Shifting Priorities Means Shifting Shoppers

Furniture World Magazine

It's common knowledge that most Americans today are living increasingly hectic lives. To better understand just how they are managing it all, and what that means when it comes to shopping for your brands in your stores, we asked them how they are prioritizing common activities compared to five years ago. Some responses are life-stage driven, younger people spend more time working, while older people win the blue ribbon for "calling friends and relatives," but overallŠ The BIG NEWS is the Internet, children, and home-based activities win. Most everything else, including religion, friends, and shopping in stores, loses. A Red Alert For Retail 47 percent of people over 55 are reducing the time they spend shopping in stores. What will happen to retail if half of all baby boomers decide to shop less in stores as they pass 55? 21st Century Gift Shopping The decline in time spent buying gifts and sending greeting cards does not suggest ignoring special occasions altogether but rather that people have found better, more efficient, more productive ways to do it, such as the Internet and gift cards. Fast Food May Be On A Slower Track People aged 18-54 are spending more time preparing meals and cooking. If this means a return to food as socialization, family time, and nutrition, then supermarket chains that romance food are in the right place at the right time. (Consider Bloom, Kowalski's, Wegmans, and Whole Foods.) Beauty Backlash An alarming 1/3 of Caucasian women spend less time "wearing make up" than they did five years ago. What's going on? (Clues: It's about lifestyle, money and time.) Religion Needs A Marketing Plan In spite of all the media-hype, people aged 18-54, regardless of race or ethnic background, are significantly reducing the time they spend on religious activities; and people over 55 are not offsetting this decline. The Pulse Report is Published bi-monthly by WSL Strategic Retail www.WSLStrategicRetail.com