COVID-19 has shocked the world and sent economies spinning. It was late-2019 when the virus first appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Initially, it only affected China, but its effects are now felt around the globe, with many countries in lockdown. 

Many businesses are fighting to survive, and marketing will be an essential part of their recovery. We have already provided a series of marketing tips that will help many firms better weather the Coronavirus crisis. 

But just how significant an effect will the virus have on marketing and sales? We recently surveyed 237 brands to see how they are coping with the crisis. Also, we have scoured the Net and found a wide range of other Coronavirus-related marketing and sales statistics. The overall trend from our survey was one of great concern, but the realization that the crisis will affect some industries far more than others. Businesses deemed essential are struggling to meet demand at the moment. Luxury and service-related firms are in a more precarious position. And companies that have not kept up with the times, for example, “old media” are in the most dangerous situation of all. For example, magazine publishers have already pulled the plug on significant and long-running publications. We present the results of our survey, along with the other statistics below. We carried out our survey in late March 2020 and September, and most of the other statistics quoted also relate to that time.  

Now we’ve reached the end of 2020 and seen the world become totally disrupted, we should be thankful that the world of commerce hasn’t been worse affected. The nations that have done best to contain COVID-19, such as New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan, are now rebounding through a V-shaped recovery (although some argue the recovery is more K-shaped, with more inequality in the population). Those nations who are still battling thousands of deaths daily due to COVID hope that their recoveries will begin soon too.

Read more at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Marketing & Ad Spend Impact: Report + Stats (Updated January) (influencermarketinghub.com)