Mining the U.S. Generation Gaps

Understanding shopping and media habits at different ages can help marketers optimize critical assortment, pricing, promotion and advertising decisions by crafting targeted strategies and niche offers that reflect deal propensity, trip frequency, channel predilection, average spend and media usage.
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Geotargeted banner ad growth attributed to lower priced leads

Geotargeted banner ad revenue is expected to grow 16.6% to $1.04 billion in 2009, according to BIA/Kelsey in its Interactive Local Media spending forecast. Double digit growth continues in 2010. Geotargeted display will increase 13.1% next year to a total of 1.18 billion. By 2013, it will swell to $1.9 billion, a compound annual growth [...]

More Black Friday Searches but Less Browsing Online

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — One of the more popular Google searches over Thanksgiving was “Walmart Black Friday store map,” which may go a long way in explaining some of the numbers being reported.
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College Students Spend 12 Hours/Day with Media, Gadgets

College students in America are expected to lay out an all-time high $6.5 billion this year on technology items and spend an average of 12 hours each day engaged with some type of media, according to (pdf) findings released today from Alloy Media + Marketing’s 9th annual College Explorer survey, conducted by Harris Interactive.
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Report: Gift Cards Are The New Fruitcake

The popularity of store gift cards is plummeting, according to research and advisory firm TowerGroup. The reduction in card spending is reflective of less confidence in retailer inventories and stability. TowerGroup expects store gift-card spending volume to fall by 7%, with a modest increase of 3% in general-purpose cards in 2009, according to “Gift Cards: [...]

What Drives Women as Car Buyers

When women are in the market for a car, what’s the most important factor influencing their choice? Any men tempted to say “color” should sign up for a thought-rectification course. The correct answer, according to a newly released Ipsos Public Affairs survey of women conducted for CarMax, is “price.”
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Coupon Use Continues Resurgence

Although economic recovery finally seems to be taking root in the U.S., consumers remain cautious when it comes to spending their money.  And many analysts believe that shopping behavior that has changed during the recession is permanent.  One factor backing up that premise is the continued upswing in coupon use after years of declines.
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Who Uses the Yellow Pages?!

I came home the other day and there they were at the front door…all three of them…just laying there…the Yellow Pages.  Why oh why do we still receive the Yellow Pages?  As I dragged them into the house, I wondered how many people throw them straight into the recycle bin.  Who uses the Yellow Pages [...]

Report shows how women influence economy

Women are driving the world economy, and in no product area is that more true than home furnishings, according to a recent report in the Harvard Business Review.
In “The Female Economy,” authors Michael J. Silverstein and Kate Sayre of the Boston Consulting Group also say that despite the growing purchasing power of women, many companies [...]

Insights Into Holiday Spending in Stores and on Web Sites

Findings in a new study from Burst Media outline four insights into spending trends by consumers this holiday season.
Insight #1: Spending Trends Slightly Downward
One third (32.7%) of respondents expect to spend less on gifts and entertaining this holiday season compared to 2008, and almost the same number (30.1%) expect to spend about the same as [...]