused on grabbing online deals across a range of popular items, from beauty products and clothing to electronics and home goods. With so many options available at the click of a button, the online shopping experience continues to outshine the traditional mall scene.

The trend of shopping from home extended throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, setting the stage for Cyber Monday to take the spotlight. Early reports show it lived up to its reputation as the busiest online shopping day of the year, fueled by deep discounts on electronics, apparel, and toys. Flexible payment options, which allow consumers to spread out their purchases, also played a key role in the weekend’s sales totals, adding to the overall holiday spending surge.

Traditional media giants remain dominant in the entertainment landscape, maintaining strong consumer demand for their television and movie offerings. Companies like Walt Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and NBCUniversal continue to attract audiences globally, even as newer streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video gain traction. While competition in the streaming space intensifies, these legacy companies leverage their rich content libraries and iconic franchises to stay ahead.

Disney remains the leader, capturing 18.4% of the overall demand for entertainment content, though it has seen a slight decline compared to last year. Warner Bros. Discovery follows closely with 16.7%, while NBCUniversal holds 9.0%. NBCUniversal’s Peacock platform saw notable success this quarter, adding three million new subscribers, largely fueled by its popular reality show, Love Island. Similarly, Paramount Global gained 3.5 million subscribers, exceeding last year’s growth, even as its overall share dipped slightly to 11.1%.

On the digital-first front, Netflix continues to excel with its original programming, achieving a 9.6% share of consumer interest in original TV content, up from 8.4% last year. Its ability to outpace traditional players like NBCUniversal in this area highlights its growing influence. Meanwhile, other streaming-first platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+ are making modest gains. Both platforms increased their demand share compared to the previous year, signaling steady growth in a competitive space.

As the media industry evolves, legacy companies are working to balance their traditional strengths with the demands of a digital audience. Subscriber growth across both long-established platforms and newer streaming services shows the enduring appeal of high-quality content. With each side innovating to capture more viewers, the race to meet growing entertainment demand continues to reshape the industry.

In today’s digital world, online reviews have become a key factor in influencing purchasing decisions. Nearly one-third of U.S. consumers (28%) say they always check reviews before buying a product online, while another 28% do so regularly. The impact of these reviews is undeniable, as many shoppers will abandon their shopping carts if they feel unsure about the credibility of the feedback they read. This highlights the critical importance for retailers to ensure the authenticity of their product reviews to maintain consumer trust.

While online reviews hold significant weight in the decision-making process, trust in them is not absolute. Only a small percentage (5%) of consumers completely trust online reviews, while the majority (89.5%) find them reliable at least half of the time. This indicates that while reviews are essential, consumers remain cautious and look for signs of genuine feedback. Retailers, therefore, must focus on fostering trust by presenting honest, customer-driven insights rather than relying on generic or questionable reviews.

The importance of online reviews extends beyond just product quality. For example, many shoppers buy items like clothing, beauty products, and even groceries online based on the experiences of others. With one-third of consumers now purchasing health products and groceries online, retailers that provide clear and trustworthy reviews have a competitive advantage. On the flip side, when reviews are found to be fake or misleading, up to 70% of consumers may abandon their purchase entirely, underscoring the need for businesses to ensure review authenticity.

As online shopping habits grow, so does the responsibility for both retailers and consumers to verify the credibility of reviews. As more Americans shop online multiple times a month, the trustworthiness of these reviews continues to play a major role in driving sales. Retailers who prioritize transparency and genuine feedback will stand out in the crowded online marketplace, positioning themselves as reliable choices for consumers looking to make informed decisions.

Over the next year, email marketers are prioritizing automation and personalization to enhance their campaigns. Many are focusing on automating more emails, such as those triggered by specific actions, while others are expanding their efforts to create highly personalized content. These goals reflect a shift toward delivering timely, relevant messages that better connect with audiences.

In addition to these priorities, marketers are working to improve data management, streamline workflows, and ensure emails are successfully delivered to recipients. However, these efforts come with challenges. Some of the most significant obstacles include accessing the data needed for personalization, limited team resources, and creating dynamic content. Other difficulties include gaining approval from stakeholders and conducting proper testing to ensure quality.

Email campaigns serve a variety of purposes, including promotional messages, newsletters, and nurturing customers through their lifecycle. Many rely on automated processes to send messages based on customer actions, inaction, or specific dates. Despite some barriers, many marketers report success with their personalization efforts. Strategies such as customizing subject lines, including dynamic content, and using simple tools like merge tags are common approaches.

Still, there’s plenty of room to grow. A small percentage of marketers use advanced techniques, such as real-time updates or AI-powered content recommendations, while some do not personalize their emails at all. This shows the potential for businesses to explore more sophisticated personalization methods to make their emails even more engaging and impactful.

The competition in the social microblogging space is heating up, with Bluesky and Meta's Threads app both making notable strides. Threads recently reached 35 million sign-ups by November, with a significant jump in user growth over the last two weeks. Over the past three months, the app has been adding more than a million users per day, a trend that followed the U.S. presidential election. This growth is partly due to users moving away from X, as Elon Musk strengthens his association with president-elect Donald Trump. While Bluesky's user base is smaller, it has reached 20 million users and continues to expand, drawing attention as a rising player in the market.

Bluesky's growth, although still modest compared to giants like Threads and X, has led to new investment interest, especially after the platform raised $15 million in Series A funding. In the meantime, Meta is keeping pace with its own updates to Threads. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the app is testing a feature that allows users to customize their default feed, a feature similar to those found on X and Bluesky. Additionally, Meta is working on enhancing its search and trending functions, including AI-driven summaries of popular discussions and improved post search options, which should help attract more regular engagement.

As the competition between these platforms continues, the key factor will shift from simply gaining new users to maintaining active and engaged users. While both Bluesky and Threads are growing, the real challenge will be how consistently users interact with these apps. With both platforms rolling out new features, it's clear that this battle for dominance in the social microblogging world is just getting started.

Here is a recent highlight from Marketing Keys' blog page. Please start following our blogs and let us know what you think.

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Until next month,

Roger Keys

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Marketing Keys

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