After a challenging 2020, which saw big shifts in how digital media was consumed and how marketing adapted, we anticipate five developments will have a lasting impact on Canada’s digital economy.

SMS marketing has long remained under the radar. But several tailwinds will make sending text messages to customers a common practice in 2021.

Even as total worldwide retail sales declined by 3.0% in 2020, retail ecommerce growth boomed to 27.6%. Ecommerce growth will decelerate substantially in 2021 to 14.3% as brick-and-mortar sales recover.

After a tumultuous year, the social platforms will close 2020 on a high note in terms of ad revenues and users—and with features that closely resemble each other.

Hispanic consumers have endured exceptional financial volatility—mostly bad—during the pandemic. Even in normal times, this population is a moving target, with its diverse components evolving in financial strength, degrees of acculturation, and digital engagement.

This report describes how the pandemic, operating systems, and a new US president will affect mobile advertising.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

In 2020, Facebook’s worldwide user base will grow 8.7%, nearly double the rate we had forecast before the global pandemic began.

The COVID-19 outbreak undermined many of our pre-pandemic US forecasts. Insight can now be gleaned by examining the difference between what we thought would happen as of February 2020 vs. what our forecasts now show.

Our new forecast for global mobile messaging app users shows that the pandemic has accelerated adoption of OTT messaging services, though not in every country nor to the same degree for every app.

The pandemic has brought an influx of new users for subscription OTT, live videos, and video games in 2020, but other activities such as social networking, mobile messaging, and digital video haven’t seen the same bump.

TV ad spending takes a hit as marketers adjust their budgets amid a recession.

Our forecast for digital video viewers in Canada highlights greater consumption of the medium during the pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic and changes set to be implemented in the forthcoming iOS 14 are the latest shocks to an evolving app economy. This report will look at how these changes have altered developer monetization strategies and advertiser options.

Augmented reality (AR) is becoming more widely available on social platforms. It’s mainly been a tool for entertainment and brand awareness, but the pandemic is pushing marketers to explore new use cases.

The influencer marketing industry is changing, and the pandemic is propelling many of the major shifts in the market.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we have revised our US mobile ad spending forecast. This report puts the new numbers in context.

Global retail ecommerce sales will decelerate to a 16.5% growth rate in 2020. Even as consumers transitioned en masse to ecommerce during the pandemic, the drag caused by multiple recessions internationally has reduced the overall outlook.

Ecommerce’s share of total retail in Canada is higher than we previously expected, as brick-and-mortar outlets are forced to shutter and online shopping becomes a necessity.

The coronavirus pandemic is changing how people interact, and mobile devices have served as a social and entertainment lifeline as Americans stay at home and practice social distancing measures. This report looks at how US adults are using those devices.

Well into the pandemic, consumers still say they are spending more time with social media. Activities like live streaming, video chatting and gaming are drawing some of them in.

In Japan, both TV and digital time spent will accelerate more than expected in 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting semi-lockdowns. However, the postponement of the Summer Olympics will limit the increase.

After reaching an expected saturation point last year, daily media time in Canada will climb further this year based on our latest forecasts. COVID-19 has driven up demand for media while people are quarantined at home, which will impact our full-year forecast.

As the coronavirus pandemic renders the population of the UK largely housebound, media consumption patterns will invariably change. Certain media types (such as physical print) will falter, but video (TV and digital) looks set to benefit most.