What the ‘new normal’ of consumer spending means

If you’re weighing to just what extent you need to spend staff time on your operation’s online efforts, then consider this. This being the “new normal” of the average consumer spending as indicated by a March survey of 14,000 consumers on www.Gallup.com.

The survey points to some good news as average daily consuming spending is increasing in most parts of the country.

But there’s quite a separate, difficult message here to swallow as well — we’re not close to 2008 levels and we’re not taking any measurable, big strides toward getting there anytime soon.

Meaning the battle for the discretionary buck only heightens in our retail sector and in the retail world as a whole. So getting your consumers’ contact information and then reaching out to them in an informative, sensible manner only takes on further importance.

What better justification is there to maintain, if not bolster, your staff’s social networking time?