Mintel, a leading market research company, has recently released a study highlighting the importance of this segment.  According to Mintel:

• Nearly 25% of UK women now wear a size 18 plus
• Over 33% of UK men are squeezing into XL or larger.
• The women’s plus-sized clothing market has grown 45% over the past five years, compared to a 15% increase for total womenswear.

But, while the plus size is a tremendous opportunity, it also presents retailers with a conundrum; how to promote plus sizes next to regular sizes.  

• Over 50% of women who are size 18 find that not enough shops offer a range of choices to cater for different sizes.
• More than 40% of women wearing size 18 and over believe that plus-size clothes tend to be less fashionable than smaller sizes.

For example, we’ve seen Macy’s open and close Plus Sized boutiques, as it struggles to find the right tone to appeal to the plus sized woman (without making here feel uncomfortable) while not damaging the brand’s fashion forward image.

But there seems to be hope.  The popularity of certain models/body types is the best leading indicator of fashion direction (remember Twiggy and Kate Moss).  And, the latest news from the runway suggests that the designer attitudes are finally getting their head’s around the idea of a fashionable plus sized woman.

• The emergence of Super Plus Models (e.g., Ashley Graham).
• For the first time, NY’s Fashion Week will have a Plus Sized runway show.

This suggests that over the next few  years we’ll finally see Plus Sized womenswear emerging from the racks at the back of the store.  You can expect to see greater integration of Plus Sizes and regular sizing, as well as the emergence of more Plus Sized designer boutiques.  This also suggests that ad agency’s will soon start putting more Plus Sized models in ads for unrelated products and services; as the stigma attached to a larger body size diminishes.

In 1980, the top five items were:

• Milk (89%)
• Canned or frozen vegetables (83%)
• White bread (74%)
• Soda/pop (74%)
• Iceberg lettuce (66%) 

In 2010, the top five items are:

• Fresh fruit (83%)
• Milk (82%)
• Fresh vegetables (79%)
• Wheat or whole-grain bread (77%)
• Canned or frozen vegetables (69%)

There is no doubth that our eating and shopping habits have changed since 1980.  As a country we are more concerned with health issues and more aware of the link between food and health.  The Whole Foods survey reported that most Boomers are more concerned about fat (74%), cholesterol (74%) and added growth hormones and antibiotics in meat and dairy products (70%).  And that 73% would prefer to buy organic if there is no price difference.

But, when I look at the comparison between the shopping carts of 1980 and today, I see more infrastructure than enlightenment.  Changes in the global logistics of harvesting and shipping produce have dramatically improved the quality, value and variety of fresh products available across the country. Whether it’s a high end store like Whole Foods or a Wal-Mart, today every store has a vast array of fresh produce.  And the concept of “Out of season” is lost on younger consumers, accustomed to eating peaches from New Zealand and grapes from Chile all winter.  

As much as I would like to believe that we’re all drinking water instead of Diet Coke, the 100 linear feet of soft drinks in my local supermarket makes all that healthy eating a little hard to believe. And the 32 varieties of white bread products makes me question just how much whole grain is really being eaten.

In the wine business Julio Gallo had a saying: “People talk dry but drink sweet”.  I think the same can be said about our shopping carts; people talk healthy but buy the same old junk.

In her blog, Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman Epps, reflects Forrester’s surprise at the iPad’s sales volume:

But the iPad isn’t behaving like other consumer devices: It has a steamroller of momentum behind it that indicates incredibly strong demand for this entirely new form factor.

Later in her blog, she links demand, in part, to Apple’s advertising and the iPad’s phenomenal awareness level: 

In our June survey, only 5% of US online consumers claimed that they had never heard of the Apple iPad before the survey… 25% of US online consumers in the same survey said they’d never heard of a Kindle.

But, the strong demand for an iPad isn’t news to anyone who’s ever walked by an Apple store.  The real question is; how will Apple position the iPad to move beyond the most affluent consumers and early adopter’s?

Based on a recent survey by Resolve Market Research consumers see the iPad as a recreational device; with portable game players and ebook readers in more danger than netbooks and laptops.

But, if the iPad is just a recreational device, how will the broader consumer market feel about paying as much for a 9 inch iPad as they do for a 42 inch High Def television?

The iPhone is, at its core, a phone. True, its more expensive - but it provides me lots of added value for an additional cost.  But the basic cost of having a cell phone is a necessity.  In contrast, the iPad is all added value, but no necessity.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPad; but I really had to debate whether I was comfortable spending the money.  After all, I really didn’t “need” it.

Apple’s biggest challenge may be in finding a value proposition that can drive broad consumer adoption.  To penetrate deeply within the market, they will have to search hard for the sweet spot that provides a consumer with both the joy of an exciting, new, fun experience; as well as some functional benefits that they can use to help rationalize the cost. 

Now, The Continuum Crew, a communications firmed focused on the 40Plus market, has released a study called Mature Consumer Purchase Decisions; showing that women feel that a TV in the bedroom is more important than regular sex in the bedroom.  Needless to say, men did not agree.

I’m sure that this will be the finding that gets the most headlines, and the most jokes.  But, the study also highlights several other areas that I think are important to marketers.  Here are the two that I find most interesting.

1. Emotional attachment and sex.

…women’s interest in sex is linked to and parallels their feelings about their relationship. Sex was ranked more important to men regardless of how they ranked their feelings of closeness toward their partner.

The thinking has long been that for women, sex is about the relationship; while for men sex is about the sex.  However, in the last few years some marketers have taken a different approach, seeing the traditional perspective as old fashioned and demeaning to women. 

There have been a number of campaigns, especially in the Health and Beauty category, that have tried to depict sex for women separate from a relationship or emotional context.  The thinking being that this separation between sex and relationships is “empowering” for women and demonstrates their independence. 

This study supports the more traditional view of women and relationships, and it may raise questions concerning the effectiveness of a more “liberating” approach, especially among Boomer/Senior women. 

2. Joint vs. independent purchase decisions.

Over the past two decades advertising has reflected the growing understanding that many purchases are decided upon independently rather than jointly by both husband and wife.  The independent purchasing power of women has grown along with their earning power and as more households have women as the primary breadwinner. 

This study suggests that as couples move into retirement age, they move back to a more joint decision process.  Two of the possible explanations for this may be:

1.  “Belt tightening” forces older couples to collaborate more on the spending of limited resources.

2.  Couples spend more time together as their work demands lessen. 

In any case, this signals to marketers that they may need to adjust the target of their campaigns to reflect a more joint decision process among older couples.

JD Powers just released the results from their semi-annual survey of consumer satisfaction with automotive websites.  And, not surprisingly, sites that are built around helping customers find information ranked higher than those that stress brand imagery over site usability.

“The Honda and Kia websites are prime examples of particularly straightforward sites that focus on providing appropriate information to shoppers easily and quickly, which has been a crucial element in their strong MWES performances during the past 12 months,” said Arianne Walker, director of marketing and media research at J.D. Power and Associates.  

The problem with the lowest ranked sites, is that they force the visitor to adapt to their unique navigation strategy. Visitors have a limited amount of time and energy that they want to give to a site.  They can either spend that time learning about your product or waste it getting lost on your site. 

“Sites can miss the mark when traditional navigation is ignored for the sake of including interesting design features,” said Walker. “Shoppers expect sites to function a certain way based on their experiences with other websites. Failing to follow navigation conventions often makes it difficult for website shoppers to find the information they seek.”

I would argue that a site that is committed to communicating a very strong and unique brand image, should have the simplest navigation structure.  You want the visitor so comfortable and confident in their ability to find information that they can focus on the higher order branding.  Visitors can’t pay attention to brand imagery when they’re struggling to find information.

• Large retailers saw Green products as a very limited niche opportunity.
• Many Green manufacturers saw traditional retail channels as part of the problem, rather than the solution.

This tension is clearly easing.  Today the Wall Street Journal reported that Seventh Generation, one of the largest manufacturers of Green consumer products has announced that its products will now be distributed through Wal-Mart.  Quite a shift for a company that once said “Hell would freeze over” before its environmentally friendly household products would be sold by Wal-Mart.

This dramatic shift reflects several market realities.

• Retailers have seen steady growth in the Green market within an overall stagnant category. While still a niche play, retailers can’t afford to ignore any areas for growth.
• Manufacturers have gained respect for retailers as they’ve seen Wal-Mart, and others, make significant investments to move their entire organization onto a more sustainable platform.
• Consumers have responded as manufacturers have brought down their price to match, or nearly match, their less green competitors.

As these three factors come together, we can expect to see an increasing shift to Green products by mainline manufacturers (e.g., P&G) and stronger commitments to Green programs among retailers. 

At the same time, this will only add fuel to the question of “What qualifies as a Green product?”.  I think the next step will be an retail industry supported “Green Mark” as opposed to the myriad of different standards currently being pushed by manufacturers and for profit organizations.

• Digital ad revenue was up 21%
• Digital ad revenue is now more that 25% of total ad revenue

This very hopeful trend comes as the result of management’s willingness to accept the reality of the marketplace and take risks, big risks.  A strategy, that meant the company would either thrive or die.  As opposed to most traditional media companies that have chosen the  “stay frozen in place and die slowly” appoach.

“The company is well-positioned to thrive in the evolving media marketplace, thanks to the significant progress we are making in reinventing our enterprise,” New York Times Chief Executive Janet Robinson said in a news release.

At the core of the NY Time’s strategy is the decision to move to paid content.  But, the NY Times understands something about paid content that most other firms totally overlook.   Consumers are willing to pay for content - but only if it’s great content.

Most media companies that try paid content, fail because they are onlyoffering generic material that you can get for free in a thousand different ways.  If you want to succeed in paid content, you have to offer them content that is:

1. Unique

2. High quality

3. Consistent with your brand

Consumers understand the concept of value - if you want them to pay - you need to offer something that they can’t get for free.

Today’s Information Week covers IBM’s announcement of a $100 million dollar initiative to deliver an integrated cloud based healthcare initiative.  One of key areas of difference is their focus on evidence based results.

Company executives said IBM will focus its research on several areas such as evidence generation, which uses scientific methods to turn raw health data into proof of effective treatment methods, which can be used by healthcare providers at the point of care.

The cost efficiencies and computational power of cloud computing will allow companies to crunch huge data sets that identify optimal treatment modalities. 

While these resources have been available for years, only recently have companies begun to see the revenue opportunities that justify significant investment. What’s changed?  Four factors come to mind:

1. Providers are finally taking seriously the Obama administration’s drive for Electronic Health Records and cost containment through identification of optimal treatment protocols.
2. Cloud computing security issues are being resolved.
3. The growing understanding of the potential impact of “Computational Biology” on lowering costs.
4. The application of higher level computational analytics to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the health  insurance payment processes.

On a business level, we can expect to see this move by IBM embolden the VC’s to open up their wallets to fund more new business ventures.  These new companies will be focused on providing discreet elements of this complex information chain.

On a consumer level, the term hope is for the ultimate sweet spot of both lower costs and more effective treatments.

The chart below (from IRI’s January Times and Trends report) shows how the prices of private label products increased MUCH more rapidly than the total  CPG market during 2007 and 2008.  I believe these price increases reflect the growth of the private label category into new higher margin categories (for instance Safeway’s very successful “O” brand of organic private label food).  During this period:

• Private label prices grew up to 10% or 12% on a quarterly basis. 
• For the category as a whole, price increases were very steady, averaging in the 4% - 5% range. 

Then came the recession, and everything changed.  Private label prices plummeted.  For example, in Q3 of 2008 the prices for the CPG category grew by 6.4% while private label prices grew by 9.9%.  But, by Q3 2003, CPG prices grew by .3% but private label prices shrank by 5.3%.

Here’s how I interpret this change.  Private labels saw the recession as an opportunity to steal share from brand label products.  They had built up better margins over the past two years and now took advantage of those dollars to improve the perceived value of private labels and appeal to the consumer’s renewed interest in being “Thrifty”. 

As a result, many new shoppers gained experience with private labels and some of them will continue buying private as the recession winds down.  This has resulted in a further, and permanent, erosion of the brand name market.

According to Deloitte data, 2009 was the year that social media bloomed for Baby Boomers, with nearly 47% of them actively maintaining a profile on the social web, which is up 15% from 2008. Further driving home that 2009 was the year of the social BB is the fact that from 2007 to 2008 there was barely a measurable change — just 1% — in that demographic’s adoption of social media.

Not unexpectedly, the vast majority o f these connected Boomers and Seniors are on Facebook.  Having been relatively late adopters of social media, they missed the MySpace days and went straight to FaceBook.  While the statistics show that younger users are very likely to have accounts with both services - everyone knows where they are really spending their time.