The Weekly 10: October 10, 2024 Edition

From the share of holiday shoppers who cite social media ads as their go-to for inspiration to the CPG industry’s projected digital advertising spend, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now.?(Check out some of Quad’s other weekly marketing columns here .)

35%

The share of Gen Z shoppers who say they’ve left stores without making a purchase — though 69% say they shop in brick-and-mortar stores weekly — according to RetailNext’s latest “Retail Vibe Check Report,” per Footwear News .?

$50 billion

Projected spending by the U.S. consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector on digital advertising this year, for total growth of 16.6% in 2024, according to a just-released eMarketer forecast .??

30%

The percentage of consumers who say that paying for return shipping is “more annoying” than jury duty or going to the DMV, according to a survey released by GoDaddy that examined consumers’ prioritization of cost versus convenience .?

45%

The share of shoppers who say that social media ads are their top source for holiday gifting inspiration, followed by recommendations from friends and family (41%), according to RetailMeNot’s “Holiday Shopping by the Numbers: Early Trends for the 2024 Season” report .??

$35,000

The price for each of the 400 bottles of Suntory’s soon-to-be-released Hibiki 40, the Japanese spirit company’s oldest blended whisky, made from five different malt and grain whiskies that are each at least 40 years old, per Food and Wine .?

40%

The percentage of U.S. consumers who unsubscribe from brand emails and texts at least once a week, compared to the global average of 25%, according to GetApp’s “2024 Advertising Preferences Survey,” per MediaPost .?

48%

The share of their total holiday budget that consumers plan to allocate to gift cards this year — up from 39% last year — according to global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network’s annual holiday forecast .??

60%

The share of U.S. Black Friday/Cyber Monday shoppers who are likely to shop for clothing during this year’s sales events, according to YouGov’s “US Black Friday & Cyber Monday” report, per Chain Store Age .?

1,700

The amount by which jobs in advertising, public relations and related services increased in September, marking the ad industry’s best performance since the spring, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report , per Ad Age .?

28%

The share of U.S. workers now using generative AI on the job, according to a research paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research , per CFO Dive . The most common adopters of AI have management, business and computer jobs, with usage rates exceeding 40%.?