New Data: Facebook and Google Trounce Amazon for D2C Brand Ad Spend

LAS VEGAS, May 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As more brands focus on their own eCommerce sites as a direct touchpoint to consumers, "The State of D2C Marketing" is a new report that provides a candid look at related marketing, advertising, and eCommerce investments propelling the success of many of today's direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands. The report reveals trends across verticals and company size, including that 52% of respondents are increasing investment in Facebook ads, compared to 18% investing more in Amazon Ads. Produced by leading commerce marketing provider Yotpo, in partnership with Magento, an Adobe company, the report debuted at Magento Imagine 2019, currently underway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The State of D2C Marketing is based on an online survey conducted March-April 2019 of more than 500 eCommerce and marketing leaders at D2C brands, 41% of whom are brand founders. The respondent base represents online merchants in a variety of verticals from across the globe, with online stores built on eCommerce platforms including Magento, Shopify, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, SAP Hybris, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and more.

The State of D2C Marketing 2019 uncovers new industry insights, including:

Key Marketing Priorities

    --  The leading priorities for today's D2C brands are eCommerce sales [60%],
        customer acquisition [54%], and conversion rates [53%].
    --  However, priorities differ depending on company size.
        --  Brands with under $5 million in annual revenue are looking to drive
            revenue growth (eCommerce sales).
        --  Mid-sized brands between $5-$100 million care about both market
            penetration (customer acquisition) alongside revenue growth
            (eCommerce sales).
        --  Meanwhile, the largest companies (over $100 million) generally aim
            to optimize their marketing efforts (conversion rates).

Marketing and Ad Spend 2019 vs 2018

    --  To fuel customer acquisition, the majority of respondents [52%] are
        increasing investment in Facebook ads, compared to only 18% investing
        more in Amazon Ads.
    --  Once again, investments diverge for the different segments:
        --  Small brands, who count social media as their primary customer
            acquisition channel, are investing in Instagram Ads at higher levels
            than the industry overall.
        --  Mid-sized brands with higher brand recognition likewise attract
            customers via social media but also through SEO and direct traffic.
            Accordingly, this segment-- notably more than any other in the
            industry--is increasing spend with Google, in both Ads (60%, +13
            percentage points above average) and Shopping Ads (42%, +10 higher).
        --  The largest, most established brands report social media as a lesser
            acquisition channel compared to SEO and direct traffic. While these
            brands with their budget firepower outpace the industry in
            increasing spend in every channel, Facebook dominates as the largest
            investment (63%, +11 above average).

Optimizing eCommerce Sales

    --  In today's digital-first commerce environment, D2C brands consider
        customer reviews as foundational for their sites, with nearly 3 of 4
        brands [73%] having implemented the feature.
    --  Segments have a different approach to implementing other forms of
        user-generated content like customer photos and customer videos:
        --  Small brands are the most advanced in adopting those
            community-building features, outpacing the industry in the planned
            implementation of customer photos (36% vs. 32% industry average) and
            customer videos (43% vs. 39%).
        --  Mid-sized brands outperform the industry in implementing customer
            photos (40% vs. 36%) with more than a third 35% looking to deploy
            customer videos.

        --  Large brands, potentially late to considering eCommerce as a top
            priority, are currently underinvested when it comes to reviews (68%
            vs 73% industry average) and so is planning to implement the feature
            accordingly (25% vs 20%).

In the report, Tomer Tagrin, CEO & Cofounder of Yotpo, comments on the central role eCommerce plays in brand growth and survival: "In the D2C approach, the website is both the brand and the store: story, mission, style, products, transaction, and service. Unlike the limitations of physical stores, eCommerce can give businesses access to a wider and global base of potential customers. Additionally, the lower overhead can provide the resources for businesses to persist amidst changing market conditions."

The State of D2C Marketing 2019 is available in both print and digital formats. To access the full study which features additional analyses on referrals, loyalty programs, and findings by industry verticals, visit the Yotpo blog.

About Yotpo
Yotpo's suite of integrated solutions for user-generated content marketing, loyalty, and referrals helps commerce companies accelerate growth by enabling advocacy and maximizing customer lifetime value. With Yotpo, brands can effectively leverage social proof to increase trust and sales, cultivate loyal customer advocates, and make better business decisions based on customer feedback. Yotpo proudly serves thousands of brands including Away Travel, Glossier, and MVMT. An official partner to Google, Facebook, Shopify and Magento, an Adobe company, Yotpo has raised $101 million in funding and employs over 300 employees globally.

For media inquiries contact:
Cristina Dinozo | press@yotpo.com

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SOURCE Yotpo