Budgets/Spending/Market Size

Brooklyn, N.Y. – If you’re wondering whether you should become an Etsy seller, being young, female, and a parent may be factors in your favor. According to a new survey of 4,000 U.S. Etsy sellers conducted by the online handmade crafts marketplace, 86% of Etsy sellers are women.   In addition, Etsy sellers are twice as likely to be under the age of 35 and many are parents with children at home.   

San Francisco – Digital marketers are mobilizing their efforts. According to a new study from marketing software provider Kenshoo, phone and tablet-based year-over-year (YoY) spending globally increased 167% for paid social ads and 37% for paid search in second quarter 2015.

What’s wrong with America? Plenty, according to the National Retail Federation which just slashed its full year retail sales forecast ahead of second quarter earnings announcements from major retailers next month.

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) is now a little less rosy in its sales expectations for 2015. The NRF has lowered its full-year retail sales forecast because of unexpected slow growth recorded during the first half of the year, similar to the industry’s experience in 2014.

However, NRF still expects sales will steadily increase through the remainder of the year. NRF forecasted in February that retail sales would grow 4.1% in 2015 from 2014, but today’s revision lowers the forecast to 3.5%.

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Back-to-school shoppers are both willing to spend more and also seeking savings this season. According to a new survey that department store chain Meijer conducted of its customers, approximately 92% of households with school-age children plan to spend the same amount or more than the previous year for back-to–school supplies.

While paid search and email marketing still top retailers’ lists of effective customer acquisition channels, social media has moved up the ranks to become an important tool for engaging with and attracting new customers.

Austin, Texas – Parents are always telling their school-aged children that character is key, and they also apply a version of that maxim to back-to-school shopping. According to a recent survey by RetailMeNot, parents say their kids want school supplies featuring popular characters from films and TV shows.

Respondents indicated their children want "Minions"-themed school supplies the most (33%) followed by "Jurassic World" (31%), "SpongeBob" (24%) and "Star Wars" (22%).

With back-to-school shopping on the horizon, parents are looking to get their shopping started early in the hope of getting the best deals, according to Meijer’s customer survey.