“Back-to-class shopping is one of the most important consumer shopping occasions of the year," says Matthew Shay, President and CEO of the National Retail Federation (NRF).  "Our research for 2023 shows American consumers are eager to jumpstart their back-to-school and college purchases early."

Based on per capita spending estimates from the NRF, Tampa Bay area parents are expected to spend a record $431,571,875 to prepare more than 435,400 children returning to grades K-12. These expenditures will exceed 2022 back-to-school sales by 12.5%

Expenditures to equip K-12 students in the Tampa Bay area will be on:

• Clothing: $158.1 million
• Shoes: $124.7 million
• Supplies: $81.1 million
• Electronics: $67.6 million

In addition to expenditures for K-12,  $ 977.5 million is expected to be spent in the Tampa Bay area to prepare college students for their return to campus. This is 27% more than was spent last year. Another record.

The biggest spending categories to equip Tampa Bay area college students in 2023 will include:

• Electronics: $241.2 million
• Dorm/Apartment Furniture: $136.2 million
• Clothing: $129.2 million
• Food Items: $108.1 million

In order to capture the largest portion of this record back-to-class cash, Tampa Bay small business owners will need to fight to keep these dollars local. According to the NRF, a painful majority of shoppers plan to buy online and in department stores.  While only 13-15% of consumers plan to buy locally.

Local businesses have been marketing their goods and services on Tampa Bay radio since May 31, 1922. That's when WDAE signed-on as Western Florida's first station.

WDAE was owned by three-time mayor and publisher of the Tampa Daily Times newspaper, D.B. McKay.

The station broadcast from the sixth floor of the Citrus Exchange Building at the corner of Zack and Tampa Street. The building would later become the downtown location of the Maas Brothers department store.

Who could have guessed that 101 years later, advertising on Tampa Bay radio would still be the best advertising option for all types of retailers and business owners.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Tampa Bay radio reaches 2,226,951 adult consumers. This reach is significantly higher than all other advertising options including local TV, cable, social media, streaming video, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, according to Nielsen, is the audience metric most responsible for driving the success of an advertising campaign. Only the message itself carries more sway.

Father's Day, this year, is June, 18. To celebrate the dads in their lives, 2.2 million Tampa Bay area consumers are expected to spend a record $292.9 million. According to a per capita forecast by the National Retail Federation (NRF), 2023 spending will be 14.5% more than last year.

“Father’s Day remains a momentous occasion for Americans to honor the important men in their lives,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers plan to celebrate the holiday in a big way this year, and retailers are ready to help make it special.”

The record highs for both collective and average spending are primarily driven by an increase in the percentage of consumers purchasing clothing, electronics, personal care and special outings and the amount they are spending on these categories.

Overall  80% of all Father's Day spending will be concentrated into four gift categories:

• Special Outing: $99,767 million
• Clothing: $44,768 million
• Gift Cards: $35,813 million
• Electronics:  $33,225 million
• Personal Care: $21,774 million

The remainder of the retail dollars Tampa Bay consumers spend will be for tools/appliances, sporting goods, greeting cards, and books/CDs.

The challenge for Tampa Bay area retailers, however, is keeping a significant share of these Father's Day dollars in local cash registers and out of the coffers of online sellers and department stores. Right now, according to the NRF, those two retail channels will gobble up almost 81% of all spending.

To earn a larger share of Father's Day spending, local small business owners will need to advertise to convince Tampa Bay consumers of the benefits of buying from local retailers.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Tampa Bay radio.

Mother's Day is On May 14th this year. According to per capita data from The National Retail Federation, 2.2 million adult consumers in the Tampa Bay area plan to celebrate the occasion.

Between now and that special Sunday in May, the NRF expects a record $456.6 million to be spent in Tampa Bay to honor all the different moms in consumers' lives. Of those celebrating Mother’s Day, most (57%) are purchasing gifts for a mother or stepmother, followed by a wife (23%) or daughter (12%).

Comparatively speaking, Tampa Bay area consumers will spend 12.6% more to celebrate Monther's Day this year than they did in 2022, which was also a record year.

“Mother’s Day provides Americans with an opportunity to honor important women in their lives,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As people make plans to celebrate this year, retailers are prepared to help shoppers find gifts of appreciation and admiration for those they want to recognize on this special day.”

Almost half of all Mother's Day spending in the Tampa Bay area will fall into three categories:

1. Jewelry: $99,767,130
2. Special Outing: $71,627,683
3. Electronics: $51,162,631

The other half of Mother's Day spending includes purchases of gift cards, clothing, flowers, personal services, housewares, books, and greeting cards.

The challenge for Tampa Bay area retailers, however, is keeping a significant share of these Mother's Day dollars in local cash registers and out of the coffers of online sellers and department stores. Right now, according to the NRF, those two retail channels will gobble up almost 68% of all spending.

To earn a larger share of Mother's Day spending, local small business owners will need to advertise to convince Tampa Bay consumers of the benefits of buying from local companies.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Tampa Bay radio.

According to Nielsen, 2,226,951 adults tune in to their favorite Tampa radio stations every week. This is significantly more consumers than are reached by all other advertising-supported media, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and local newspapers.

Tampa radio's unchallenged reach is why many local business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $65.6 billion dollars consumers are expected to spend at retail this year.

Other local small business owners, however, may be surprised to learn that by most marketing metrics, radio remains the best way to advertise in Tampa.

Here are four more facts about AM/FM radio that may surprise many local marketers.

Despite high-interest rates, inflation, and recession fears, Tampa Bay area consumers are expected to spend between $65.6 and $66.9 billion dollars at retail in 2023, according to recent per capita forecasts based on a survey by the National Retail Federation. This will be a 4-6% increase over 2022.

“In just the last three years, the retail industry has experienced growth that would normally take almost a decade by pre-pandemic standards,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “While we expect growth to moderate in the year ahead, it will remain positive as retail sales stabilize to more historical levels."

The challenge for Tampa Bay area retailers, however, is keeping a significant share of these dollars in local cash registers. According to the NRF, the amount of money spent online and non-store options will increase by 10-12%. This is nearly twice the growth rate of all 2023 retail dollars and translates to more than a $6.6 billion dollar outflow.

To keep the expected deluge of new retail dollars local, area small business owners will need to advertise to convince Tampa Bay consumers of all the benefits of buying from local companies.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Tampa Bay radio.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Tampa Bay radio reaches 2,226,951 adults. This is more consumers than use any other medium, including local TV, local cable, streaming video, social media, online audio, and newspapers.

Reach, though, is only one component used to calculate ratings.  The other metric that contributes to the rating formula is the time spent using each medium. So, although for the past 10 years, AM/FM radio's reach has been significantly higher than the reach of local TV, consumers spent considerably more time watching TV. As a result of the math, TV has enjoyed higher ratings than radio.

For the first time, however, AM/FM radio ratings have exceeded local TV ratings by three percent among the key advertising demographic of 18-49-year-olds, according to Nielsen's Total Audience Data for the third quarter of 2023.

In the Tampa Bay area, there are 1,243,935 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Tampa Bay radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 2,226,951 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Tampa Bay TV, cable, streaming video, streaming audio, social media, or newspapers.

AM/FM radio's dominance among local consumers is driven, in large part, by the 2.5 million Tampa Bay area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.

Tampa Bay area small business owners have an abundance of options for advertising their goods and services. Choices include local TV, local cable, social media, streaming video, streaming audio, podcasts, and newspapers.

The best way to advertise in Tampa Bay, however, is local radio.

Every week, according to Neilsen, 2.2 million adults tune-in to their favorite Tampa Bay radio stations. This is significantly more than any other advertising medium.

In addition to the adults who listen to Tampa Bay radio over-the-air, an incremental 93,926 adults connect to their favorite stations online as well using their phones, computers, and tablets. In all, according to Nielsen, 29.2% of all Tampa Bay radio listeners listen both online and offline.

Local consumers may have a gloomy feeling about economic conditions, but their spending has not tapered. This is good news for the 123,853 small business owners in the Tampa Bay area.

According to the latest University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers, sentiment about current economic conditions remains near the all-time low. Concerns about volatile gas prices, rampant inflation, and a looming recession have driven the survey's index down 37% versus a year ago.

Despite these dim consumer sentiments, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's July report shows that real personal consumption expenditures are pacing well above pre-Covid levels. According to Morgan Stanley research, consumers' ability to spend is being driven, in part, by a massive amount of excess savings accumulated over the course of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, based on per capita spending data from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Tampa Bay consumers were forecast to spend nearly $50 billion at retail this year. The current level of spending suggests that shoppers are on track to hit that number.

Of course, for local business owners to successfully compete for a share of this record spending requires marketing. By most key marketing metrics, the best way to advertise is on Tampa Bay radio. This is especially true among business owners who must limit the number of marketing channels that can be used because of economic restraints.

Of all media, advertising on the radio provides the greatest return on investment.