Recession Ending; Gift Basket Buyers Still Cautious
“Consumers are becoming confident about the economic recovery and their finances are on the mend, according to a new survey of consumer retail spending and trends”. Yet even with this increased confidence, consumers are still cautious about what they’re buying and where they’re shopping and they’re changing their buying habits. Full story.
According to this survey, consumers reported increased use of the internet to investigate products and prices before making a purchase. With easy access to the internet through our mobile phones, people are increasing comparing prices. So what does this mean for our gift basket businesses? If you were offering special pricing or products during the worst part of the recession, you may need to continue to do this. But take some time to analyze which gift baskets your customers bought, and what price points were popular for which occasions. It is unlikely that you will need to always offer a “sale”, but you may need to do that at certain times of year or on certain product.
Researchers also found that consumers are relying more on social media for reviews of products and to find out abut special pricing and promotions. If more shoppers are checking out the web before they make purchases, this might be the time to “spruce up” your web site and make sure that it is appealing and easy to navigate. Consumers won’t stick around too long on a web site where it is difficult to find information.
Although consumer purchasing may be on the upswing, be sure to continue to monitor your business practices and be responsive to your customers’ buying patterns and habits.
3 comments May 21st, 2010
