RetailMeNot releases new retail marketing trends report, conducted on more than 200 marketing decision-makers, revealed several key trends that are impacting the retail industry and change the types of marketing decisions being made in the future.

Let’s cast a quick glance at these trends:

Marketing Spend, Especially Across Social Media

• 89% of surveyed marketers plan to increase marketing budgets this year to reach consumers and influence their purchase decisions.
• Social media marketing will attract the majority of marketers’ budgets (78%), followed by email marketing (67%) and driving mobile conversion (67%).
• 76% of surveyed retailers plan to increase the number of promotions they offer in 2018.

Increasing Sales Revenue Is a Top Indicator of Success

• Increasing sales revenue is the top leading factor for determining the success of the promotions that retailers and brands offer to consumers (56%), followed by new customer growth (55%) and brand awareness (50%).
• 20% of retail marketers reported this would be the most critical measure of success in 2018.

A Graph Shows the Top Factor for Determining the Success of the Promotions in 2018

Digital Marketing Efforts and the New Focus on Consumers

• 68% reported that they will partner with websites and apps that focus on deals, cash back & loyalty.
• Most of them prefer to work with a comprehensive deal and website apps (62%), followed by cash-back-only platforms (53%) and loyalty specific apps (50%).
• 68% of respondents indicated that they’ll increase their spent to focus and target Millennials, while 65% will do so to target 65% and 61% to Gen X.
• In contrast, 49% said they’ll decrease their spend on targeting Seniors and Baby Boomers.

Investment in Mobile Marketing

• 63% of retail marketers that will increase their direct media buying in 2018.
• 48% plan to reduce the amount of fraudulent advertising traffic by reducing programmatic spend.
• 52% plan to improve mobile checkout in order to increase sales, while 51% will offers/discounts exclusively for mobile app users and 51% will offer loyalty programs to consumers.
• 93% of surveyed retailers planned to invest in mobile marketing to drive online sales growth, while 82% will do so to raise their mobile app sales.

A Graph Shows the Top Tactics Retailers Plan to Use to Affect Sales Growth in 2018

Methodology:

Data were driven from 209 marketing decision-makers who work at organizations that sell products both online and in physical retail locations.