Analysis of Covid-19 effects on different industries and which marketing strategies companies decided to use to save money and improve their performance in the industry.
Industries analysed:
1. Online retail
2. Fashion and Beauty
3. Online Groceries
4. Amazon category analysis - growth, winners and losers
5. Travel - Line of business conversion and visitation
6. Finance
7. Telecom - 5G traffic growth
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WEBINAR DECK
The New Normal:
COVID-19’s Impact on Europe
Tomas Seliokas, April 2020
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CLICK HERE FOR FULL
PRESENTATION WITH AUDIO
Welcome!
Tomas Seliokas
Strategic Consultant, Research Solution
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1. Introduction
2. Retail
3. Finance & Telecom
4. Travel
Agenda
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Data Collection
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Performance
How efficient is a site at
converting a user to purchase?
On-Site
What do consumers search for
within a site? Which terms
perform best?
Engagement
How do users engage with a
site? Do they bounce? What
segments do they view?
Browsing Behavior
Where else are consumers
going? Are they viewing
competitor sites or listening to
music?
Traffic Acquisition
How do these sites drive traffic?
What channels do they use
and what tactical strategies?
Retention
Do users enjoy their experience?
Do they come back and how
often?
Discover
Awareness PurchaseEvaluation ExperienceConsideration
Monitor Optimize
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Executive Summary
Retail
Not all is lost: Consumers have shifted to work-from-
home products, allowing marketplaces to keep
customers coming and D2C brands, like HP and Dell,
to grow by as much as 40%.
Sephora and Ulta Beauty are taking opposing paid
media strategies, enabling Sephora to become 25%
larger than Ulta Beauty worldwide.
Amazon UK: purchases in the fitness and video
games categories increased by 85% during the
second half of March.
Amazon DE: product views for Nintendo Switch have
increased by 79%, helping the gaming console
overtook PlayStation 4 and become the most
popular in Germany.
Online Groceries
LeclercDrive, a popular grocery delivery service in
France, has leveraged paid search to take advantage
of the recent surge in demand and as a result has
taken the top spot from the previous leader,
Carrefour.
Publishers
UK news sites, such as BBC, have experienced an
increase of more than 30% in their total traffic, but
are likely to lose £50m in online ads as firms start to
blacklist coronavirus terms when programming
advertising campaigns.
Travel
Booking.com and other lodging sites have been hit
the hardest in travel, but have set the stage for drive
destinations and flights to win traffic in the post-
corona era.
Finance
Top do-it-yourself financial solutions - such as
Plus500 and eToro - have experienced more than
100% growth YoY as retail investors try to cut losses
or look for high-profit investment opportunities.
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Retail traffic has declined the most in France while food delivery traffic has experienced the sharpest
growth in Italy
Change in YoY Growth, DE, IT,
FR, and UK, Mar-28 vs Jan ‘20
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1. Introduction
2. Retail
3. Finance & Telecom
4. Travel
Agenda
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Luxury and Fashion retailers are the most impacted as shoppers shift to essentials; France is the hardest
hit, while Germany experienced the smallest impact
Change PoP, DE, FR, and UK,
Mar-28 vs Jan ‘20
Germany
France
UK
The consumer electronics category has so far been holding up well as people are buying equipment to work from home or to upgrade their home
entertainment systems like gaming consoles, TVs and laptops
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Most marketplaces in the UK experienced a slight increase in traffic in the last weeks of March, with Argos
growing the most; however, Marks and Spencer continues to decline
Change in YoY Growth, UK
Amazon and eBay were the only marketplaces to see consistent increases in traffic during the first and second half of March. M&S, in comparison,
experienced a decline of 40% due to low performance of its apparel and premium product categories
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The fitness and video games categories both experienced 85% growth during the second half of March
Change in Category Conversions,
Amazon, UK, H1 Mar vs H2 Mar ‘20
In terms of sales on Amazon, the toys and games, and computers and accessories categories grew by 40% and 31%, respectively, thanks to the
increased demand for WFH equipment like keyboards and PC monitors
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PC monitors and video games are two of the fastest-growing categories on Amazon.de while Nintendo
Switch overtakes PS4 to become the most popular gaming console in Germany
Category Views, Amazon,
Germany, H1 Mar vs H2 Mar ‘20
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eBay is taking advantage of Amazon's decision to terminate Google Ads spending due to supply shortages
and increased its paid search traffic by 43% in just 11 days
Paid Search,
Amazon vs. eBay,
UK, DE, FR and IT, March ‘20
-60%
+43%
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While Amazon wins the largest share of organic search for COVID-19 essentials, other marketspaces and
new entrants are taking advantage of its reduction in paid search
Paid Search - Face masks, toilet paper &
hand sanitiser keywords, UK, March ‘20
Organic Search - Face masks, toilet paper &
hand sanitiser keywords, UK, March ‘20
eBay has been able to adapt quickly to changes in consumer demand, as evidenced in its ad copy that addresses the difficulty to find essential
products: ''Seriously, We Have Hand Sanitizer''
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eBay is doubling-down on paid search to compete in categories that Amazon is winning organically
Top Paid Competitive
Keywords, UK, March ’20
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Spikes in shopping activity and pantry-loading have led to a surge in freezer sales, with some retailers
limiting freezers to one per customer
‘Freezer’ organic search, UK, March ‘20
+800%
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D2C sites have seen an increase in traffic and now have an opportunity to establish their brand awareness
due to higher demand
Paid Search
+800%
Quilted, Total Traffic, UK, March ‘20
Toilet paper has become a ‘new gold’, with Quilted seeing an 800% spike in traffic during March. This provides it with an opportunity to improve
brand awareness and potentially grow sales in the future
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Consumer electronics manufacturers are capitalizing on the increased demand by driving traffic directly to
their sites. Dell and HP, for example, have both experienced more than 40% growth
Change in Traffic, UK,
Mar 5 - Mar 11 vs. Mar 26 - Apr 1
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Two of the fastest-growing consumer electronics brands are utilizing paid acquisition but are focusing on
different marketing channels to drive traffic
HP, Paid Search Traffic, March ‘20
Dell, Display Ads Traffic, March ‘20
+130%
+400%
HP has grown by increasing its paid search traffic by 130%, while Dell has focused on Display Ads and increased its traffic by 400%. Both PC
makers should learn from each other’s strategies and move to a more multi-channel approach in order to increase overall ROI
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Casual footwear maker, Crocs, is also seeing a significant surge in traffic following its campaign to give
health care workers free shoes
Crocs.co.uk, All Traffic,
March ‘20
Crocs.de, All Traffic,
March ‘20
+150%
+174%
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In the wake of COVID-19, Sephora and Ulta Beauty are taking opposing paid media strategies, which as a
result Sephora has become 25% bigger than Ultra beauty in just two weeks
# of worldwide visitors (desktop & mobile),
March ‘20
# of worldwide paid search visits (desktop
only), March ‘20
+50%
-70%
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Organic Traffic, 'The Ordinary', France, Mar ‘20
In France, traffic generated from keywords related to ''The Ordinary'' has increased by 57% over the last 28
days
The Ordinary is an affordable skin
care brand, owned by Deciem
Keywords related to beauty brand ‘The Ordinary’ are among the most highly contested keywords between Sephora and Ulta. Sephora has increased
its click share by 5x over the last week and we've seen searches for this brand increasing across multiple markets
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Demand for hair dye has shot up 4x since March 14th as consumers prepare for home solutions with the
lack of hair salons. Meanwhile, searches related to shampoo and conditioner have dropped by over 50%
Organic Search for Hair Dye, Shampoo & Conditioner Keywords,
UK, Desktop, Mar ‘20
Even as the beauty category experiences a general decline in traffic, consumers are still purchasing beauty products, but the demand has shifted
from shampoo to hair dye
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Traffic to Next and TKMaxx has dropped since announcing the suspension of all shipments due to the
‘lockdown’ in the UK
Top Fashion Websites, Total Traffic, Mar ‘20
-50%
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+45%
Asos is adapting to the new normal by focusing on product lines that are most likely to be in high demand
during the lockdown period
Top Fashion Websites, Total Traffic, Mar ‘20
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European grocery chains are sending referral traffic to queue-it.net, which offers virtual queues for
oversubscribed websites, in an attempt to hold on to consumers despite the lack of supplies
Countries sending the most traffic to queue-
it.com, last 28 days (as of Mar 31)
Sites sending the most traffic to queue-it.com,
last 28 days (as of Mar 31)
Queue-it has seen an 840% increase in visits in the last 28 days with the bulk of traffic coming from grocery retailers with the biggest proportion of
which coming from France (30%)
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LeclercDrive has used the surge in demand for food delivery to overtake the previous leader, Carrefour, in the
first half of March, and has stayed on top for the last two weeks
Average Daily Visits, All Traffic,
France, Last 28 Days
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Downloads for LeclercDrive & LeclercChezMoi, a popular online grocery shopping app in France, surged
743% between March 15th and March 16th and has since remained ahead of the competition
App Downloads, France, Last 28
Days
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Carrefour cut back on paid search mid-month with visits dropping by 75% in just 24 hours.
Meanwhile, LeclercDrive increased its paid advertisement by 180%, overtaking Carrefour’s market lead
Paid Search Traffic Channel
Analysis, Desktop, France, Last
28 Days
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Carrefour's display traffic has declined by 60% over the last 28 days, signaling low supply and high demand
Display Ads Traffic Channel
Analysis, Desktop, UK, Last 28
Days
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1. Introduction
2. Retail
3. Finance & Telecom
4. Travel
Agenda
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Usage of online trading platforms is on the rise with DIY investors trying to minimize losses ahead of a
potential recession
Retail Investing: Unique Visitors YoY Heatmap, UK, March ‘20
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German shoppers are diversifying their investments in fears of bank collapses, inflation and further
declines in stock prices by purchasing gold
Organic Search for ‘Buy Gold’ keywords, Desktop, Germany, Mar ‘20
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Interest in 5G is growing, yet not because of a demand for faster internet, but rather due to conspiracy
theories linking 5G to the spread of the coronavirus
5G Keyword Group, Organic Search Visitation, UK, March ‘20
+63%
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‘Coronavirus’ Organic Search visitation, UK, March ‘20
March 12th and March 16th saw the most massive visitation peaks in terms of coronavirus-related news
On March 16th when the Prime
Minister delivered the government’s
next steps to fight coronavirus, 1 in 5
of all search visits went to bbc.co.uk
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Top UK publishers have experienced over 30% increase in total traffic, but are expected to lose £50m in
online ads as firms start to blacklist ''coronavirus'' terms
Top Keywords and Publisher Traffic, UK
+33%
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1. Introduction
2. Retail
3. Finance & Telecom
4. Travel
Agenda
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Bookings have decreased worldwide and especially on desktop devices
Total Bookings, Worldwide,
Jan ‘19 - Mar ‘20
Total Bookings, France,
Jan ‘19 - Mar ‘20
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Visits to travel sites in the UK have decreased by 48% over the last 28 days
Travel & Tourism Category, All
Traffic, UK, March ‘20
-48%
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Lodging bookings trailed the flights line-of-business in the UK during the second half of March
Daily LOB converted visits,
UK, desktop, March ‘20
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Drive destinations are expected to be the last to fall and the first to recover
“Hamptons” keyword group from the State of
New York
“Cornwall” keywords to travel sites from
the UK
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Affiliate travel sites will need to pivot their strategy in the near future; TripAdvisor leads the pack
TripAdvisor.co.uk Outgoing Traffic, Last 28 Days (as of April 1st), UK, Desktop
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German travel sites' traffic has fallen by 60% since March 15th
Travel & Tourism Category, All
Traffic, Germany, March ‘20
-60%
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Traffic to the flights LOB in Germany is down -37% MoM; for lodging sites that figure is -45%
Daily LOB Visits & Key Dates
Germany, Desktop, March ‘20
ECDPC raises threat level from
”moderate” to ”high"
First 2 deaths announced;
Merkel announces
economic cushions
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Check out our Coronavirus Insights
Hub for more information:
www.similarweb.com/coronavirus