Modern Retail Research: Brands predict big jumps in ad spend over next 12 months

Of the brands surveyed, 41% said their marketing spend significantly increased in the last 12 months. And 52% predicted that their ad spend will significantly increase in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, only 5% of respondents said their ad spend is likely to decrease somewhat, and 0% said it will decrease significantly.

Increased ad spend seems universal, but the surveyed brands were sharply divided on the online-offline split. The vast majority of their ad spending still goes to digital channels. 

In terms of online advertising, 44% of brands saw a medium increase in their online advertising spending in the last 12 months, while 35% of brands saw a large increase. Meanwhile, for online advertising, 11% increased their spending by a medium amount and only 2% upped their investment by a large amount.

For the next 12 months, 58% of respondents said they expect a medium increase in their online marketing spend, while 26% expect a large increase. For offline marketing, 26% expect to see a medium increase in their investment and just 5% expect a large boost.

Customer acquisition and retention was one of the hot topics at the Glossy Executive Roundtable at the beginning of October. Aaron Luo, founder of the bag brand Caraa, said he and others he knows are thinking much more about retaining the customers they already have during the current, rough economic time. Retargeting is much easier through online means, but recent changes to Apple privacy policy is making it a more expensive prospect.