Retail ad volumes plunge 35% on TV in 2020

NEW DELHI: Television advertising volumes of the retail sector plunged 35% in 2020 when compared with 2018, according to data from the TAM AdEx report. However, the fourth quarter witnessed 1.6 times ad volume growth compared to the first quarter of the year. Due to the covid-19 effect, lowest ad volumes on television were observed in the second quarter which included the period of lockdown.

It took four months post the lockdown period for the retail sector’s ad volumes to recover and top pre-lockdown levels on TV, according to the report. During the festive period, ad volumes on television witnessed double-digit growth. As far as retail outlets go, jewellers alone contributed 60% to the ad volume share of retail sector and the top 10 advertisers accounted for more than 55% share of ad volumes in 2020 with Lalitha Jewellery topping the list.

News channels topped the list of genres preferred by retail players during 2020. The top two channel genres on TV, news and general entertainment channels (GECs) together accounted for more than 75% of ad volume share for the retail sector during the year.