In 2023, the marketing world is evolving faster than ever, driven by the constant emergence of new technologies and ever-changing consumer behaviour. As such, it is crucial for brands to stay on top of the latest marketing statistics and advertising trends.
This article will provide a detailed look at key statistics from the year so far in areas such as AI, voice search, VR and AR, data privacy, personalisation, social media, and advertising.
AI in Marketing
Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised marketing strategy in 2023. OpenAI is leading the charge with DALL·E 2 and ChatGPT which have become ubiquitous in the marketing and advertising industry in just a matter of months. From enhancing the customer experience with AI-powered chatbots to campaign personalisation and targeted lead generation, there’s no denying the impact AI has had on the industry. Let’s take a look at some stats.
According to a survey of 1000 marketers by Salesforce:
- 51% of marketers are currently using generative AI, e.g. ChatGPT or DALL·E 2
- 60% of marketers say generative AI will transform their role
- 71% of marketers say that AI will save them time at work
Marketers estimate AI will save them an estimated 5 hours per week, or up to a month per year. It’s not all positive though – 39% of marketers say that they didn’t know how to safely use generative AI and had concerns about its accuracy.
Another survey by Influencer Marketing Hub found similar results, with 61.4% of marketers already using AI for marketing activities. Of those respondents, 44% said they used AI for content production.
These statistics were from a survey of UK, US and Australian marketers, but the phenomenon is global. A survey by Statista featuring marketers in 35 different countries revealed that 90% were already using AI to automate customer interactions back in 2022. Statista predicts that AI’s global marketing revenue will grow from 27 billion USD to 107.4 billion USD between 2023 and 2028 – an increase of 291%.
Voice Search
Voice-activated smart devices like Siri, Alexa, Google Nest, Echo Dot, and more have changed the way people search for information. It’s therefore no surprise that marketing experts have leveraged this shift to their advantage.
The 19-45 year-old demographic is using voice search the most, and PwC found that 65% of American consumers in this age group talk to voice-enabled devices every day. Statistics like this have inspired businesses to ensure their websites are optimised for voice search, and marketers to tailor campaigns to this change in consumer behaviour.
There are currently 4.2 billion voice search assistants, and this number is expected to double by as early as 2024. Local businesses can leverage this increase in voice searches to their advantage with local SEO, since 58% of voice searches are for local business queries, such as “XYZ near me”.
Making sure that Google Business Profiles and other similar platforms like Yelp and Bing Places for Business all contain up-to-date information will help boost local SEO results.
Creating local content for business websites can help brands take advantage of this trend. Long tail keywords are also favoured by voice search queries, as people tend to be more conversational when using voice search.
What about online shopping using voice search? Some customers appear reticent, especially with one-off purchases like clothing. Consumers are more likely to order everyday items they regularly buy using a voice search, e.g. dog food and toilet paper.
Security is also a concern, with 45% of consumers feeling ‘uncomfortable’ sharing payment details with a voice assistant.
Data Privacy
More than ever, marketers must be aware of data protection laws such as the UK and EU GDPR and the PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations) directive. Here are some data privacy statistics that marketers should know about.
A recent Gartner survey indicated that 60% of marketers think that collecting customer data while maintaining appropriate privacy will be more challenging in 2023. With EU member states declaring Google Analytics to be unlawful as data is sent to the USA for processing, it’s easy to believe that this is the case.
There also appears to be less trust between consumers and businesses in regard to data privacy – in fact, 63% of consumers worldwide think that companies are dishonest about how they use personal information, and 48% stopped buying from a business because of privacy concerns.
As long as you are compliant with data protection laws that apply to your end users and obtain explicit consent for marketing communications, you should be covered. However, as with any legal matter, seek professional advice on the subject to make sure.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR/VR) offer never-seen-before marketing opportunities and are gaining momentum. The market revenue of VR and AR is predicted to reach $52.05 billion by 2027.
AR and VR are already used by some brands; for example, Adidas used VR to promote their TERREX range by simulating a challenging mountain climb.
Consumers are excited about the prospect of VR and AR, with 79% saying they would like to ‘see’ products in their home environment using AR before purchasing, e.g. viewing a piece of furniture in their home.
As consumers interact with AR and VR more and more, they will expect brands to accommodate their rising expectations. Marketers should take advantage of this trend and incorporate VR and AR into their strategies.
Personalisation
Personalising marketing campaigns to the preferences of individual users can help to boost engagement and offer a unique experience to consumers. Personalisation in 2023 is tied in closely with AI, with a delicate balance between a tailored customer experience and the need for data privacy.
AI-driven personalisation helps businesses to show they are aware and responsive to the needs of each individual customer. Facial recognition technology could drive AI-powered personalisation even further – in fact, the facial recognition market is predicted to reach $13 billion by 2028.
Consumers do seem to be ready for more personalisation – 70% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase when brands build a personal relationship with them. Their expectations have risen following previous personalised marketing campaigns, and this trend is likely to continue.
Personalised mobile customer experiences are becoming a main focus, with 79% of smartphone users having made a purchase on a mobile device within the last 6 months. This is despite many reports that mobile apps don’t cater to their needs and do not offer a personalised shopping experience.
Social Media
Social media continues to be a behemoth of marketing strategy in 2023, with 4.89 billion social media users worldwide. Sales via social media platforms are estimated to reach $1.298 billion by the end of 2023, with this figure rising to $3 trillion by 2026. This does vary wildly from country to country, with a massive 84% of Chinese consumers buying on social media compared to 36% in the USA. Age matters too – 70% of millennials and 78% of Gen Z buy on social channels in the UK.
While TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform with a growth rate of 100% between 2020 and 2022 and Facebook remains the most widely used platform, Instagram still offers the best ROI at an impressive 25%.
For the first time, however, social media platforms are reporting a drop in ad spend. This could be due to a number of factors, such as inflation affecting advertising budgets, privacy and data protection changes, a shift towards influencer marketing, or just a lack of ROI.
Twitter’s advertising revenue appears to have taken a huge hit following the purchase of the platform by Elon Musk, leading to much uncertainty and turbulence for advertisers and Twitter users. Twitter’s ad revenue for 2023 is projected to be $2 billion less than the previous year.
Brands are veering away from bigger influencers and celebrities and focusing more on micro-influencers, as audiences demand more authenticity. Micro-influencers tend to have better engagement rates as they connect more with their followers, and vanity metrics like views are simply not translating into sales.
Advertising
Effective advertising campaigns still play a vital role in capturing consumer attention in 2023, with digital ad spending estimated to reach over $600 billion by the end of the year.
As mentioned, social media ad spending has actually dropped, albeit modestly. While positive ROI is still reported on social media ads, advertisers are becoming more discerning with the platforms they want their brand to be associated with.
PPC ads still dominate the advertising world, with consumers being 63% more likely to click on an ad in Google search results than any other platform. In fact, Google owns over 92% of the global search market, so this figure is not surprising.
SEO continues to be essential in 2023, with 70% of online experiences starting with a search engine. With voice search increasing, voice ads delivered over voice-activated smart devices are likely to blow up over the coming months.
Conclusion
Looking at the marketing statistics for 2023 so far, it is clear that AI, voice search, data privacy, VR and AR, personalisation, social media and advertising will continue to have a significant effect on the marketing landscape.
These trends give us valuable insight into consumer behaviour and what their expectations are of brands. Businesses can navigate the dynamic marketing landscape in the second half of 2023 and beyond by staying informed about these marketing trends and leveraging data-driven insights.
