Comments on: Repeat After Me: Spending Surveys Are Meaningless

By: rebound

rebound — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:03:32 +0000

JustAGuy is SPOT ON. Reporting “the number” is just shoveling useless data … in effect parroting it. Putting “the number” in context helps provide actual information … which I thought was supposed to be the primary “product” cranked out by so called journalists. Right now is seems like there are simply mouth pieces (or glam pieces of ass) in front of teleprompters … which act as if they have umbilical chords tied to RSS feeds from wire services.

Is this a market failure … or is there simply not enough demand for quality information … and therefore businesses are actually efficiently delivering the crap which customers demand?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:59:01 +0000

Completely agree with your statement on this. There is nothing more worthless than these spending surveys. They really think the American shopper knows how much they will spend going into the holiday shopping season?

By: Al Czervik

Al Czervik — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:56:10 +0000

Or maybe it means that, on average, they are still about $839 below the credit limit on their last credit card.

By: Norman

Norman — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:00:27 +0000

Maybe the year-to-year change in their expected X-mas spending plans would give a clue as to consumers’ state of mind.

By: jopo

jopo — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 18:16:12 +0000

the 17.6% clearly reflecting how much more it will cost getting to and from the mall….

$839 is the new $500

By: Al Czervik

Al Czervik — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 17:31:37 +0000

I planned to buy a lotta things – when I still had a job.

By: cm

cm — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 16:14:54 +0000

Perhaps it’s a PR gimmick and the point is to provide a “reference” for what you should spend?

By: Groty

Groty — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:25:32 +0000

Apparently, NRF’s 1.6 million retail establishment member’s don’t rely on the survey. If they did, they would have been overstocked to the rafter in prior years, resulting in huge markdowns, promotions, margin compression, etc. in subsequent quarters to move the excess inventory.

So if NRF members aren’t using the survey results to help them make inventory investment decisions, the purpose of the survey is to use it as just another marketing tool intended to influence consumer buying behavior?

By: JustAGuy

JustAGuy — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:02:45 +0000

Wouldn’t it be pleasant if the nightly newscasts told us this too? You know, like this:

“Americans plan to spend an average $839 during the holiday season, up 17.6% from last year, the survey says. It should be noted that this same survey forecast 22 % in 2005 but the actual results were 1%, and a forecast of 18.9 % in 2006 but the actual results were less than 5%. So stay tuned.”

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:55:51 +0000

I’m starting to believe that’s why I love this game – the difference between psychology and reality. Now if I can only get my timing down! lol