Aligning With the Consumer Behavior of the Future
More than half of the earth’s population uses social media, and that number is only growing. According to data, the typical social media user belongs to nearly nine different platforms. When taking this into consideration, it becomes clear that a digital marketing presence is crucial for any business owner.
The emergence of COVID-19 has even further exacerbated the importance of companies’ online marketing strategies. With individuals spending more time at home than ever, they are correspondingly spending more time on the internet. As lockdowns were enforced across the country in the middle of March 2020, internet usage rose by 25 percent. Ever since, the amount of time Americans have been spending searching the internet has skyrocketed.
Statistics Cementing Importance of an Online Marketing Presence During and Post COVID:
- More than 40 percent of United States consumers say they plan to shop more frequently online in the future.
- 25.1 percent of United States consumers have reported that they have started purchasing from a retailer they had never used before as a result of COVID-19.
- 62 percent of consumers in the United States assert they shop online more now than they did before the pandemic, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.
Small businesses make up more than half of the workforce in the United States. The indisputable fact is that today’s reality entails digital marketing as a lifeline for business’ survival, with the COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbating this fact. Small business’ habitual reliance on word-of-mouth referrals becomes less practical as events and human interaction are both diminished.
With everyone’s target clients spending a considerable chunk of their time online, digital marketing is pivotal. As we watch powerhouse retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 Imports, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s shut down many brick-and-mortar stores before our eyes, it becomes clear that digital marketing has cemented itself as the most promising avenue for the future of small businesses as well.
