• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 21, 2020

Most consumers want brands to reflect the realities of COVID-19 in their ad messaging. Of those surveyed for a new digital ad study by RevJet, 79.03% agree that they feel that way.

But they are even more interested in bargains.

On a rating scale of one to 10, consumers give low prices an average score of 5.55 when listing the attributes they want to see in online advertising. Second is product availability, with 4.18. 

Empathy is third, with a score of 4.14. And tied for fourth, at 4.04 apiece, are shipping times and convenience in buying --followed by hope, which comes in at 3.69. In last place, scoring a 2.35, is return policies.

That said, 60.14% have noticed a change in online advertising since the pandemic hit the U.S. And 53.21% have seen helpful ads during the crisis.

But brands have to be careful — 72.88% of consumers are concerned about privacy when shopping online — and 24.98% are very concerned. Moreover, 57.82% are intolerant of websites collecting online browsing data (excluding personal information) to provide relevant advertising.

Why wouldn’t shoppers be just a little worried? Of those polled, 83.95% have noticed ads popping up on other sites for a product they shopped for online. 

But only 29.11% are willing to pay a fee to a website to access content in return for no advertising.

It’s not clear whether email is as helpful as online ads in presenting COVID-19-related content. In general findings, email ranks a distant fifth in prompting consumers to take action. 

Ranked on an effectiveness scale of one to 10, consumers give email a score of 3.35.

Email falls behind social 4.18, banner ads 3.36, online video ads at 3.69 and television ads at 3.79. However, email does beat direct mail, which scores 2.63. 

Overall, only 7.62% feel the ads they see online are always relevant. And 32.97% say they are often relevant.

But 29.31% claim they are rarely relevant, and 7.13% say they are not at all on target. Another 22.97% feel indifferent. 

Also, 89.23% say the ads they see online are repetitive.

RevJet surveyed 1,035 consumers in the U.S.