Internet Traffic Trends for the Week of April 6th, 2020
Trending Up…
- Consumer staples
- Domestic auto
- Home cooking
Trending Down…
- Entertainment
- QSRs
- Video
Entertainment
With renewed shelter-in-place orders coming from municipal and state authorities, last week’s declining interest in out-of-home entertainment (specifically football, motorsports, and movies) continues. The lone outlier, however, is email, where click-through rates for emails with sports-related content have soared.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 7% DECREASE in pageviews for content related to football, motorsports and movies.
- 79% INCREASE in click-through rate for email campaigns containing sports-related messaging.
Hospitality
While the total number of visitors to hotel websites continues to decline (a reflection of dwindling interest in discretionary travel), average time on site remains relatively constant, suggesting the inherent booking habits of travelers has not changed. Additionally, roadside hotels (motels) are faring better than destination properties as they cater to the non-discretionary, long-distance traveller.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 4% DECREASE in traffic to hotel sites (and a 21% decrease compared to two weeks ago).
- 4% DECREASE in time on site for hotel sites.
Home Cooking
With most restaurants either closed or limited to takeaway, consumers are showing renewed interest in home cooking.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 5% INCREASE in pageviews for sites publishing content related to baking, herbs, spices, and canned foods.
Quick-Serve Restaurants
While consumers are showing more interest in home cooking, they’re showing a decreasing interest in quick-serve restaurants. That being said, QSRs are faring far better than most other businesses.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 15% DECREASE in visits to Quick Serve Restaurants.
Automotive
Automotive dealerships have seen reduced showroom traffic across the board, but luxury brands have suffered more, declining twice as much as the next closest vehicle segment. Additionally, brands offering 0.0% financing are seeing much more consumer interest than those offering cash back.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 21% DECREASE in traffic to auto-manufacturer websites.
- 16% DECREASE in leads generated via automotive websites overall.
- 26% INCREASE in lead generation on the sites of domestic auto manufacturers.
- 6% INCREASE in lead generation on the sites of European auto manufacturers.
- 12% DECREASE in visits to dealerships overall.
Display
Companies continue investing in performance marketing with an enhanced focus on accurate targeting. This has increased consumer response rates, but it has not led to a rise in CPMs. Interestingly, smaller clients are increasing their utilization of display, while larger clients are pulling back at a nearly identical rate.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 10% INCREASE in click-through rates.
- 12% INCREASE in impressions by smaller clients.
- 17% DECREASE in impressions by larger clients.
Video
Within digital channels, marketers are allocating less budget to digital video versus digital display—a likely outcome given video’s higher production and distribution costs.
Week over week, Zeta has seen a…
- 5% INCREASE in video-related CPMs.
Zeta’s Big Takeaway
The coronavirus continues to have a major impact on both internet traffic and digital advertising.
As your company looks to navigate the current climate, it will be imperative to:
- Embrace new ad technologies that allow for more cost-effective audience engagement.
- Persevere with awareness initiatives so consumers don’t lose sight of how your brand can meet their needs.
- Capitalize on opportunities to gain mindshare and market share (in other words, when competitors throttle back on advertising, your business should throttle up).
Zeta Global hopes the following insights can help guide you to make wiser decisions over the weeks and months ahead. In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and be well.
