Even Google can't escape economic crisis

Who would have thought that today's economy crisis would get its hooks into an internet search engine - but it's true, Google has been suffering as a result of our economic slump. With consumers having less discretionary income than ever before, it follows that as consumer purchases decline, so does the act of searching for information about products available. And as with all internet marketing, a host can only charge money for a company to advertise through it as long as people are clicking on the advertisements - something consumers are doing less of. As a result, Google's projected growth rate for 2009 fell in the past month from 19.7% to only 11%, a significant difference (although, nothing to turn your nose to).

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Google Encounters Frugal Customers

Breaking News: The US Consumer can actually do without Starbucks!

Coffee- and espresso-machine manufactuers have seen an big marketing opportunity in the wake of today's economy, marketing their products as a way for consumers to save money as opposed to spending money every day at Starbucks and its other coffee shop competitors. How big an opportunity is this? Well, according to recent research, 43% of current Starbucks customers report they plan to brew coffee at home more often - this can only be trouble for the coffee chain. Even if some of these home machines retail in excess of $1,000, consumers have begun purchasing these machines at a much higher rate than in years past, and with good reason - instead of paying between $3 and $5 per coffee drink, each homemade coffee drink can cost as little as 40 cents.

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Coffee Steeps in Value Marketing

Insurance Companies Hit Hard By Economic Crisis

The sub-prime mortgage crisis and rising unemployment have forced consumers to cut back on their expenses across the board, and that includes insurance coverage for homes and automobiles. Consumers are either dropping coverage or raising their deductibles in an effort to lower their premiums. Consider this: the number of uninsured motorists is expected to rise by nearly 3% from 2007 to 2010 The insurer Allstate saw a 4% drop in property liability insurance for fourth quarter 2008, and have experienced a 55% drop in their financial performance index (as seen from the graph). Market analysts can only further explain this turn of events with the idea that as a result of our current economic crisis, people are redefining what their discretionary income is.

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Consumer Woes Wallop Insurers

The Digital Coupon Revolution

I doubt it would surprise anyone to know that traditional newspaper coupons have a redemption rate of about 1% - however, I was surprised to known that the redemption rate of digital coupons is around 13%, a significant difference. If you've got 10 or 15 minutes to spare, you can either print out exactly what coupons you will use (no sorting or clipping needed), or better yet upload them onto a shoppers card to be redeemed when scanning the card at the register. Not only does this create goodwill on behalf of retailers who offer the service, it helps the customers who use digital coupons save as much as $50 per shopping trip, a real plus in these hard economic times.

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Coupons Are Hot; Clipping Is Not

Only in (Southern) California...

Only in southern California, whose market is so decidedly tilted away from that of the country as a whole, would real estate sales be up. Despite the high level of mortgage forclosure across the country, the sale of homes rose 41.3% in Feburary 2008, perhaps in response to a 38.7% decline in prices. Despite the region being ground zero of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, it seems to have bounced right back, perhaps an encouraging sign for the housing market nationwide.

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Southern California Home Sales Up Again

Paying Attention to the Paycheck Cycle

PepsiCo Inc. has found that paying attention to the paycheck cycle (the cycle revolving around receiving a paycheck), especially in today's economy, really pays off. Consumers buy more at the begining of the month when they first recieve their paychecks, and less at the end of the month when money is running low, and planning marketing strategies around this cycle has increased PepsiCo's profits. John Compton, CEO of PepsiCo America Foods, said "The first of the month we might promote bigger sizes and at the end of the month we might shift down to smaller sizes...it's worked well."

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Consumer-Goods Makers Heed 'Paycheck Cycle'

Cali Cracks Down on Internet Scams

We all know the routine of the get rich quick scheme, and it starts with something like this:

"Are you ready to claim YOUR share of eBay's annual $3.2 Billion in revenue? By attending our FREE 90-minute ‘eBay Entrepreneur Training' Conference

you will learn how eBay PowerSellers run successful Internet businesses and how an elite few use additional strategies to boost revenues way beyond the average seller. Learn how nearly half-a-million people create full-time incomes using eBay!"

For only a 'small' initial investment (in this case, between $2700 and $6,000), a company will claim that a investor can earn a full time income, all from the comfort of their own home. Obviously, claims like these are completely false, and investors always end up loosing far more on their 'business' than it generates. Do people really still far for this sort of thing?

Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding yes. In response to a recent scam (the example used above), the Califonia Attorney general is seeking restitiution on behalf of dozens of California residents duped by it. It's really shocking in today's age of information technology that ignorant, gullible consumers still remain an undying breed, but unfortuately, today's consumer seems just as uninformed as ever.

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California Cracks Down on Internet Get-Rich-Quick Scams