Paid social is the most popular channel for retail marketers, according to a new report from Wunderkind, makers of AI-powered performance marketing software, and publication “Retail Dive.”
There are, however, a few caveats, according to Tim Glomb, VP of digital, content and AI at Wunderkind. On one hand, the data represents a snapshot of time taken in a pre-tariff world. On the other, the data is likely skewed by apparel brands, which often chase one-off sales on social platforms due to the channel’s cost-effectiveness.
Earlier this year, the companies surveyed 100 marketing leaders to learn more about their priorities and strategies for 2025, and 90% of respondents said they were using paid social media to engage customers. Runners-up included email (87%), organic social media (78%), online display ads (77%), and text messaging (76%).
“I was blown away at how many people think paid social is providing an ROI,” Glomb says, adding that the survey focused primarily on clothing businesses.
Even so, 99% of respondents plan to spend more on paid social media in 2025 than they did last year, the research found.
“Everyone is on social,” Glomb says. “It’s where the fish are, so you kind of have to fish there.”
According to the report, 68% brands are planning to prioritize paid social media above all other channels in 2025; 48% of respondents plan to prioritize organic social media, 46% will pour more money into online display ads, and 37% will invest more in email.
These results somewhat mirror the channels that provided the best ROI for brands over the previous year; 45% of respondents said paid social media was most effective, and marketers also found success with email (17%), organic social media (11%), and online display ads (10%).
Interestingly, while paid social might be the top priority for marketers, respondents also agreed that email (63%) and text (59%) were more effective than other channels.
“The big takeaway: Everyone said email is going to die and email’s going away,” Glomb says. “But our report showed very clearly that all four categories—Boomers, Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z—react to email. If you’re using paid social, do what works for you. But don’t forget that you can do far more personalization in email and text versus an ad.”
Marketers who do end up doubling down on email outreach should pay attention to conversion rates above all else due to concerns around inflation and the potential impacts of tariffs.
“CFOs have more control over brands than ever, and actually seeing conversions is all that matters,” Glomb says. “The more engagement you have, the more conversions you’ll have long term. The problem is you might not be here in five years if you can’t generate revenue today.”
Due to the tricky economic climate, he encourages marketers to shy away from aggressively selling their products on social channels. “Can your brand use paid social and influencers to give a little bit of solace, a little bit of calm?” Glomb asks. “Go tell a differentiated story with paid social. Don’t try to sell a product, it’s the wrong time, that’s tone deaf. Empathize with people because these rough times are not going away tomorrow.”
Other findings from the report are as follows:
- Personalization works great on text. According to the report, 67% of marketers agree that personalizing outreach via text message is more effective than other channels compared to 26% who say it’s the same and just 7% who say it’s less effective.
- Marketers are just scratching the surface with personalization. Most commonly, marketers personalize outreach by using recipients’ names (70% of respondents), aligning messages and offers with behaviors (61%), and using multiple customer profile points in email, text, and DMs (60%). On the flipside, just 33% of marketers recommend products based on preferences while only 15% display dynamic content based on preferences — suggesting there’s lots of room to grow.
- Organizations using AI are experiencing data gaps. Unlocking the promise of AI starts with data, but organizations are struggling with data gaps: 66% lack real-time transaction data, 48% lack channel engagement data and 46% lack detailed customer behavioral information. Other data gaps include customer purchase histories (43%), detailed customer demographic information (41%) and sentiment analysis data (35%).
- Despite data gaps, marketers are still leveraging AI as decision engines. Popular use cases include aligning promotions with inventory availability, leveraging customer insights for real-time decision-making, optimizing marketing resource allocation, segmenting customers intelligently and devising social media marketing strategies.
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