Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

A new food trend outlook report from Packaged Facts predicts the hot food trends expected for 2012. Among them, a continued interest in ethnic foods, particularly in relation to food trucks; continued interest in the flavors and ingredients of Southern cooking; and in foodservice, more creative, vegetable-centric sandwiches and center-of-the-plate items will be evident. Updated takes on classic desserts will also continue to be featured, with tall layer cakes growing in popularity.

A new report from The NPD Group looks across retail categories and examines consumers’ attitudes towards online shopping. The category that most consumers reported having shopped for online (researched or browsed, regardless of whether a purchase resulted) in the past 12 months were books, stationery or office supplies (48%). The apparel and consumer electronics categories follow, each with 46%.

According to recent Mintel research, 17% of coffee drinkers say they prefer their coffee one cup at a time. Not surprisingly, the most popular draw for single-cup coffee lovers is convenience. Seventy-nine percent of those who enjoy single-cup coffee agree that they drink it because it’s convenient to brew. Meanwhile, 60% cite the ability to brew a hot cup every time instead of reheating a full pot and 55% say they like the variety available in pods.

Financial advisors who target the senior market find themselves selling to a very worried group of consumers. A new group of consumers is beginning to move into the senior market – older baby boomers. As a result, financial advisors are evaluating the best way to reach out to prospective clients.

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

As the restaurant industry continues to recover, new research indicates that the greatest opportunity for the market to return to growth is through promoting reasonable prices with value-added benefits like health and convenience. In fact, 34% of restaurant-goers say healthy food is an important factor in selecting a family restaurant. Adding value through convenience is another approach that can benefit the restaurant segment.