With what is called a market, being essentially a living, organic reality, it's amazing and instructive to see how extraneous stimuli affect how consumers interact within that market.
Some think that negative "macro-economic issues" will cause their businesses to fill, but that isn't necessarily true.
For example, we'll probably continue to see record-breaking results at movie theaters in the U.S. because people will stay closer to home, and consumer less expensive entertainment. So even though some businesses may suffer some, others can thrive.
Another example is the weak U.S. dollar. Even though that may have a negative impact on Americans visiting popular tourist destinations, it also draws foreign visitors because the exchance rate is considered a bargain to them. So you have those two opposing dynamics working at the same time.
"E-commerce is a bright spot," said Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer. "While retail store growth is in the middle-low single digits, e-commerce is still growing at least in the mid to high teens."
I bring this up because it's also happening in the Internet marketing world as well. People are increasingly spending on the Internet in order to save money, as 11 percent of online shoppers in the U.S. say they're shopping more online because of gas prices. Another study shows the numbers at 13 percent. Either way, the price of gas is finally starting to change the behavior of consumers.
It may be something to subtly remind visitors about when marketing during this time.
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