UK OOH industry revenues for Q3 2020 saw a continued improvement, especially evident in the monthly figures although we figure that these won’t capture the latest Government restrictions which have come through in October.
Highlights for Q3 2020 vs Q3 2019:
- The overall numbers reflect some recovery as the Covid-19 lockdowns imposed began to ease in Q3 2020, albeit don’t reflect the most recent set of restrictions that have largely come into effect in October
- There is an overall -50% decline in revenues between Q3 2020 and Q3 2019, with total revenues of £166m reported in Q3 2020
- Digital declined -42% (compared to -77% in Q2 2020), while Classic declined -58% (compared to -89% in Q2 2020) – reflecting recovery in both types of display vs. Q2 2020
- Digital’s share declined slightly to 61% in Q3 2020 (vs. 68% in Q2 2020). While this is lower than seen in Q2 2020, it is significantly higher than the pre-pandemic share (53% in Q1 2020)
Monthly impact of Covid-19:
- While Covid-19 has seen an overall decline in revenues throughout the sector, this is less severe than that observed in Q2 2020
- The industry recorded a -62% y.o.y decline in revenue in July 2020. This has tracked positively over the course of the quarter, improving to a -40% y.o.y decline in revenue by September 2020
- Digital declined in July, August and September, with -55%, -41% and -30% y.o.y growth respectively
- Classic declined in July, August and September, with -70%, -59% and -51% y.o.y growth respectively
- Recovery is more heavily weighted towards Digital, with a quicker bounce-back observed compared to Classic
Tim Lumb, Director of Outsmart told us “Recovery in Q3, and looking towards Q4, the weekly audience data I am currently seeing from numerous sources suggest the people are continuing with regular day to day life activities, safely observing the current guidance”.