Two in three Baby Boomer women (65%) prefer to purchase apparel online because they dislike the service they receive in department stores and 13% only buy their clothes online in order to avoid the in-person hassle, according to Vibrant Nation.

More than eight in 10 (84%) find sales staff are indifferent, inexperienced, invisible, and “outright rude.” An additional 32% claim an “age bias,” pointing out that younger sales associates ignore older consumers. Only 16% feel sales associates are well-trained and helpful.

Women tend to purchase their clothes based on appearance (59%) and comfort (28%) rather than price (8%). Two in 10 (19%) spend at least $250 a month on clothes. They seek inspiration from other women (32%), catalogs (27%), and magazines (21%).

Most (47%) purchase clothes whenever they are in the mood to do so, whereas 24% only buy when something is needed, 15% shop seasonally, and 11% shop only during major sales periods.

[Source:  Survey conducted by Vibrant Nation.  (per EPM Communications.  Marketing to Women. Jul. 2010.)]

Having outgrown shoes, shirts and even backpacks they’ve used the last two years, children heading back to school this year will arrive in style. The National Retail Federation’s 2010 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back to School survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found that the average American family will spend $606.40 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics, compared to $548.72 last year, and close to the $594.24 in 2008. Total spending on school-aged children in grades K-12 is expected to reach $21.35 billion.

Combined K-12 and college spending will reach $55.12 billion, serving as the second biggest consumer spending event for retailers behind the winter holidays.

“We are encouraged by the fact that parents are eager to start their back to school shopping this year, but the industry still remains cautiously optimistic about recovery,” said NRF President and CEO Matt Shay. “As the second half of the year gets under way, retailers will gauge their customers’ spending appetites, which often serve as a bellwether for the all-important holiday season.”

There remains no question that the economy will continue to play a role in American families’ back to school preparations. This year’s survey found that 44.3% of Americans will buy more store brand or generic products, compared to 41.7% in 2009. Additionally, more parents will comparative shop online (30.3% vs. 26.4% in 2009.) The state of the economy will also impact some families’ lifestyles, such as deciding whether their child should attend public or private school (8.1% vs. 5.7% in 2009).

Most families agree that growing children means growing apparel budgets. Spending on apparel will take up the majority of consumers’ budgets with the average family of school-aged kids expected to spend $225.47 on jeans, shirts and other types of clothing. Running the gamut from laptops and net books to smart phones and MP3 players, parents are expected to spend an average of $181.60 on their children’s electronic or computer-related school needs. Families will also spend an average of $102.93 on shoes and $96.39 on school supplies.

As far as where families will shop this year, seven in 10 (71.2%) will head to a discount store and more than half (53.9%) will visit their favorite department store. Other popular shopping destinations include clothing stores (49.0%), electronics stores (23.0%), office supply stores (41.2%), drug stores (19.5%) and thrift stores (17.0%). Whether to save a few bucks and compare prices or simply because of the convenience, more people will shop online this year (30.8% vs. 22.2% last year.)

“Many of today’s shoppers are smarter than any other generation before them, especially when it comes to finding the best price,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch. “The affordability of online shopping gives parents an extra edge over the sometimes expensive back-to-school shopping season with price comparison options, free shipping offers and even coupons.”

The survey found that teenagers and pre-teens will dish out more of their own money for apparel, supplies and accessories this year. Teenagers are expected to shell out an average of $31.74 for school items, up slightly from $30.88 last year. Pre-teens will spend an average of $18.27, up from $11.94 in 2009.  When it comes to how much say children have in parents’ buying decisions, six in 10 adults (61.1%) say their children influence 50% or more of their back-to-school purchases.

Nearly half (47.6%) will begin their shopping three weeks to one month before school starts and one-quarter (24.8%) will start one to two weeks before school begins. Some will get a jump start and begin shopping two months before the new school year (21.6%). Three percent (3.0%) will wait until the week school starts or even after school begins.

[Source:  2010 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back to School Survey.  BIGresearch/National Retail Federation (NRF). 15 Jul. 2010.  Web.  23 Jul. 2010.]

Consumers born between 1946 and 1964 comprise a group of 78 million strong. But Baby Boomers, all well past the age of 35, are not exactly the sweet spot as far as most marketers are concerned. The lopsided distribution of ad dollars by age group in the U.S. was the topic of a recent Nielsenwire blogpost.

Nielsen acknowledges that marketers have long ignored the age 50 and up crowd unless they are selling prescription medications or other products designed to usher this group into old age. But Boomers, according to Nielsen, are different from the older generations. This was, after all, the group that promised to never grow old. And in many cases, they haven’t. These consumers are more likely than average to:

• Watch video: 9.34 hours a day
• Time shift TV: 2.32 hours
• Own a DVD player
• Have home-based broadband Internet access

This group also accounts for 38.5% of consumer spending on CPG and has shown considerable willingness to change brands. Historically, marketers have argued that they do not want to spend ad money trying to convince older consumers to change brands. As a result, ad dollars are channeled toward winning younger consumers. Nielsen analysts estimate that 5% or less of ad dollars target consumers between the ages of 35 and 64.

Pat McDonough, Senior Vice President, Insights, Analysis and Policy at the Nielsen Company says, “as the U.S. continues to age, reaching this group will continue to be critical for advertisers.” This is not a new observation. But what is different this time is that more Baby Boomers are financially secure than their younger counterparts. This fact may be enough to get marketers to broaden the age demographics of their ad campaigns.

[Source: Why Marketers Can’t Afford to Ignore Baby Boomers. Nielsenwire.com. 19 Jul. 2010. Web. 22 Jul. 2010]

Consumers will spare no expense in the quest to look their best. The increasing popularity of non-invasive cosmetic procedures such as Botox injections shows the widespread acceptance  of and demand for personal care products by both men and women.  Now, technological advances have led to the development of personal care products that include nanotechnology.

According to a Thomson Reuters’ report, hundreds of personal care products enhanced with nanotechnology are already on the market. These face creams, sunscreens and shampoos contain molecular compounds designed to  improve product performance, and, of course, to help consumers maintain a youthful appearance. Dr. James Canton of the Institute for Global Futures says “nanotech is one of the key design tools that will be used to create the largest industry in the 21st century: Health Enhancement.”

Concern about the health effects of nano particles in personal care products has caught the attention of the FDA. The agency has set aside a separate budget to track and study how nano particles will be used in consumer applications. While the industry will be regulated, businesses continue to pour money into their research and development programs. Thomson Reuters says that the rate of patent growth in this field in the past 6 years exceeds 100%. And it’s not just pure-play cosmetics companies like L’Oreal who are filing for patents. Chemical companies such as BASF are designing new ways to deliver nutrients via personal care products through the use of nano particles. In 2009, the most patents given to nano-particle products for personal care were in the hair shampoo and conditioner, lip stick and sunscreen categories.

Promotions for products enhanced with nanotechnology are certain to come from both personal care marketers and specialty chemical companies in the near future.

[Source: Can Nanotech Unlock the Fountain of Youth? ThomsonReuters.com. June 2010. Web. 21 Jul. 2010]