Full article available on The Drum.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on all of our lives. As we start to adjust to the realities of a home working economy, it is important for us to monitor how consumers’ behaviour is changing, the opportunities and challenges being created for different channels and the overall long-term impact that this period may have on our industry.
Here, IAB UK’s Video Steering Group share how they’re seeing the Covid-19 outbreak change viewing habits, including insight from Carat UK, LinkedIn, Twitter, Unruly and Xandr.
How has consumer behaviour changed in regards to the consumption of video content as a result of the coronavirus outbreak?
“As we enter the later stages of self-isolation it brings with it a sense of cabin fever – what else is there to do but watch video content?! Records are being broken with 16 million new subscribers to Netflix globally, Sky reporting that ‘Bulletproof 2’ has now surpassed 5.4 million downloads (the fastest downloaded series of all time) and All4 seeing its biggest ever week, with audiences up 54% year-on-year. Viewing figures are increasing and we are still expecting to see significant growth in video consumption, with boxset bingeing set to continue.”
Ruth Cartwright, Managing Partner, Delivery, Carat UK
What do you think the lasting impacts of social distancing will be on consumer behaviour?
“Social distancing is changing our outlook – we are more aware of others and more considerate of their needs. This positive shift hopefully won’t be short-term; consumer behaviour has changed, as have our values. Consumers are focused on emotional wellbeing and brands are aligned with this, community is key and how brands behave in this space is critical for consumers to stay loyal or see them as a viable new purchase option. Proximity and convenience are important with ever more redefined routes to purchase e.g. direct to consumer. We are seeing new ways to socialise and the acceleration of digitisation across several industries will have a long-lasting impact – improving brands e-commerce offerings and their uptake by much broader audiences.”
Ruth Cartwright, Managing Partner, Delivery, Carat UK