Hot? Other Than Those Japanese Reactors?

The BIGresearch® Consumer Intentions & Actions® Survey monitors over 8,000 consumers each month providing unique insights & identifying opportunities in a fragmented and transitory marketplace and Phil Rist reports that it took all of that in their March 2011 (Respondents surveyed 3/1 - 3/8/11) to find out:

Three in five (60.3%) indicate that wearing green on March 17 is what’s hot this month…other timely favorites – Mardi Gras and March Madness – prove popular as well. Consumers prefer the Kindle eReader over Nook, while Groupon is a favorite deal-of-the-day site among women. Also according to women: 50s-era full skirts are in style among those 18-34, while the 35+ crowd feels more comfortable in Pajama Jeans®. What’s not? Eighty percent of consumers say the ladies’ high-waisted pant trend just isn’t groovy enough for contemporary closets.

Rising gas prices, the weak job market, and turmoil in Libya shake consumers’ already fragile confidence in the economy…in March fewer than one in three (29.1%) say they are very confident/confident in chances for a strong economy, declining two points from last month (31.2%) and down slightly from Mar-10 (29.8%).

While the current figure is still an improvement from Mar-09 (19.5%), consumers are feeling far less optimistic compared to pre-recession Mar-07 (46.9%

More talking points:

• Browse, don’t buy: Practicality inches upward
• Consumers predict more pink slips, not paychecks
• Fewer feeding piggy banks v. Mar-10
• $3.83/gal pump price expected at end of month
• Consumer Migration: Linens/Bedding/Draperies
• 90 Day Outlook: Brightens from February, though down for key seasonal categories