Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Retail sales and celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day will get a boost this year as the holiday falls on a Saturday. According to BIGinsight’s St. Patrick’s Day spending survey, 54.4% of Americans say they will celebrate the traditionally Irish holiday this year, the most in the survey’s nine-year history. Overall, the average person will spend about $35 on the holiday, totaling $4.6 billion.

The gluten-free industry is booming, growing 27% since 2009 and exceeding $6 billion in 2011, and fueled by an abundance of new products in 2010 and 2011 that bear a gluten-free claim. However, despite an increase in popularity and product development, celiac disease and gluten intolerance is thought to be widely undiagnosed, as just 1% of consumers say they’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease and only 8% overall say they are gluten intolerant/sensitive.

According to beauty market research conducted by The NPD Group, Inc., in 2011, total U.S. prestige beauty generated $9.5 billion, an increase of 11% in dollars over 2010. Prestige fragrances experienced the strongest dollar and unit performance in 15 years; dollars grew +11% and units grew +7%. Prestige skincare continued to lead prestige beauty with growth of +14% in dollars and +9% in units.

The market for targeted health and wellness foods and beverages is a dynamic and growing one, driven by escalating healthcare costs, a graying population, and consumers seeking to address one or more specific health and wellness conditions or concerns. According to David Sprinkle, publisher of Packaged Facts, “Two-thirds of U.S. grocery shoppers have purchased a food or beverage in the past year for the purpose of addressing, with cholesterol management and digestive health of particular concern.”

As E-retailers continue to take market share from bricks-and-mortar competitors, they have good reason to feel confident about their position in the retail world. But online shoppers are more confident, too, meaning merchants need to deliver better deals and service, as well as master the in’s and out’s of social media. Retailers are working hard to tailor shopping for a variety of web-enabled devices, increasingly blurring the boundaries between physical stores and the web.

Value-conscious shoppers redeemed $4.6 billion in coupon savings in 2011, an increase of 12.2% over the year prior, and 58.6% higher than five years ago. Free Standing Insert (FSI) formats remain the most popular means of distribution. In 2012, marketers should monitor consumer responsiveness closely while maintaining levels of promotional incentives that will ensure the demand for value is satisfied in a highly competitive environment.