Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

According to an analysis of the BIGresearch Simultaneous Media Usage Survey, the message is loud and clear to marketers serving the U.S. Hispanic community: “one-size-fits-all marketing won’t work.” The study finds that there are key similarities and differences every marketer should know about Hispanic groups in America including those households that speak English a majority of the time and those who don’t, as well as Hispanics who were born in the U.S. and those who were not. One thing all these segments have in common is that they are planning to buy. Whether it’s a car, electronics or vacation travel, Hispanics outpace the general market when it comes to purchase intentions.

According to Gamer Segmentation 2010, from The NPD Group, the Extreme Gamers segment, which represents 4% of the total U.S. gaming population, spend 48.5 hours a week playing games. When looking at the number of hours gamers spend per week playing video games, hours spent playing both console and PC games showed a marked increase over last year’s study, with console games increasing 9% and PC games increasing 6%. “With these kinds of shifts in the composition of the gaming consumer and changes in gaming behavior, it’s clear that the need to understand gamers and their purchase patterns remains critical information to those that develop, market and sell games,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group.

According to a new survey of consumer retail spending and trends from Deloitte, consumers are demonstrating new, post-recessionary shopping patterns linked to social, mobile and online tools. Thirty-three percent of consumers are purchasing more online compared with a year ago. More than half (56%) of respondents say they use social networking sites, and among them: 43% interact with retailers through these channels; 64% of them do so to find out about promotion; 48% browse products; and 35% review the recommendations found on those sites. Over half (51%) of consumers say that an online product review has influenced their decision to buy a product, or to not buy a product.

Consumers are more than willing to fix up their homes, and they’re prepared to spend, on average, $6,200 on improvements, according to a recent survey conducted by American Express. According to the survey, 62% of respondents plan to embark on some kind of renovation project in 2010. The majority (53%) involve indoor remodeling, with cosmetic work (36%), redoing a room (25%), and installing a new floor (14%) topping the list. Young professional (86%) and affluent (72%) homeowners will embark on these projects more so in 2010 than the general population of homeowners.

Unemployment may still be high but consumers are growing restless. Whether it’s a traditional summer vacation or a fall getaway, more consumers might be inclined to travel this year. The chief reason behind this interest is the general confidence many consumers have about their personal financial situations. Fewer consumers cite personal credit card debt and the plunging value of investment portfolios as reasons to avoid traveling.

TripAdvisor recently announced the results of its annual summer travel survey of more than 2,300 U.S. respondents. The vast majority of U.S. travelers plan to take leisure trips this summer (91%), up slightly from 89% in 2009. Eighty percent of travelers will take seven or more days of vacation this summer, and only 11% of travelers say the recent volatility in the stock market impacts their plans. According to TripAdvisor site data, the top-searched destinations for hotels in the U.S. this summer are New York City, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach, Orlando and San Francisco. Nearly a third of travelers (31%) plan to spend more on summer travel this year, while 42% will spend the same amount as in 2009. Nearly half (49%) said the economy does not affect their summer travel plans overall.