Ben Davis

Manchester

Insights Editor at Econsultancy

Edit @Econsultancy.

Articles

In praise of Marks & Spencer’s returns UX

2 months ago | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

There’s a lot of talk about what good omnichannel retail looks like – from apps and loyalty to ROPIS (research online, purchase in store) to assortment, fulfilment and so on. We also know how multichannel retailers can make the most of their store estate by encouraging more cost-efficient behaviour from online shoppers via click and collect and returns drop-offs. And we know that ‘unified commerce’ is a thing, too.
AI can be “springboard for productivity”, but not if brand-building fundamentals are broken

2 months ago | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

“Our marketing community [is] not just optimistic, but very excited,” says Veronika Kryuchkova, Global Head of Capability Building at Reckitt’s Marketing Academy. “It’s probably the first time in history where people can delegate some not very fulfilling tasks to technology and spend their time and energy on creative thinking and innovation to define the future path,” she added.
Eight digital and marketing trends for 2025

Jan 22, 2025 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Every January at Econsultancy we write a trends post summing up some of the skills and strategies set for prominence over the next 12 months in the worlds of marketing, ecommerce and digital. If you fancy poring over previous years’ offerings (most of them by co-founder Ashley Friedlein), you can do so here. This year we’ve got eight trends, and for a bit of fun I’ve put them in four buckets – pragmatism, purposefulness, personality and productivity.
Q&A: Curious Health’s Jaquie Pantoja on pharma marketing in 2025

Jan 9, 2025 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Healthcare has undergone a great deal of change this decade, but it would be hard to argue there isn’t the possibility of even greater innovation on the horizon. From a marketing comms perspective, the ability to talk directly to and learn from patient communities has never been greater, yet is complicated by trust issues stemming from a surfeit of online content.
AI skills in demand as marketers wrestle with uncertainty into 2025

Jan 6, 2025 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Looking through Econsultancy’s Future of Marketing survey results (published Dec 2024), there were several charts that jumped out at me as symptomatic of both the uncertainty and the innovation within the industry. They set the scene for what may be a year defined by brand building amidst potential recruitment freezes and new AI-powered processes.
Performance marketing trends for 2025: We ask the experts

Dec 11, 2024 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Only last month, Ebiquity and the WFA produced a report suggesting a shift in marketing budgets towards performance, driven by retail media and CTV. The consensus seemed to be that marketers are being tasked with producing results in the short term, even if everyone involved is aware of the potential danger of taking their eye off the ball when it comes to longer term brand building. But what do those working in the industry see on the ground? How is strategy changing within online advertising?
TikTok Shop and social commerce trends for 2025: We ask the experts

Dec 10, 2024 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Social commerce that’s truly native to a platform felt for a long time like a bit of a pipedream in the west – you only have to go back to the beginning of last year to when Instagram removed the Shop tab from its app. In 2024, however the continued growth and maturation of TikTok Shop has changed the conversation amongst marketers, with livestreaming even part of the conversation for some bigger beauty brands.
Q&A: Mark Walker on FMCG omnichannel trends for 2025

Dec 5, 2024 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

From retail media and loyalty to social commerce, there’s never a dull moment in omnichannel retail. Ultimately, FMCG brands and retailers are trying to serve up a seamless experience no matter what sales or media channels come into play. But how easy is that in practice? And what should marketers and ecommerce folk be conscious of as we enter 2025, in a time still defined by shoppers’ search for value?
Tech is ‘reshaping agency-client dynamics’: Hunch founder on creative automation

Nov 29, 2024 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

Siggi Rakovich is Founder and CEO at Hunch, a creative management platform that helps performance marketers with solutions such as localisation, dynamic creative and automation. We caught up with Siggi to find out about life running a DCO in what seems like a pivotal time for the industry, thanks to the growing influence of AI. And we ask what the evolution of this tech means for agencies and marketers alike. Siggi Rakovich: Dynamic media is evolving at an exciting pace.
FMCG is ‘on the cusp’ of a step change: marketers must upskill to stay relevant

Nov 25, 2024 | econsultancy.com | Ben Davis

The FMCG industry is “on the cusp” of what ex-Unilever omnichannel leader Mark Walker suspects is “quite a big step change,” and one driven by “big consolidation” since Covid in the face of changing shopping behaviours. “I think it’s a really, really interesting time for FMCG,” said Walker, who also acknowledged that the ongoing drive for growth amidst the “underlying pressure” of inflation and uncertainty has seen “a huge amount of capacity” in the system that’s been “squeezed out over time”.