“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, Wilmington, Delaware area parents are expected to spend a record $96,082,853 to prepare more than 107,400 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 Wilmington area will be on:

• Clothing: $35.1 million
• Shoes: $27.7 million
• Supplies: $18.1 million
• Electronics: $15.1 million

In addition to expenditures for K-12,  $ 217.6 million is expected to be spent in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington area college students in 2023 will include:

• Electronics: $53.7 million
• Dorm/Apartment Furniture: $30,3 million
• Clothing: $28.9 million
• Food Items: $24.1 million

In order to capture the largest portion of this record back-to-class cash, Wilmington 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 Wilmington, Delaware radio since July 1922. That's when WHAV became the area's first radio station. 

The station broadcast from the home of the owner, Willard Wilson, until 1930. That's when he moved studios to Downtown Wilmington and changed the call letters to WEDL

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

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington radio reaches 487,506 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, 493,752 Wilmington, Delaware area consumers are expected to spend a record $65.2 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: $22.2 million
• Clothing: $9.9 million
• Gift Cards: $7.9 million
• Electronics:  $7.4 million
• Personal Care: $4.8 million

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

The challenge for Wilmington-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 Wilmington consumers of the benefits of buying from local retailers.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington radio.

There are 84,675 small businesses in the Wilmington, DE, tri-state area, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost every one of these businesses is competing for a portion of the $14.6 billion of local retail spending expected to occur in 2023.*

To capture the largest share of this giant pool of consumer cash, Wilmington small business owners will need to consider advertising.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the U.S. Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one's going to know about it unless you advertise. Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your sales., and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your company."

One of the best ways to advertise in Wilmington may be on local radio, a fact not lost on the world's largest advertiser, Proctor & Gamble. Last year, P&G upped spending on the radio by 43% to $235 million, according to Vivvix (formerly Kantar Media), led by a big jump in local radio.

Mother's Day is On May 14th this year. According to per capita data from The National Retail Federation, 493,752 adult consumers in the Wilmington, Delaware, area plan to celebrate the occasion.

Between now and that special Sunday in May, the NRF expects a record $101.7 million to be spent in Wilmington 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, Wilmington 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 Wilmington area will fall into three categories:

1. Jewelry: $22,211,620
2. Special Outing: $15,946,804
3. Electronics: $11,390,574

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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington consumers of the benefits of buying from local companies.  By almost every marketing metric, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington radio.

According to Nielsen, 487,506 adults tune in to their favorite Wilmington, Delaware, 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.

Wilmington radio's unchallenged reach is why many local business owners depend on the medium to capture the largest possible share of the $14.6 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 Wilmington.

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

Despite high-interest rates, inflation, and recession fears, Wilmington, Deleware, area consumers are expected to spend between $14.6 and $14.9 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 Wilmington 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 $1.5 billion dollar outflow.

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

More than 476,118 Wilmington, Delaware area consumers are expected to celebrate Easter in 2023, according to per capita forecasts from The National Retail Federation. In all, the NRF predicts $68.3 million will be spent this year.

Not only will spending on Easter in Wilmington top last year's take by 16%, but it will also blow past the spending record of $61.7 billion set in 2021.

“Easter endures as an important holiday for many Americans, signifying new beginnings and a time of celebration with friends and family,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As consumers plan to mark the occasion through a variety of traditions, retailers are dedicated to making this year a memorable holiday.”

According to the NRF forecasts, here's how Wilmington consumers are expected to spend their Easter Holiday cash:

• Food: $20.7 million
• Clothing: $11.3 million
• Candy: $10.8 million
• Gifts: $9.3 million
• Flowers: $5.1 million
• Decorations: $4.9 million
• Greeting Cards: $2.8 million
• Other: $2.5 million

There is one obstacle, however, between small business owners and this gargantuan pool of Easter cash.

According to the NRF, the vast majority of Easter shopping will be spent at discount stores, box stores, and online. Only 22% of spending will occur at local small businesses.

 

To Keep more of this cash in the Wilmington area, retailers will need to advertise to convince consumers of the values and benefits of buying from local small business owners.  According to most marketing metrics, the best way to advertise in Wilmington is on local radio.

Every week, according to Nielsen, Wilmington, Deleware, radio reaches 487,506 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 Wilmington area, there are 299,401 18-49-year-olds, the majority of whom are millennials, a generation that now accounts for nearly one-third of all retail spending.

Wilmington, Delaware, radio reaches more local consumers each week than any other advertising medium.

According to Nielsen, 282,794 adults tune in to their favorite AM/FM stations every week.  This is significantly more consumers than are reached by Wilmington 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 322,117 Wilmington area adults who take to the road in their car or truck every week, according to Neilsen.