More than 2.1 million Tampa Bay area consumers are expected to celebrate Easter in 2023, according to per capita forecasts from The National Retail Federation. In all, the NRF predicts $306 million will be spent this year.
Not only will spending on Easter in Tampa Bay top last year's take by 16%, but it will also blow past the spending record of $277 million set in 2021.
“Easter endures as an important holiday for many Americans, signifying new beginnings and a time of celebration with friends and family,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As consumers plan to mark the occasion through a variety of traditions, retailers are dedicated to making this year a memorable holiday.”
According to the NRF forecasts, here's how Tampa Bay consumers are expected to spend their Easter Holiday cash:
- Food: $93.3 million
- Clothing: $51.1 million
- Candy: $48.6 million
- Gifts: $42.2 million
- Flowers: $23.0 million
- Decorations: $22.3 million
- Greeting Cards: $12.7 million
- Other: $11.5 million
There is one obstacle, however, between small business owners and this gargantuan pool of Easter cash.
According to the NRF, the vast majority of Easter shopping will be spent at discount stores, box stores, and online. Only 22% of spending will occur at local small businesses.
To Keep more of this cash in the Tampa Bay area, retailers will need to advertise to convince consumers of the values and benefits of buying from local small business owners. According to most marketing metrics, the best way to advertise in Tampa Bay is on local radio.
Every week, says Nielsen, 2.2 million adult consumers tuned into a Tampa Bay radio station. This is significantly more than were reached by social media, local television stations, local cable, and newspapers.
According to a Nielsen study, after the actual content of the commercial message itself, reach is the most potent advertising element that can drive sales. Reach is more important than brand, recency, or even context. Tampa Bay radio provides local business owners with the most significant reach among consumers.
Radio's unrivaled reach among adult consumers contributes to the medium's ability to deliver an extraordinary return on investment (ROI) for advertisers.
From April through July of 2021, Neilsen measured the sales results of a radio advertising campaign conducted by a major retailer. The study utilized portable people meter technology to segment consumers into two discrete categories: those who were exposed to the retailer's advertising campaign and those who were not.
Nielsen was then able to match the consumers in each segment to their credit/debit or shopper card purchase behavior. Consequently, the study decisively measured how sales were affected by the retailer's advertising campaign.
Here are the key takeaways from the Neilsen study:
- One or two exposures to the radio campaign resulted in a 22.4% increase in the number of shoppers
- Three to six exposures to the radio campaign resulted in a 7.6% increase in the number of shoppers
- Exposure to the radio campaign increased the number of transactions among the retailer's existing customers by 11%
- Exposure to the radio campaign increased the number of transactions by the etailer's most active customers by 31.2%
- Exposure to the retailer's radio campaign generated a sales increase of 9.7%
Most importantly, the Nielsen study revealed that every $1000 that the retailer invested in the radio advertising campaign returned $13,000 in sales. A 13-time ROI.
Tampa Bay business owners should know that these findings support 23 other Nielsen studies that indicate, on average, that advertising on local radio delivers a 10-time return on investment.
AdAge, a trade magazine for advertising professionals, calls these types of returns "eye-popping." The magazine goes on to say radio's ROI is superior to commercials on TV, online, and social media.
To learn more about Nielsen's latest ROI study, click here.
Both reach and ROI are the critical metrics for determining the best way to advertise in Tampa Bay. By either measurement, local radio is the logical choice for reaching Easter Holiday shoppers.
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