Home Remodeling to Pick Up in 2011

During the recession, home sales slowed significantly. At the same time, homeowners put the brakes on remodeling expenditures. High-end kitchen and bathroom remodeling went out of style, especially since homeowners were afraid they wouldn’t recoup any of their investment in the stalled housing market. Expenditures that did take place during the recessing were largely related to replacement of worn out items or energy efficiency improvements.

Read the Full Story Comments Off

Baby Boomer Women Shop Online to Avoid Poor In-Store Service

Two in three Baby Boomer women (65%) prefer to purchase apparel online because they dislike the service they receive in department stores and 13% only buy their clothes online in order to avoid the in-person hassle, according to Vibrant Nation. More than eight in 10 (84%) find sales staff are indifferent, inexperienced, invisible, and “outright rude.” An additional 32% claim an “age bias,” pointing out that younger sales associates ignore older consumers.

Read the Full Story Comments Off

NASCAR Seeks Grocery Partners for Promotions

Tight household budgets might have consumers cutting back on entertainment. But NASCAR fans appear to be motivated by ticket price discounts. And when the incentive for obtaining these discounted tickets is combined with the required purchase of their favorite CPGs, the marketing campaign can turn into a win for all vendors. Late last year, NASCAR ran a test promotion combining the efforts of local speedways, grocers and CPG vendors. This spring, a larger program proved highly successful in Texas so NASCAR is looking to expand on its success.

Read the Full Story Comments Off

Top 3 Opportunities/Challenges Ahead for Parking Lots and Garages

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

* Seniors aged 65 and older and Americans aged 25 to 34 years old-rank security as the most important factor when selecting where to park.
* More builders are seeking certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. “Green” efforts include turning concrete rooftops into green surfaces to reduce storm-water runoff.
* Pay-on-foot kiosks and signs that alert drivers to open spaces are just two examples of new technologies emerging in the industry.

Read the Full Story Comments Off

Destination Marketing Organizations Move Spending Online

Most major cities, especially those with convention centers, maintain a visitor’s bureau. Often, these organizations are called destination marketing organizations (DMOs). Historically, DMOs have spent a large portion of their operating budgets advertising to attract both business and leisure travelers to their region. But recent budget pressures have caused some changes in the way DMOs reach out to potential clients.

Read the Full Story Comments Off

BTS Sales Predicted to Rise as Parents Replenish Children’s Needs

According to a new survey by the National Retail Federation, the average American family will spend $606.40 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics, compared to $548.72 in 2009, and close to the $594.24 in 2008. Total spending on school-aged children in grades K-12 is expected to reach $21.35 billion in 2010. As far as where families will shop this year, seven in 10 (71.2%) will head to a discount store and more than half (53.9%) will visit their favorite department store. Other popular shopping destinations include clothing stores (49.0%), electronics stores (23.0%), office supply stores (41.2%), drug stores (19.5%) and thrift stores (17.0%).

Read the Full Story Comments Off