CHICAGO-Digital marketing has assumed a greatly enlarged role in the marketing budgets of retailers, according to a study conducted by consulting firm BDO USA.
Eighty-six percent of the retail chief marketing officers who responded to the survey said they have included social media in their marketing strategies for the holidays, up from 4 percent in 2007. In addition, social media accounts for 10 percent of their holiday marketing and advertising budgets this year.
In addition, one-half of the chief marketing officers said they have included mobile in their marketing strategies, up from 39 percent in 2011. The number of chief marketers who are spending most of their marketing dollars online rose 35 percent over last year.
Stephen Wyss, BDO partner in the retail and consumer products practice, said, “Over the past five years, we’ve seen an enormous change in the way retailers are marketing to consumers during the holidays. The growth in social and mobile marketing gives retailers more opportunities to acquire and engage customers, and we expect the returns from the holiday push in these platforms to be significant.”