As Sales Drop, Burger King Draws Critics for Courting 'Super Fans'†

Wall Street Journal, February 1, 2010 — For five years, Burger King Holdings Inc. was on a roll, successfully courting its "super fans"—18- to 34-year-olds who account for half of all visits to Burger King restaurants.

Thanks to high unemployment and healthier eating habits, those super fans haven't been so super lately. Burger King has felt the impact more acutely than its main rival, McDonald's Corp., whose sales are growing.

As Burger King prepares to report earnings this week after two straight quarters of same-store sales declines, the question is whether the chain has relied too heavily on customers that may be permanently changing habits.

17 Ways Consumers Are Changing

US News, January 15, 2010 — You seem different. More anxious. Pensive, perhaps. What's on your mind?

A lot of people desperately want to know. Market researchers always want to get inside the heads of consumers, and they've never been more curious than they are now. In the aftermath of a wrenching recession, Americans are saving more, spending less, and rethinking many of the tenets that have governed middle-class living for the past 40 years. Vast amounts of money are at stake, as consumer-product firms try to guess how Americans will spend their scarce dollars in the future.

The Children of Cyberspace: Old Fogies by Their 20s

New York Times, January 9, 2010 — My 2-year-old daughter surprised me recently with two words: “Daddy’s book.” She was holding my Kindle electronic reader.

Here is a child only beginning to talk, revealing that the seeds of the next generation gap have already been planted. She has identified the Kindle as a substitute for words printed on physical pages. I own the device and am still not completely sold on the idea.

Price War Brews Between Amazon and Wal-Mart

New York Times, November 24, 2009 — Ali had Frazier. Coke has Pepsi. The Yankees have the Red Sox.

Now Wal-Mart, the mightiest retail giant in history, may have met its own worthy adversary: Amazon.com.

Reintroduce The Consumer Into The Mix

MediaPost Publications, November 17, 2009 — We have more data on consumers today than ever, but do we really know more about how to market to them than we did 25 years ago? It's not our fault; it just used to be simpler back when the average consumer was easily defined, shopped in fewer places, and print, TV, radio and in-store were the only real options available for communicating with them.

Boost Your Brand by Understanding the Path to Purchase†

To Win Customers, Create a Shopper-Insight Team and Turn That Research Into Strategy

Advertising Age, September 21, 2009 — It doesn't matter much which marketing publication you pick up or which industry trend piece comes across your desk, it is simply impossible to miss the constant attention being paid to shopper marketing these days.

No one should be surprised. With 72% of shoppers deciding what to buy in-store, the marketing world is acutely aware of the importance of the "last mile" and the ultimate moment of truth.

The Race to Be an Early Adopter of Technologies Goes Mainstream, a Survey Finds

A new study shows that wide swaths of America play video games, use broadband Internet and have cellphones and PCs.

New York Times, September 2, 2009 — For decades, the adoption and use of the latest technologies was limited to a subculture: Whether called “tech enthusiasts” or “gadget geeks,” the implication was that most of the world got along fine with older, established products and services, while a smaller group pursued the most leading-edge technology.

But according to a study released Wednesday by Forrester Research, a marketing firm based in Cambridge, Mass., a shift has taken place. What used to be the pursuit of a few has become decidedly mainstream. We’re all gadget geeks now.

Tale of the Tape: Retailers Take Receipts to Great Lengths†

Coupons and Reward Points Extend Tallies; A Wallet-Busting 'Waste of Paper'.

Wall Street Journal, September 1, 2009 — Debra Shigley recently went to a CVS pharmacy in Atlanta and paid $25.39 for two prescriptions, a beverage and a roll of toilet paper. The cashier then handed her a receipt that was almost two feet long.

"As long as my arm," said Ms. Shigley, a 30-year-old author who consults with women on careers and fashion.

Many shoppers have noticed with chagrin store receipts getting longer and longer as retailers tack coupons, return policies, loyalty points and other bits of information and advertising onto narrow pieces of paper that are supposed to be a record of what you bought and how much you paid.

Marketing Pose

New York Times, July 26, 2009 — For its first fiscal quarter of 2009, the chain Lululemon Athletica reported that consumers spent $81.7 million in its stores, which represented a slight increase over the same period in 2008. What were shoppers buying? “Yoga-inspired athletic apparel” is how the company describes its wares. This includes specifically yoga-related gear like mats. But it also includes items whose connection to the practice of yoga is harder to parse: bags, jackets, dresses, even hats.

A Cheap Date, With Child Care by Ikea

New York Times, June 11, 2009 — IKEA’S inexpensive, contemporary furniture has attracted frugal shoppers for years, but a different kind of bargain is luring deal hunters to the Swedish retailer as the economy struggles to recover. And this offer doesn’t even require you to use an Allen wrench.

Over-stretched, money-conscious parents are using the store’s supervised play area as their personal baby-sitting service.