Marketing KPIs: September 2024 Trends

September 2024 Marketing Trends

Trend #1: The Risk of Cutting Catalogs: Don’t Abandon Print in Favor of Digital

Retailers cutting back on catalog production in favor of digital marketing may face unintended consequences, including a significant drop in sales. For example, when Lands’ End reduced its catalog distribution in 2000, they saw a $100 million decrease in revenue. Orvis recently announced plans to discontinue its catalog, a decision that may negatively impact their sales, especially since many consumers have a strong emotional connection to print catalogs.

Despite the rise of digital marketing, catalogs remain a highly effective tool. Their tactile nature and nostalgic appeal create a unique customer experience that digital channels cannot replicate. Moreover, print catalogs can break through the clutter of digital advertising, offering consumers a more personal and engaging interaction with a brand.

Retailers who eliminate catalogs may also lose out on valuable consumer insights and disrupt established seasonal buying habits. Catalogs provide important data on customer behavior that digital tools alone may not fully capture. Additionally, many shoppers plan purchases around catalog releases, and without them, retailers risk missing out on these well-timed sales.

Rather than abandoning catalogs entirely, retailers should consider a hybrid approach. Companies like Amazon have successfully blended traditional and digital marketing by creating interactive experiences through printed catalogs. By integrating catalogs with online channels, retailers can maintain the benefits of print while leveraging digital tools to engage customers and drive sales.

Trend #2: Home Furnishing Retailers Struggle As Housing Market Weighs on Sales

Home furnishing retailers faced major challenges in Q3 2024, as rising mortgage rates and a sluggish housing market weakened consumer demand for big-ticket items like furniture and home improvement products. Major players, including Williams-Sonoma, Wayfair, and Home Depot, reported year-over-year sales declines, reflecting broader economic issues like affordability concerns, high borrowing costs, and inflation. These conditions have led consumers to delay or reduce home-related purchases.

Williams-Sonoma, owning brands like Pottery Barn and West Elm, saw revenue declines in Q3, with Pottery Barn struggling due to lower demand for high-end furnishings. Similarly, Wayfair, which targets more budget-conscious shoppers, experienced a modest revenue decrease despite earlier cost-cutting measures.

Home improvement retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s also faced declines, especially in large discretionary projects like kitchen and bathroom remodels that depend on financing. High mortgage rates and reduced home sales have curbed demand for renovations, DIY products, and home maintenance items.

Although some regions show signs of stabilization, the outlook for home furnishings and improvement retailers remains uncertain. While inventory levels have improved and mortgage rates slightly decreased, a substantial sales rebound has yet to occur. Retailers may need to adopt new strategies, such as competitive pricing and focusing on smaller, affordable products, to attract consumers in the coming months.

Trend #3: eCommerce Giants Amazon, Wayfair Use Print to Drive Web Sales

Amazon has embraced physical catalogs for several years, sending its customers a full-sized edition of about 100 pages near the holidays. This initiative, which has been running for at least three years, shows Amazon’s commitment to engaging customers through physical media.

They’re also embracing another proven tactic by versioning the catalog covers based on the recipient’s purchase history, creating a more relevant shopping experience. Among our recipient group, we saw two distinct cover versions tailored to reflect individual interests and past purchases, a strategy that’s sure to drive strong responses.

It’s telling to see an ecommerce giant like Amazon recognize the potential of print in supplementing its online store. By sending out physical catalogs, they create a cross-channel marketing approach that bridges the gap between digital and traditional shopping experiences. This move acknowledges that many consumers still appreciate the tactile experience of flipping through pages and discovering new products in a curated format, something that is often lost in the digital realm.

Similarly, Wayfair, another major player in the online retail space, has also seen the value in expanding its use of print media rather than cutting back on it. Initially focusing on direct mail campaigns, Wayfair has taken progressive steps to integrate a full-sized catalog into its marketing strategy.

Trend #4:  From Artificial to Authentic: Modern Consumers Can Spot a Fake

Savvy consumers are increasingly able to identify AI-generated content, noticing certain keywords like “delve” and “tapestry” that are often overused by AI. Although most still trust brands to use AI effectively, they expect marketers to apply it responsibly and authentically. While tools like ChatGPT initially impressed users with their capacity to generate large volumes of content quickly, many began to notice patterns that indicated a lack of genuine human touch.

As a result, brands now face the challenge of using AI without compromising authenticity. Instead of relying solely on automated text, companies are integrating AI strategically, such as using it to enhance personalization or improve customer insights while keeping the human element at the forefront.

Lacta’s “AI Love You” campaign used AI to generate personalized love letters, an approach that resonated with its customers and aligned with it’s lovey-dovey brand identity.

This shift focuses on leveraging AI to support authentic engagement and maintain a consistent brand voice, ensuring that technology serves to deepen rather than weaken customer trust. By aligning AI’s strengths with their own values, brands can create experiences that feel both innovative and genuine, maintaining customer connections even in a digital-first era.

Read more here.

Trend #5:  AI is Reshaping Market Research with Synthetic Data, Predictive Analytics

Synthetic data is transforming market research by offering a way to generate artificial yet realistic datasets that mimic actual consumer behaviors. This approach helps address challenges like privacy concerns and limited real-world data, allowing researchers to extract insights without compromising sensitive information. The use of AI-generated synthetic data not only speeds up data collection but also enables companies to explore new market scenarios more freely.

AI also powers predictive analytics, making market trend forecasting more precise. It uses machine learning algorithms to analyze large data sets, identify patterns, and predict future consumer behaviors or market shifts. This helps businesses adjust strategies quickly in response to emerging trends, improving the accuracy of demand forecasting and customer segmentation.

Moreover, AI tools like natural language processing (NLP) are increasingly used to analyze unstructured data, such as customer reviews and social media content. This allows companies to gain deeper insights into consumer sentiment, preferences, and emerging needs without manual analysis. By automating these processes, AI reduces the time and costs associated with traditional market research while offering richer, more nuanced insights. These advances are shaping a more agile, data-driven approach to understanding markets and consumer behavior, ensuring that research keeps pace with the evolving digital landscape.

For more, you can read the full article here.

Marketing KPIs: September 2024 Trends by Company Revenue