Save 50% on a 3-month Digiday+ membership. Ends Dec 5.
Around this time last year, many were hoping for the light at the end of the pandemic tinged tunnel. After 2020 shuttered office doors, in-store shopping and in-person events, 2021 promised vaccinations that could end the pandemic and return things to normal.
However, no one could have predicted the realities that 2021 brought with it, including everything from Apple and Google’s privacy crackdown to the surging preference for shopping online over in-store.
As another year of the pandemic sunsets, Digiday takes a look at the predictions versus realities of 2021:

More in Marketing
Visa extends its reach into the creator economy’s liquidity crunch
The financial firm is working with creator financial platform Lumanu.
Why Carter’s new CMO wants more emotional, relatable marketing across channels
Carter’s CMO Sarah Crockett joined the company in the summer of 2025 with a goal of doing more realistic, relevant storytelling around childhood and parenting. In an interview with Modern Retail, she shared more about her approach.
U.K. retailer Tesco wants advertisers to see it as equal to any traditional media partner
Tesco’s client development director, Nick Ashley, talked to Digiday about its latest Upfront, the importance of shopper data, as well as how much its ad business impacts profit margins.