WARC added that 42 percent say uptake of m-commerce is one of the most important consumer behaviors
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The pandemic didn’t just accelerate ecommerce, but led to even more growth for the mobile-commerce sector and the use of social media on mobile devices, providing brands with new opportunities to reach consumers.
According to WARC Data, the pandemic saw mobile marketing budgets go up, valuing at $230 billion globally in 2021.
Talking to 575 marketing professionals for their newest report in association with MMA EMEA, State of the Industry 2021: Mobile Marketing in EMEA, 68 percent of surveyed marketing professionals stated seeing increased m-commerce capabilities.
"As we emerge from the pandemic, with many workforces still working remotely and social and m-commerce technologies rapidly developing, mobile will play an important part in marketing strategies, as indicated by the acceleration of mobile ad budgets and the opportunities provided to advertisers as outlined in this report," said Amy Rodgers, Managing Editor Research and Rankings at WARC.
Two out of three said that they are expecting growth in their mobile budgets this year, almost double from last year’s 39 percent.
“In the last year, consumers turned to mobile for tasks that were normally carried out in person and, as a result, mobile ad investment has been growing rapidly,” wrote the WARC report.
"Whilst we have unsurprisingly seen an increase in mobile budgets across the region in the last year, we, at the MMA, have also taken a broader sounding on the future of marketing from marketers. One of their key insights is that digital transformations (which include mobile by definition) have accelerated significantly', commented Chris Babayode, MD, MMA EMEA.
“Respondents are investing significant portions of their budgets into mobile technology to ensure they keep up with the latest innovations in the industry, especially as interest in AI continues,” it added.
With social events limited due to the pandemic, people turned to social media for connections and so are marketers, 87 percent stated they include social in their mobile marketing strategy, with a third of the mobile budget, on average, going towards social.
According to the report, marketers see cyber and data security as main barriers with 35 percent citing consumer concerns about privacy/security and 34 percent stating privacy requirements (such as GDPR) as the biggest challenges to overcome.
It is clear that the increased focus around privacy is being felt by marketers, states WARC.
