In Posterscope's Audience and Brands Head Out of Home we look at the increase in audience mobility (now 70.8 versus pre-Covid baseline of 100), the effect on retail as people flock back to the shops, and the automotive market. And we take a look at how OOH is perfectly placed to help brands capitalise on this moment.

1. Audiences and Brands Head Out of Home…
Posterscope recently highlighted how brands could seize the current retail opportunity, as more
people return to our streets, and with car show rooms and essential and non-essential retail opening
in June. Coupled with the huge discounts being offered to advertisers on OOH, plus flexible buying
and campaign movement terms, this makes the medium a safe and effective channel in these
extraordinary times.
Since the re-opening of retail last week, we have all seen anecdotal stories about people queuing,
sometimes for hours, outside stores such as Primark and the Nike Store in London for example. At
Posterscope, we wanted to understand if the return of people to the streets was enough of a shift to
be valuable to advertisers, and of equal importance, whether people were actively looking to
purchase as well as being in the right mindset to be communicated with.
The answer is a strong yes on all counts. Audiences are continuing to grow, and shoppers are in a
positive mindset, particularly as, according to a new study by LightSpeed Mintel, although they may
have concerns, 79% % of people feel confident that they will be ok financially.

2. Some retail outlets saw people queuing from as early as 7am and those interviewed claimed their
shopping experience was a positive one, with the great weather making queuing a more pleasurable
experience. In store browsing was also a pleasure, as retailers limited the number of people in the
shop at any one time. Upmarket retailer Harrods experienced queues snaking around the building,
having installed a footfall tracking device to limit capacity within the store to 4500 to allow for safe
social distancing. Within the store, the longest queues were at the Dior and Louis Vuitton concessions.
On average, Footfall was up 30 per cent on last week in high streets, shopping centres and outlets
across England, whilst some areas, according to sector analysts Springboard, enjoyed up to a 50 per
cent increase.
But it is undoubtably the automotive market that has stolen the show as the fastest growing category,
not just in the UK but globally. While the used car market held strong during lockdown, research from
Indicata reveals it has bounced back so far in June. Sales of used cars were up 3.4 per cent in the first
10 days of June compared with the same period in 2019. And between June 4 and 10, sales were up
13.3 per cent, equating to around 12,000 used cars per day, which is where the market was pre-Covid-
19 lockdown. According to Indicata’s analysis Hybrid sales are up 22% YoY, SUVs up 11% YoY, while
sports and luxury cars are the big winners with sales up to 39%. This supports our predictions that
people are preparing to spend more time in their owned transport and are quite content with making
roadside journeys. This trend looks set to continue too, according to Neil Gilligan, INDICATA UK’s
business development manager: “It is surprising how quickly the used market has bounced back from
the Covid-19 lockdown. With reduced output from car makers and fewer dealer part exchanges and
ex-fleet cars coming into the market then demand should exceed supply throughout the rest of 2020
with prices continually strong,”.
Demand for new cars has also solidified during the month of June, with the classified advertising
websites and new car portals all reporting demand is high. Auto Trader, Carwow and What Car? Are
amongst those reporting strong demand from consumers.

3. Posterscope’s Mobility Index, based on data from Telecoms partner Three UK reports UK mobility for
w/e 19th
June, was 69.1. So just under 70% of normal mobility and still increasing.
Whilst Apple’s mobility report showed that roadside vehicular audience levels reached 81% of pre-
Covid levels. For retail environments, the latest Springboard data revealed a phenomenal 42% uplift
in people moving around versus the previous week, so with deals in market offering 40-50% value,
OOH is once again offering an effective channel to brands.
London saw a 32% increase in people moving across the capital and 60% of people nationally now
claim to be visiting friends and family (*Source: Apple mobility data). So with the good weather set
to continue over the coming weeks, as well as more children returning to school, there is a huge and
incentivised opportunity here for brands to be part of this positive milestone in returning to the new
normal.

4. For media owners, OOH is back, and many advertisers are taking advantage of the moment, including,
eBay, McCain’s, Vauxhall, HSBC, O2, Paddy Power, and many more.
Using the granularity of Posterscope’s mobility data, and its ability to provide a mobility Index score
right down to postal sector level, we have been able to build bespoke retail packages for clients that
only display in retail zones with a high level of mobility, ensuring efficiency and increasing ROI from
the channel.
So, audiences are back. Consumers are in a positive mindset; and, although concerned, feel financially
secure to invest and are ready to receive communication from advertisers. OOH is perfectly placed to
help brands capitalise on this moment - an effective solution with discounts of up to 50%.
For more information on the return of OOH and to understand more about the opportunity that OOH
can offer for your brand, please contact the Posterscope team.
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