Brands cut adspend as over half expect sales to drop

An overview of the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on brand sales and advertising investment by media and category.

Three-quarters (73%) of brands expect to see no sales growth this year due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This is according to an Ebiquity survey of global brands with over $15bn in media spend and around $200bn in sales.

Over half (56%) of those surveyed expect to see sales decline this year, with one-fifth (20%) expecting a drop of more than 40%. Globally, nearly half of consumers plan to delay purchases until the outbreak is over.

One-fifth (17%) of brands expect COVID-19 to have no impact on sales while one-quarter (27%) expect to see revenue...

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