Renew Your MSA Membership -- Don't Miss Out on Valuable Benefits!
from MSA
Keep your MSA membership current! You should have received a membership renewal invoice in the mail early in October. Annual memberships expire on Dec. 31, 2009 -- renew today and ensure that member benefits like Museum Store magazine and ShopTalk subscriptions continue without interruption. Consider renewing online -- it is fast, easy and green -- just look for the "Click here to renew for 2010" graphic on MSA's home page. More

New Study Reveals Popularity of U.S. Cultural and Heritage Travel
from MSA
A recent research study reveals that 78 percent of all U.S. leisure travelers participate in cultural and / or heritage activities while traveling, translating to 118.3 million adults each year. With cultural and heritage travelers spending an average of $994 per trip, they contribute more than $192 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The Museum Store Association was one of the sponsors of this informative study. More

MSA South Atlantic Chapter Meeting Minutes Posted
from MSA
Minutes from the fall meeting of MSA's South Atlantic Chapter have been posted to MuseumStoreAssociation.org. More

Two New Positions Posted to MSA's Job Source
from MSA
Two new positions have been posted to Job Source, MSA's online resource for the most up-to date job listings in the cultural commerce industry. More

The H Word: Have a Display Plan for the Holidays
from OneCoast
Since most retailers count on the holiday season for a large percentage of their annual income, it makes sense to plan for it. But far too many businesses just roll the stuff out on carts and start stuffing it into display. Don't sabotage yourselves! With a bit of planning, you can reap all of the benefits of a successful Holiday season. More

Recession Creates Holiday Shopping Trends
from Chain Store Age
A new survey by PriceGrabber.com has found that new holiday shopping behaviors will emerge from the downturn. The survey found that 70 percent of consumers are researching and comparison-shopping online. That compares with 38 percent last year. Consumers are shortening their gift-giving lists, deleting acquaintances (57 percent) and coworkers (53 percent). Read on for more findings from the report. More

Less to Choose From: Retailers Lower SKU Amounts for Holidays
from The Boston Globe
Shoppers willing to pry open their wallets may find a surprise on the shelves this season: not as many brands, a diminished palette of colors, and fewer deep discounts. The cutbacks should be obvious to consumers heading into the holiday season, historically the busiest shopping period when stores are often bursting at the seams with products. This year, retailers are more willing to run low, or even out of stock, rather than face being left with millions of dollars in unwanted merchandise at season's end. Last year, that resulted in promotions of up to 70 percent that gouged profits. More

Analysts Forecast Rough Holiday Retail Season
from The Philadelphia Inquirer
The markets are up. From Hasbro to Intel to Apple, companies that rely on retail sales are reporting glimmers of holiday hope. Could this be the quarter when consumers finally overcome their anxieties and help pull the country out of the Great Recession? Analysts say the signals remain mixed, despite some evidence the economy has turned a corner at last. More

Five Retail Marketing Trends for 2010
from Branding Strategy Insider
Read on to explore five new retail marketing trends for the upcoming year. More

Consumer Sentiment Drops in October
from Chain Store Age
The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys index of Consumer Sentiment reversed direction and experienced a notable decline in October compared to the previous month. The report showed that the consumer sentiment index fell to 69.4 in October from the final September reading of 73.5. Economists had been expecting a much more modest decrease to a reading of 73.3. More

Bosses Overrate Workforce Morale, Survey Says
from The Boston Globe
It hardly seems a news flash that a recession could result in lower morale among employees, but a new survey suggests that bosses are having a hard time grasping that concept. According to the survey, there is a disconnect between the way that employers and employees view the recession. Case in point: "Employers are vastly overrating the morale of their employees as 84 percent of those surveyed indicated a belief that their workforce is content to simply to have a job while only 58 percent of workers feel that way," the survey said. More

Survey: Wealthy U.S. Shoppers Boost Spending 29 Percent
from Bloomberg
Spending in the U.S. on luxury goods and services spurted 29 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, as consumers with the highest incomes unleashed pent-up demand, according to Unity Marketing. Spending among 1,067 consumers with average annual income of $228,800 rose to $18,826 each in the three months ended in September from $14,554 a quarter earlier, the research firm said today. Shoppers cut spending by 3.2 percent in the second quarter and spent $13,429 in the third quarter of 2008. More

Arts Play Vital Role in Economy
from Cape Cod Times
Culture and the creative economy are among the most vulnerable sectors in a recession. Our museums, theaters, historical societies and arts centers -- lean nonprofit organizations that do a lot with a little even in the best of times -- rely heavily on contributed income from corporations and individuals. This income is often quick to disappear in a down economy. More

Consumers Are Talking… Are You Listening?
from Retail TouchPoints
Social media means different things to different people. Many say it is "Facebook and Twitter". Wikipedia says it is "user generated content." But defined as "user generated content and interaction" it's all the tools consumers use to tell people their opinions -- Facebook, customer reviews, blogs, Twitter and more. And it's the act of talking, informing and conversing using these tools. The one thing that we know for sure is that customers are using them to communicate a significant amount of information. So what are marketers doing with all this chatter? More

Seven Tips for Marketing to Families During a Recession
from Retail Customer Experience
In an afternoon session at the 2009 In-Store Marketing Expo, retail consultant Elizabeth Harris of consultancy Rivet laid out a wealth of statistics on how the recession has changed the spending habits of the typical modern family, along with a practical list of seven questions to ask when planning a marketing initiative. "People are really questioning the essentials of the American dream," she said. "We're seeing a loss of confidence." Read on to find out what advice she had for retail stores. More

Real-Life Lessons in Using Google AdWords
from The New York Times
It used to be that business owners often struggled to afford advertising for their products or services. Google AdWords has changed that by offering an inexpensive way to spread the word. But if you don't do some careful planning, you can easily find yourself spending thousands of dollars with little to show for it. More

The Hard Sell: How Retailers Are Fighting for the Hearts and Minds of the New Consumer
from Business Week
U.S. consumers at nearly every income level and spending stratum have pulled back over the past year, trading down from department stores to discounters or delaying purchases altogether. According to one poll, 60 percent of Americans say they're wearing clothes several times between washes to cut cleaning costs. And 72 percent say they now haggle before they buy some items, up from 56 percent two years ago, says C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group. More

Visa/MasterCard Lawsuit Settlement Could Bring Retailers $1 Billion in Time for Christmas
from Retail's BIG Blog
Thousands of retailers struggling to survive the current recession could see a welcome influx of cash by Christmas if a federal judge approves a request to distribute more than $1 billion remaining from the six-year-old settlement of a lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard debit card practices. The class-action lawsuit, brought by NRF and about 20 of the nation's largest retailers, was settled in 2003 for $3.1 billion. More

Retailers Turn Shopping Into an Event
from the Los Angeles Times
With retail sales down 9.1 percent so far this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, emporiums as varied as outlets that specialize in eyeglasses and department stores that sell, well, everything, are hiring DJs, screening movies, serving drinks, offering tattoos, showing art, throwing parties and rolling out the red carpet for shoppers. "Retailers are really jumping in [to experiential marketing] because in this kind of economy, you've got to build that brand affinity if you're going to survive," said Stacey Ruth, CEO and chief creative officer of the Wow Factory event marketing firm in Atlanta. More

Smart Retailers Fight Walk-aways at the Checkout
from Retail Customer Experience
Retail sales are down, and the slumping economy might not turn around for some time. Retail giants, including Circuit City, Linens 'n Things, Sharper Image and KB Toys, are liquidating inventories. Others are on the verge of doing so. But smart retailers are digging in and making the necessary investments to boomerang out of this recession and, hopefully, win over the customers of their struggling competitors. One of the largest areas for investment among winning retailers is the checkout queue. More

Web Coupons a Hit for the Affluent
from eMarketer
Consumer spending may have gone up in August, but Internet users are still keeping the purse strings tight. A RetailMeNot.com survey found that Web users are planning further cuts to holiday gift spending this year, and increasing their use of coupons over 2008. Asked about tools they use to find a good deal when shopping online, 29 percent of online buyers surveyed said they checked coupon Websites. Another survey also found the highest levels of online coupon usage among the affluent. More

Lower Ticket Prices Boost Museums' Attendance
from The Orlando Business Journal
Tracy Micciche of Harry P. Leu Gardens expects to have to cut her already-skimpy marketing budget again -- but doing so hasn't hurt business lately. In fact, the economic recession has prompted thousands of additional people to visit the 41-acre attraction. It ended its fiscal year 2008-2009 in September with a 3.6 percent increase in attendance with 154,303 visitors, up from roughly 149,000 the prior year. "It's affordable to come to Leu Gardens," said Micciche, events and marketing director, noting families may see trips to theme parks as too expensive when wallets are strapped. Leu Gardens' $7 adult ticket is much cheaper than the average $79 ticket to a major theme park. Other area museums also have had higher attendance figures this year. More

Museum Sector Is Strong, According to Credit-Rating Agency
from ArtInfo
Despite news of deep budget cuts and layoffs at many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, credit-rating agency Standard & Poor's states in a new report that cultural institutions should be able to weather the recession well. More

GPS Enabled Zoo iPhone Application Launched at Houston Zoo
from Zoo and Aquarium Visitor
The Houston Zoo is opening a new dimension in guest services with the launch of a GPS enabled Zoo iPhone application, one of only two zoos in the world, along with the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, to offer such a service. The Houston Zoo's new free iPhone application displays guests' location on Zoo grounds using real-time GPS coordinates and allows visitors to access photos and videos of Zoo exhibits and animals and access daily Meet the Keeper Talks and presentations. More