“It’s surprising how fast things have changed in just a couple of days,” said Brad Geddes co-founder of PPC management tool Adalysis in an email Friday.

“We’ve seen a LOT of campaigns suddenly paused. Everything from travel (even travel agents who are often booking trips 6 months to one year in advance) to car dealerships, event venues, restaurants, etc.,” said Geddes. “If you have to leave the house to engage in the service, it just seems like it’s not converting right now.”

Travel “tip of the spear”

As U.S. communities suddenly began to take drastic measures to slow the spread of coronavirus, many marketers saw search and conversion behavoirs shift just as swiftly. The travel industry is the “tip of the spear” — a leading indicator of where things could be heading for other sectors — as MediaRadar put it. Data released by the media intelligence platform Monday indicates the travel sector swiftly put the brakes on media. A comparison of the first two weeks of March vs. February, shows a contraction of 62% in digital media spend by the travel sector. “Many firms have stopped spending altogether while they assess and develop their plans,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar.