Consumer demand for cars could begin to recover this month in the United States after steep declines due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the hard-hit travel and dining industries will likely continue to face difficult times, according to a major U.S. advertising agency.
The new forecasts on Thursday from Universal McCann, a unit of advertising holding company Interpublic Group (IPG.N), will be used to help advertisers plan their marketing campaigns as countries around the world prepare to lift stay-at-home orders. The U.S. advertising industry is expected to see billions of dollars in losses this year as the pandemic has battered the economy and brands have paused their marketing.
Auto, travel and dining brands such as General Motors Co (GM.N), Expedia Group Inc (EXPE.O) and McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) are among the top advertising spenders in the United States.
Demand for cars could rise to 80% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this month, the agency said.
“I was surprised to see the decrease [in demand] was not as big as I thought and that any rebound was occurring this early,” said Huw Griffiths, global chief product officer for Universal McCann, adding the rebound could be partly due to people aiming to travel in their own vehicles and avoid public transportation.
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