BDO: Retailers’ marketing mix includes shift to mobile and social

Chicago - Overall marketing and advertising budgets at leading U.S. retailers will rise by 1.% this year, compared to a decline of .98% in 2013, with 72% of retailers expecting to spend about the same amount on marketing and advertising compared to last year, according to the BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs, by BDO USA.



But while the amount retailers are spending on marketing may be constant with last year, marketing strategies are changing. One-in-four CMOs ay that they have changed their holiday marketing strategy this year in response to consumers’ demand for a more seamless experience across channels. Of those retailers, 100% are using consistent pricing across channels, 95% are using consistent promotional strategies across channels and 86% are expanding product delivery options for customers.



Approximately half of all retailers (49%) plan to include mobile technology in their holiday marketing strategy this year, a jump from 38% in 2013, according to the BDO report. Overall, retailers will spend 14% of their marketing budgets on mobile, up from 6% in 2012.The 84% of retailers using social media this year say that it will comprise an average of 19% of all marketing efforts, up from 14% in 2013.



Additional Findings of the 2014 BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs Include:

Consumer data challenges top-of-mind amid slew of data breaches in 2014. In fact, concerns over the risk of data breaches spiked this year, with 17% of surveyed retailers calling it their number one challenge pertaining to the vast amounts of consumer data, up from 2% in 2013. Roughly one-in-three (34%) retailers perceive risks related to potential data breaches and cyber security to be higher this year than in 2013.



Overall, as retailers look to effectively manage and leverage their troves of customer data accessed through in-store purchases, e-commerce and social media, 72% find the process challenging, and 45% find it very challenging. Retailers are more comfortable when it comes to using consumer data for marketing efforts, with only 28% of CMOs surveyed this year citing this as their top challenge—an improvement from 44% last year.



Retailers focus on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect with customers. Consistent with last year’s findings, the vast majority of retailers (76%) will be featuring Facebook campaigns this holiday season, while Twitter and LinkedIn remain the second and third most popular social networks among retailers, with 27% and 21%, respectively, using these platforms.



With greater online competition and increased promotional activity this year, retailers are also beginning to experiment more with “buy buttons” on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, which could help boost the conversion rates and ROI of their social media activity.



The BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs is conducted by Market Measurement, an independent market research consulting firm, whose executive interviewers spoke directly to chief marketing officers, using a telephone survey conducted within a scientifically-developed, pure random sample of the nation’s retailers.