In this blog, we’re recapping our recent webinar – Belardi Wong’s 2025 Playbook. Our President, Polly Wong, and SVP of Digital Strategy & Integrated Marketing, Calla Murphy, dove into the most pressing consumer trends and macroeconomic factors shaping the retail landscape with special guest speakers Tom Nowak, CMO, EVEREVE, and Carolyn Grana, VP of Digital Experience, Natural Life.
💡 Takeaways from Tom Nowak, CMO, EVEREVE:
“Marketing is about making customers, and keeping customers,
and maximizing the life-long value of those customers.“
- Consumer confidence is key. Economic uncertainty and election-year anxiety is affecting spending behavior.
- Avoid digital FOMO. Brands should focus on current trends rather than constantly chasing the next big digital platform.
- Catalogs drive scale. Catalog marketing remains a critical tool for both acquisition and retention.
- Branding & marketing alignment. Ensuring consistent messaging across channels is crucial for long-term success.
- AI’s role in media planning. AI is being used as a data analyst to track performance and make real-time recommendations.
💡 Takeaways from Carolyn Grana, VP of Digital Experience, Natural Life:
“A trend for us is focusing on data integrity. I think we are sort of anticipating [unpredictability]. So really locking down [on] feeling confident in our data and where it’s coming from.”
- Data integrity is a priority. Hiring dedicated analysts to refine reporting and analytics.
- Catalogs drive high-value customers. While Google helps scale acquisition, catalog marketing is essential for long-term customer value.
- Real-life content performs best. Organic, native-style video featuring real employees and environments outperforms polished studio shoots.
- AI is streamlining marketing. Using AI to summarize customer data, improve personalization, and enhance campaign efficiency.
- Apps are a growing revenue driver. Natural Life’s owned app now accounts for 20% of total sales, proving its value for engagement and retention.
THE LAY OF THE LAND
2024 was a mild growth year for ecommerce. Apparel finished the year +7% YOY, Shoes & Accessories +1% YOY, and Home –4% YOY. Younger consumers (under 45) are resilient and spending more, while older consumers are more conservative in their spending.
So far, 2025 sees modest growth. Overall performance in January and February is flat to LY, but certain categories are performing better than others. With consumers still actively shopping online (sessions are up 4% YOY in Feb so far), there is opportunity for growth as we move forward.
Belardi Wong’s clients are seeing higher rates of growth this year compared to 2025.
CPCs on Google are up 5%, while Meta is up 14%. About a week before the TikTok ban, Meta CPMs jumped 40% as advertisers shifted their dollars. We’ll continue to watch it closely as we watch the next deadline on TikTok.
BELARDI WONG’S WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS
✅ Macroeconomic factors are impacting consumer spending. Consumers could be feeling optimistic and spending confidently, or they might turn to retail therapy in response to economic stress—either way, although motivations are unpredictable, we are seeing trends holding and pent-up demand in home decor, positioning us for positivity in the coming months.
✅ Strategic integration = Success. The group agreed that catalogs remain a powerful acquisition and retention tool when integrated with digital strategies. Ensuring a seamless customer experience across all channels to tell a consistent and convincing story is key to success.
✅ AI is shaping the future of marketing. Marketers and consumers alike have become increasingly familiar with the plethora of AI tools available. While many marketers feel behind or slow to adopt, the reality is that it is critical to proactively test and understand how your brand can integrate AI – whether for content creation, customer services, personalization, or automation.
✅ Testing is critical. You’ve heard us say this time and time again, but it bears repeating – a consistent testing plan is essential for optimizing performance. Stay ahead of the competition and regularly test in different formats, messaging, and channels while ALSO closely monitoring results. Proactively make data-driven adjustments.
✅ Mastering the Marketing Mix – Brands are shifting towards a full-funnel approach. Tom underlined the importance of putting more effort, time, focus, and spend into branding, and Carolyn highlighted the need to stay agile and on top of the data and trends, checking in weekly and adjusting budgets in real time.
As your trusted thought partner, we’re committed to providing content that supports you and your business every step of the way. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! We hope you can join us at a future BW event.
