Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

According to a new report by RightNow and conducted by Harris Interactive, retailers are using social media channels to bring back dissatisfied customers. The research demonstrates that by listening and proactively responding to complaints on the social web, retailers have an opportunity to turn disgruntled customers into brand advocates. The “Retail Consumer Report” survey, conductedRead the Rest…

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Athletic Footwear/Apparel Stores. The following are the predicted Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

U.S. m-commerce sales are on a steep upward trajectory, thanks in part to ever-increasing adoption of smartphones and the mobile internet among the U.S. mobile population. eMarketer estimates mobile commerce sales will reach $6.7 billion in 2011 —a tiny fraction of overall retail sales, but a 91.4% increase over 2010. In 2012, sales will rise another 73.1%, to $11.6 billion.

Americans are changing their furniture purchasing habits and are now seeking functional and multipurpose furniture pieces. According to a new Mintel report, when buying home furniture, 40% of those surveyed indicate that they choose furniture mainly based on practical needs versus only 12% who indicated price as a priority when buying furniture. While style is also important to buyers, function is the primary driver.

Retail sales of pet medications, including sales through veterinarians, brick-and-mortar retailers, and online, will reach $6.7 billion in 2011, according to a recent report from Packaged Facts. Pet medications sales are expected to post annual percentage gains of 10% by 2015. Growth will come from both the pharmaceutical side of the market, as new drugs are launched, and from the retail side of the market, as products and ingredients crossing over from the veterinary channel broaden their retail following.

While Baby Boomers have been given credit for launching America’s cooking craze and nurturing it over the past few decades, Baby Boomers’ children, the Millennial generation (aged 17-34 in 2011), are now poised to take over and start stirring the pot. A quarter (25%) of Millennials claim to “love cooking” versus 17% of their senior counterparts. Marketers can benefit from this trend by promoting options that adhere to specific health requirements, as well as add an element of fun and adventure to meal prep.