Alcohol Purchases in Bars, Restaurants Hurt by Economic Downturn

Nearly 44% of bar managers, bar owners and bartenders report a decrease in consumer traffic at their establishments, according to a May 2008 study from The Nielsen Company and Bevinco.
Among the 500 bar operators surveyed, 25% note a decrease in the number of on-premise drinks ordered, and 22% say customers are ordering less-expensive drinks.

The bars were located in US nightclubs, hotels, casual restaurants and fine-dining restaurants. Among these types of establishments, the casual dining sector appears hardest hit, with 46% of respondents reporting a decline.

Consumers Going out Less
Consumers also report that they are cutting back. According to a May 2008 Nielsen consumer survey of 3,500 consumers, two-thirds (66%) of fine-dining patrons say they are going out less often than a year ago.

Their sentiments are echoed by 65% of those who visit nightclubs, 55% of bar patrons, 59% of casino and resort patrons and 52% of casual diners.

Regional Impact
Establishments on the East Coast and West Coast report the largest declines in on-premise alcohol consumption, with bar owners and operators in California (55%) and Florida (52%) citing significant decreases in traffic.

In addition, 43% of Florida operators say they’ve experienced a decrease in the number of drinks ordered. Only one-third of establishments in Florida and California claim there has been no overall impact.

In Texas, slightly more than half of operators report a decrease in consumer traffic, while nearly one-third say patrons are ordering less expensive drinks.

Beer Fares Best, Wine Sales Lag
Beer sales are affected the least by the economic downturn, with wine sales showing the most impact, according to Nielsen and Bevinco. Nearly half of total respondents rate beer as having the “best” sales trend of the three categories, followed by spirits at 40%. Only 11% cited wine as having the best sales trend of the three.

Operators also report the following minor price-related changes in consumer behavior:
14% report that customers are ordering more well or house drinks.
13% report greater sales of beer on draft rather than in bottles.
9% say wine drinkers are increasingly opting for house varieties.

“Wine is more likely to be consumed in dining establishments, which have been more heavily impacted by the economy than bars or nightclubs,” said Danny Brager, vice-president, Client Service, Beverage Alcohol, The Nielsen Company. “At the same time, beer and spirit companies vigorously market their product to bartenders, likely resulting in greater ’share of mind’ compared to wine among servers and bartenders.”

Source: The Nielsen Company and Bevinco

More People Using Internet in New Ways and Embracing Web 2.0

More People Using Internet in New Ways and Embracing Web 2.0

Nearly a quarter of the world’s population (some 1.4 billion people) - will use the internet on a regular basis in 2008 - and that number is expected to surpass 1.9 billion, or 30% of the world’s population, in 2012, according to IDC’s Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast.
“The internet will have added its second billion users over a span of about eight years, a testament to both its universal appeal and its availability,” said John Gantz, chief research officer at IDC.

While the PC is the dominant means of gaining access to the internet, IDC expects the number of mobile devices accessing the internet will surpass the number of online PCs by 2012:
Users will access the internet through more than 1.5 billion devices worldwide in 2008, including PCs, mobile phones, and online videogame consoles.

By 2012, the number of devices accessing the internet will double to more than 3 billion, half of which will be mobile devices.

Though Web 1.0 activities like searching, shopping, and sending email will remain popular, Web 2.0 activities, such as watching user-generated videos, posting blogs, and participating in social networks, are quickly capturing the attention and time online of more and more internet users, IDC said.

Among other highlights of IDC’s Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast:
China passed the United States in 2007 to become the country with the largest number of internet users. China’s online population is forecast to grow from 275 million users in 2008 to 375 million users in 2012.

Nearly half of all internet users will make online purchases in 2008. By 2012, there will be more than 1 billion online buyers worldwide making business to consumer (B2C) transactions worth $1.2 trillion. Business to business (B2B) eCommerce will be ten times larger, totaling $12.4 trillion worldwide in 2012.

Worldwide spending on internet advertising will total $65.2 billion in 2008, which is nearly 10% of all ad spending across all media. This share is expected to reach 13.6% by 2011 as internet ad spending grows to $106.6 billion worldwide.

Roughly 40% of all internet users worldwide currently have mobile internet access. The number of mobile internet users will reach 546 million in 2008, nearly twice as many as in 2006, and is forecast to surpass 1.5 billion worldwide in 2012.

The most popular online activities today are searching the web, finding information for personal use, using internet email, accessing news and sports information, and accessing financial or credit information.

In addition to these activities, more than 50% of online users worldwide are using instant messaging and playing online games.

The fastest-growing online activities include accessing business applications, creating blogs, online gambling, accessing work-related email, and participating in online communities.

Among mobile internet users, the most popular online activities are searching the web, accessing news and sports information, downloading music, videos, and ringtones, using instant messaging, and using internet email. By 2012, downloading music, videos, and ringtones will become the number one activity among mobile internet users worldwide.

About the study: IDC’s Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast provides worldwide and regional data for a wide range of internet categories and activities. Traditional Web 1.0 categories include internet users, devices using the internet, internet buyers, and B2C and B2B eCommerce. Web 2.0 categories look more closely at what internet users are doing online, with breakouts by activity and gender. The database also includes a detailed look at online advertising spending worldwide. Forecast data for the 2008-2012 period is supplemented by historical data from 2006 and 2007. The Web 1.0 categories include information on more than 40 countries.

Source: IDC

Practical Content Necessary For Mobile Phone User Satisfaction

Practical Content Necessary For Mobile Phone User Satisfaction

A recent study by the AKQA's Research & Insights department in conjunction with dotMobi, finds that there is a strong consumer desire for practical mobile content on phones. Nearly 90 percent of consumer respondents stated that they would be more likely to choose an airline with mobile check-in facilities over one that did not offer them. And, rather than basic entertainment and ringtones, consumers stated that their most-wanted mobile activities included phone-optimized banking and travel planning.

In demanding access to mobile banking and mobile commerce abilities for basic utilities such as groceries, plane tickets and books, consumers said they trust the mobile Web to keep their personal information secure, as opposed to the PC-based Internet, where security remains of utmost importance.

Other results from the mobile Internet usage and attitudes study include:

• 90 percent of the 2,000 respondents in the online panel are interested in learning more about the mobile Web
• Fifty percent of respondents were unaware that there are mobile sites optimized for use on mobile phone
• 86 percent of participants said they were interested in knowing which sites are easily accessible on a mobile phone
• Nearly 50 percent of respondents said that a poor experience on their initial use of the mobile Web made them "reluctant to access" the site on their mobile phones again
• Poor site display and layout remain top reasons for mobile Web dissatisfaction among consumers Almost two-thirds of participants stated that they would consider purchasing theater tickets, take-out food and travel tickets via a mobile phone
• 63 percent of survey respondents said they would be more likely to give up their money than their mobile "smart phone" if they were mugged
  

Daniel Rosen, managing director of AKQA Mobile, concluded "The enormous popularity of mobile devices has had a profound effect on the lifestyle of the consumer... (but) consumers were (easily) turned off by earlier, ill-conceived mobile campaigns... with mobile devices more ubiquitous... there is a real opportunity for brands to deliver ground-breaking... campaigns... developed specifically for mobile applications."

The survey was conducted May 19-28, 2008 with a Research Now online panel of 2,019 consumers, half from the US and half from the UK. Participants were representative of online populations in both countries.

For more information about the study and dotMobi, please visit here.

Source: Research Brief for Monday, July 7, 2008:http://blogs.mediapost.com/research_brief/?p=1745