Back-to-school sales are a little sluggish, according to a story from today’s Media Post Marketing Daily. Click here to read the story.
You might also enjoy this article about the more “strategic” mom: Insights into the way parents are making ends meet with the influx of BTS expenses. This story appeared yesterday in Engage: Moms.
Implications: A few years ago, consumers would see something on a store shelf, and say, “Why not?” Post-recession, the consumer still seems to be scrutinizing every purchase with a shorter question: “Why!?”
Do I really need it? Can I live without it? Could the purchase of X serve two purposes, so that I can avoid buying Y? What function does this purchase help with?
Now… let’s go back to that first question: Do I really need it? Be careful about how consumers define “needs” and “wants.” What might seem like a want to you might be an inescapable need in the mind of your consumer. I was fascinated by this portion of the Marketing Daily story about weak back-to-school sales: “One exception… is likely to be consumer electronics, including next-generation cell phones, iPads, and new computers. …not because parents see themselves as splurging, but that these are now viewed as necessary, not discretionary."
What do you sell that is a back-to-school need, and what do you sell that is a back-to-school want? Do your consumers agree?
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