TikTok ban, promotional spending, tight website budgets: 5 interesting stats to start your week

Short-form video competitors benefit from TikTok ban

Some creators were driven to other platforms in the wake of the brief TikTok ban in the US, data from Billion Dollar Boy suggests.

While the ban itself was halted, with US users only losing access for around 12 hours, it did see some creators driven to alternative short-form video apps in the week following.

The number of posts on Instagram Reels increased by 16% in the week following the TikTok ban in the US, while posts published on YouTube Shorts rose by 14%.

US creators expanded their presence on Instagram and YouTube, but the vast majority have still continued to post on TikTok as usual, despite the brief ban and continuing questions about the app’s fate in the country.

The number of posts creators published on TikTok itself after the ban dropped by 3%. Its average view per video figure dropped by 9%. That TikTok saw a sharper drop in average views per video than in overall content production indicates a small segment of its audience is disengaging in response to the ban.

Instagram and YouTube saw drops in average views per video posted, which was due to the increase in posts on the platforms and as a result, increasing competition on the platforms, says Billion Dollar Boy.

However, Instagram’s viewership decline was less pronounced than YouTube’s, despite a rise in content output, suggesting audiences may be moving toward Instagram over YouTube in response to the shift.

Source: Billion Dollar Boy

Spending on supermarket promotions rises by £274m in January

Consumers responded strongly to supermarkets dishing out discounts at the beginning of the year, with spending on promotions in January rising year-on-year by £274m, accounting for 27.2% of sales – the highest level in the month since 2021.

Shoppers also turned to non-branded, or private label, products to help keep costs down, with own-label as a proportion of sales hitting a record high of 52.3% in January.

Spending on supermarkets’ own lines was up 5.4% in the four weeks to 26 January, helped by consumers buying premium own label products in the days leading up to New Year’s Eve.

More than 10% of the average consumer’s January grocery bill was spent on fresh fruit, vegetables and salad, totalling £1.2bn – £193m more than in December.

Lidl’s sales rose 7.4% over the 12 weeks to 26 January, making it three continual years of growth for the chain, which saw its share hit 7.2%. Aldi’s sales were up 4.2% and its market share increased to 10.2%. Spending at Ocado grew by 11.3% and it now holds 1.9% of the market. M&S has seen a 12 week period of growth with grocery sales increasing by 10.5% in its brick-and-mortar stores.

Tesco gained the most share, its 28.5% hold of the market is 0.7% higher than this time last year, and it also saw its fastest rise in sales since April 2024 at 5.6%. Sainsbury has increased its share from 15.7 to 15.9%. Morrisons has 8.6% of the market while Asda’s portion is 12.6%.

Co-op saw its sales rise by 0.8% giving it a 5.2% share; Waitrose maintained a share of 4.6% and Iceland remained at a 2.4% share.

Source: Kantar

Marketers say budget is the biggest constraint to driving website effectiveness

Over three-quarters (76%) of marketers cite budget constraints as the biggest barrier to advancing website capabilities, with one in three (31%) investing less than 5% of their marketing budget into web experience.

Only 16% of marketing executives feel their websites effectively support their primary revenue-driving objectives.

Almost all (97%) marketing executives see AI and automation as priority for future success of their websites, but only around one in five (18%) content management system (CMS) platforms are equipped to leverage AI effectively.

Being able to integrate and scale new technologies like AI is recognised as a priority for almost two-thirds (65%) of marketers, yet only 13% are confident their current CMS can do so.

As with AI, there is a strong belief among marketers that personalisation is crucial for success, with over nine in 10 (92%) stating this is important for driving business outcomes. However, just under a third (32%) report their CMS platforms currently effectively support personalisation.

Source: Sitecore

Marketing salaries rising slower than national average, survey finds

The marketing sector is lagging behind national salary increases, with just 3% growth compared to the national average of 6%, according to research conducted by recruitment company, Reed.

Reed analysed more than 21 million job advertisements and asked 5,000 UK workers across sectors questions on their salary and benefits, with the research revealing some salaries have increased by up to 15%, while others have dropped by 11%.

Within marketing, communications managers (15%) and SEO/PPC executives (9%) have seen the most substantial pay increases, while others such as telesales managers (-11%) and ecommerce managers (-8%) have seen declines.

However, salaries in the marketing sector are still more than the national average, with marketing roles paying an average of £50,800 compared to the UK-wide equivalent of £38,900.

Despite this, marketers are still unhappy with their salaries. When asked why, 64% said they feel their salary hasn’t risen in line with the cost of living, while 57% said they feel they could be paid more elsewhere.

As a result, nearly two-thirds (71%) of marketers are open to new job opportunities.

Source: Reed

Women’s sport viewership grew in 2024 but total hours watched drops, data suggests

An impressive 44.7 million viewers tuned in to watch women’s sport in 2024. This figure excludes viewership of global tournaments and surpasses the previous record of 37.6 million in 2022, according to the latest report from Women’s Sport Trust.

However, the lack of tournaments for England’s Lionesses impacted overall viewing figures, which saw a drop from 386 million hours in 2023 to 164 million last year. The average viewing time for each viewer more than halved from 10 hours and seven minutes in 2023 to five hours and 47 minutes last year.

The last time the England Women’s football team didn’t compete in a major tournament was 2021, and the data suggests a positive uptick in average viewing time, as 2024’s viewing figures were still two hours up on four years ago.

“From a visibility perspective, 2024 was set to be an intriguing year, with the Lionesses — who had already captured the nation’s attention — not competing in a major international football tournament,” says Tammy Parlour, CEO at Women’s Sport Trust.

“The numbers show some strong results which should inspire confidence in brands thinking about investing in women’s sport,” she adds.

Source: Women’s Sport Trust