Marketing

As we start the new year, many are digging out from holiday spending reports and reflecting on what those shopping patterns tell us about consumer behavior. It's a good time to look back and look forward. In that spirit, let's look at the data collected about affluent's shopping patterns throughout the year, and distill it into three key takeaways to help marketers prepare for 2012 and beyond.

Retailers must leverage mobility to stay competitive.

Using tools from MicroStrategy, Celerant is now building on its experience with data mining applications to expand the value of data access and processing through data warehousing.

When it comes to online marketing, retailers often have significant opportunity to expand their presence. However, limited budgets and ROI goals restrict them from reaching many customers seeking the types of products and services they sell.

Athleta is kicking off the new year with an inaugural tagline and its first national campaign, "Power to the She." The Gap-owned athletic brand partnered with Peterson Milla Hooks to create the tagline and campaign, which will launch this week.

In July it was announced that David Beckham would launch his own bodywear line for H&M and based on the ads that just showed up on The Fashion Spot, his collection is in stores now. A set of Beckham briefs will only cost you about $15.

With the big holiday season nearly behind us, there are several steps retailers should take to get a jump-start on the competition at keeping the holiday sales momentum going strong well into the new year. Get a better understanding of how new and prospective customers are interacting with your brand when they return or exchange items they received as gifts.

Jockey announced that it will offer $1 million in prizes if quarterback Tim Tebow leads the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl victory. One winner will take home $15,000 if that happens and thousands more will receive free $25 gift cards to shop on the clothier's website.

I recently watched a documentary that claimed the Disneyland Resort begins planning its holiday decorations every February like clockwork. My takeaway from this tidbit is that Disney has hit on something every retailer should know: Relying on last year’s holiday trends or waiting until the last minute to identify new ones is a poor way to lure customers, especially during the holidays when everyone is pressed for time.