New survey planned to focus on trends in gift purchases
and what gift buyers will be shopping for in 2010 and beyond. At the close of 2009 most economists believe the worst of the recession is over, but they also predict a slow recovery through 2010 and beyond. Further marketers and retailers are not likely to find this year's holiday gift shopping season to be
Unity Marketing's exclusive Luxury Consumption Index dropped back from 86.9 points, the highest level reached since September 2007, to 77.6 points
Commenting on the backward slide the LCI, Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing said, "The rise in the index back in January was a result of new year optimism. Even though the
New Study to Discover How the Recession and the Housing Crisis Is Impacting the Market for Home Luxuries
Unity Marketing offering sponsorship opportunities for home luxury companies to participate in new survey among affluent consumers. Unity Marketing will conduct an in-depth survey among 750-to-1,000 affluent consumers who recently
Luxury marketer Edible Arrangements uses consumer insights strategy to grow their gifting business
The need to buy a gift is an important reason why people go shopping. That makes the gifting consumer market an important part of the retail economy. An estimated $1 out of every $10 spent in a GAFO store is made to buy a gift
Harvard Business School Professor finds gifts make people happier than purchases for self
So as holiday gift shopping season approaches, retailers can make more people happy by giving them good gift selections. It is often said that money can't buy happiness, and this is true for most cases. However, writing in the September
Will You Recognise Your Post-Recession Affluent Customer?
New Unity Marketing report details attitudes and motivations of the new luxury consumer. Have you been scanning the luxury horizon, looking for signs of those "green shoots" that signal the regrowth of the market after the recession? If so, be aware that you may not recognize the new species of luxury consumer
A New Trend Report Provides Predictions For The Luxury Travel Market Through 2011
The long-range forecast for the luxury travel sector now through 2011 is mixed - Bright and sunny for travel providers catering to the pleasure market, with storms and changing winds ahead for marketers that rely primarily on the business
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Read our articles, surveys, reports and luxury tracking study on the luxury market, brands, marketers, lyfestyle, affluent customers, luxury shoppers, trends, qualitative and quantitative market research and analysis to learn about brand preferences, shopping habits, and attitudes of luxury consumers. Then turn these insights into actionable strategies to reach high spending consumers.
Many articles are written by Pamela N. Danziger, an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights for marketers targeting the affluent consumer. Pamela is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm that specializes in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses or the 'classes'. She is also an advisory board member of Par Excellence Magazine.
According to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. consumers spent less in October than hoped, disappointing retailers and leading to a rocky first part of November on Wall Street, as the stock market reacted to this decline in consumer spending. However, those who follow Unity Marketing's Luxury Consumption Index(LCI) expected the dip and could plan accordingly.
In July Unity Marketing's exclusive LCI took a deep dive, predicting a drop in luxury consumer spending during the third quarter -- which is exactly what happened, according to the results of Unity Marketing's latest survey of affluent consumers luxury purchases. Luxury consumers spent nearly 20 percent less in the third quarter than in the second quarter 2011.
New survey finds improved outlook for 1Q2012
Commenting on Unity Marketing's fourth quarter survey of 1,498 affluent luxury consumers (average income $279.1k; avg. age 44.4 yrs.), Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of the just released Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury, says, "Our latest survey reveals turmoil in the luxury consumer mindset, just like the Dow Jones Industrial Average measures turmoil in the investment markets.
Affluents are uncertain about their present financial status and worried about the overall economy, which translates into more cautious spending on luxury indulgences. For example, 70 percent of the luxury consumers surveyed this month said they are spending the same or less on luxury now than they did twelve months ago."
The Christmas gift shopping season is nearly over, but it seems like the pundits and industry watchers haven't got a clue about what the gift giving consumers are really up to. Take Black Friday sales for example. While some industry experts gleefully put sales on this much-examined retail day several percentage points ahead of last year, others quickly pointed out that any increase in revenues was likely due to the practices of opening store doors as early as Thanksgiving night, effectively tacking another six or eight hours of sales time onto Black Friday.
And just yesterday, the National Retail Federation (NRF) revised its forecast upward from their previously bullish pre-Thanksgiving estimates. But on the same day, the New York Times featured a story that said stores sales are lagging after Thanksgiving. As a result, they are taking drastic steps, including deep discounts, staying open late, and extending specials, to entice shoppers into the stores before Christmas.
Not only that, the New York Times article also reports that troubled retailers plan to manipulate the way they account for holiday gift sales this year to get a more favorable report from the actual year-over-year comparables. In other words, if the real data doesn't tell the story they want to tell their shareholders, they are going to 'cook the books' in order to do so.
Marketers can expect a tough year in sales of cards as demand for greeting cards in general, and Christmas cards in particular, continues to dwindle.
Marketers need to find future direction and opportunity as cultural trends push consumers away from greeting cards -- Unity Marketing plans a new study of the greeting card, stationery and paper products market.
Stevens, PA December 7, 2011 - With less than three weeks before Christmas, how many holiday cards have you received in the mail this year? Fewer than last year, Unity Marketing predicts.
The market for greeting cards is a tough one in today's environment with consumers having so many faster, easier and in many cases cheaper ways to send a greeting. Times have gotten even tougher as a result of the recession, with many consumers looking to cut spending anywhere they can.
And now with the U.S.P.S. slowing the pace of first class mail and making 'snail mail' even less convenient, consumers are being encouraged - even driven - to alternatives to the traditional greeting card.
What is behind this declining demand for greeting cards? "Many cultural trends are afoot that are changing consumers' demand for greeting cards, but one thing is for certain. The business of selling traditional greeting cards is only going to get harder as consumers turn to newer, faster and better communications alternatives," says Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Putting the Luxe Back in Luxury.
As if the recession wasn't bad enough, jewelers and specialty jewelry stores have been hit by a number of additional factors that have hurt their businesses, according to a new study of the jewelry market published by Unity Marketing. Specifically:
SHE HAS OVER $6 TRILLION DOLLARS TO SPEND AND WOULD BUY FROM YOU IN A HEARTBEAT. IF ONLY SHE COULD FIND YOU. NOW SHE CAN.
