Hawke Media Special Report: January 7, 2021

2021 is making an early bid to top 2020 as one of the most severely peculiar years in recent history. 

Just yesterday there was a violent insurrection that saw a mob storm and gain access to the US Capitol building, during which time members of congress were slated to count electoral college votes.

However, amid all of the disarray and destruction, the United States Senate has certified the electoral votes to make Joseph R. Biden Jr. the 46th President of the United States.

Consumer Trends

Debt

• US consumers paid off $10 billion in credit card debt in Q3 2020. – via PYMNTS
• In Q3 2020 mortgage debt hit $9.86 trillion with new housing and refinancing loans totaling $1.05 trillion, the second-highest since 2000. – via PYMNTS

Notes:

• Consumers are taking advantage of low interest rates and purchasing/refinancing homes, creating more long-term debt.
• At the same time consumers are using stimulus money to pay down debt and many are dumping more into savings as financial uncertainty takes hold of American households.

Shopping

Source: Applause

• A number of trends that developed in 2020 will continue to carry into 2021 and beyond, such as the growing preference for online shopping.

Source: BrizFeel

• In a survey of over 30,000 consumers, BrizFeel found that  87% of those surveyed have made an online purchase.

Business Trends

2021 Top eCommerce Categories

Source: Oberlo

• Going into 2021, here’s a look at the categories generating the most revenue. 
• Fashion has generated over $750 billion in online sales, over $150 billion more than the next category.

Mobile Ad Spending

Source: eMarketer

• eMarketer’s forecast for mobile ad spending has been adjusted as of October 2020 to beat the former projections from March 2020 by about $7 billion.

Shipping

Source: Radial

• Consumers prefer free shipping to fast shipping, something that approximately 66% of the top 50 retailers provide in varying forms.