Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

A new quarterly index developed by eBillme and conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research finds that 19% of shoppers will spend more on Valentine’s Day this year, a seven percent increase from 2010. Of the consumers polled, the index revealed 32% of shoppers will purchase Valentine’s Day gifts online, a nine percent increase from 2010. According to Marwan Forzley, president and CEO of eBillme, “Retailers are coming off one of the best holiday shopping seasons in several years, and it looks like the spending will continue for another quarter. Our index paints a very optimistic picture for the e-commerce sector with increases in shoppers and sales projected for the quarter.” In addition, the index reveals that 47% of shoppers remain uncertain about what to purchase for Valentine’s Day, representing an opportunity for retailers to win these sales.

According to a new survey by BIGresearch, 44.8% of online shoppers say they are making more online purchases than they did a year ago and 37.8% are shopping in stores less. And it seems that the reason could be as simple as the “Four P’s” – Product, Price, Place and Promotion. When going head-to-head, online retailers beat traditional “brick and mortar” stores when it comes to online shoppers’ perception of product assortment, price and promotion, but fall short when it comes to customer service. Of those who shopped online for holiday gifts this past season, 55.9% say they shopped at on online only retail site, making it the most shopped retailer type. Discount (45.1%), Department (30.9%), Electronic (25.4%) and Auction (24.8%) retail sites round out the top five.

After several years of belt tightening, consumers appear ready to begin spending on themselves again. Personal savings is still a top goal but spending on categories like personal fitness and electronics has entered the picture. In addition, the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker indicates that marketers of appearance-related products have reason to cheer this year.

As the economy continues to improve, U.S. consumers are planning to buy more home furnishings this year, according to a recent report from Kantar Retail. According to the firm’s ShopperScape report, 35% of shoppers surveyed are either very or somewhat likely to buy home furnishings in 2011, up from 30% in the same survey conducted in October 2009. The biggest jump in buying plans emerged from generation-Y consumers, whose likelihood of buying home furnishings jumped from 12% in 2010 to 22% in 2011. According to Furniture Today’s 2011 Product Potential Reports, four states are projected to grow furniture and bedding sales at rates 1.5 times faster than the national growth average of 9.9% between 2010 and 2015. They include the Western states of UT, WY and CO, as well as the Southern state of TX.

Earlier this week I blogged about how younger consumers are the most likely demographic group to pay to watch TV online. But consumers of all ages have grown comfortable with purchasing content online. Purchases range from music to software to news these days. A new Pew Internet report sheds light on exactly who is buying what type of products online. This information can help marketers determine where to allocate ad budgets.

According to a Capstrat-Public Policy Polling survey released recently, 19% of the youngest adults surveyed say they’re willing to pay “significantly more” for green goods. That’s more than twice as many as any other age group. Overall, 59% of consumers consider products’ environmental sustainability to be very important in their buying decisions. Yet 47% of respondents said sustainability and environmental friendliness are “rarely” or “never” mentioned in their employers’ communications. Capstrat CEO Ken Eudy says, ”…companies with a genuine commitment to the environment are missing a huge opportunity to promote this orientation – even with their own employees. Corporations could and should do more to communicate what they are doing to protect the environment.”