Anyone tired of all the gloom and doom stories about the current economic climate? Us, too. It’s true – cost cutting is still the name of the game for families these days. But the same trends that are spelling bad news for some marketers are creating opportunities for others.
Take the upcoming back-to-school season. According a recent Marketing to Moms Coalition survey of 1,400+ moms nationwide, most moms are getting ready to spend less on just about everything this year. For example:
- Clothing (except athletic shoes), down 6 percent from 2010 to $126
- Sports gear, down 5 percent from 2010 to $69
- Electronics (calculators, computers), down 10 percent from 2010 to $45
Not good news for brands that count on a big spending boost every fall. Traditional back-to-school brands – from fashion labels to basic school supplies – should think about their marketing campaigns differently and be aware that in order to win, they likely will have to play the deal-making game with saving-savvy moms shopping online and searching for the best prices.
There’s a surprising opportunity for bigger sales this year in new school shopping list categories – cleaning supplies and health/wellness. As schools also are being forced to spend less, on things like cleaning supplies, tissue and even toilet paper, parents are being asked to pick up the slack. In fact, almost 80 percent of moms expect to buy non-academic supplies for their child’s classroom as part of a required supply list.
Pardon the cliché, but when one door shuts, another one opens. Who knew that toilet paper would pick up where pencils and erasers left off? So a heads up to all you marketers of household products – back-to-school is a new season of opportunity! For everyone else, how closely are you watching moms’ real-life reality? It’s easy to get trapped in traditional seasonal sales trends and lose sight of how buying habits are changing. The brands that really are plugged in can see these things coming and ride the wave to bigger returns.
For more on this topic, stop back here or visit http://marketingtomomscoalition.org. The Marketing to Moms Coalition is a nonprofit group I helped found that is dedicated to indentifying trends, sharing ideas and providing networking opportunities.
-Amy Colton, Executive Vice President of Current (acolton@talktocurrent.com; @amycolton)
