Local consumers may have a gloomy feeling about economic conditions, but their spending has not tapered. This is good news for the 581,000 small business owners in the Wilmington, Delaware area.

According to the latest University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers, sentiment about current economic conditions remains near the all-time low. Concerns about volatile gas prices, rampant inflation, and a looming recession have driven the survey's index down 37% versus a year ago.

Despite these dim consumer sentiments, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis's July report shows that real personal consumption expenditures are pacing well above pre-Covid levels. According to Morgan Stanley research, consumers' ability to spend is being driven, in part, by a massive amount of excess savings accumulated over the course of the pandemic.

Earlier this year, based on per capita spending data from the National Retail Federation (NRF). Wilmington consumers were forecast to spend nearly $11 billion at retail this year. The current level of spending suggests that shoppers are on track to hit that number.

Of course, for local business owners to successfully compete for a share of this record spending requires marketing. By most key marketing metrics, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington radio. This is especially true among business owners who must limit the number of marketing channels that can be used because of economic restraints.

Of all media, advertising on the radio provides the greatest return on investment.

Local business owners have been advertising on Wilmington, Deleware radio since WDEL first signed-on in 1922.  But, back then, there were only two options for reaching a mass audience: newspapers and radio.

Today, though, advertisers have an over-abundance of marketing options both over-the-air and online. But every week, according to Nielsen, 501,249 adults listen to a Wilmington radio station, giving the 101-year-old medium, by far, the biggest reach amongst local consumers.

A new report released last week by Nielsen underscores AM/FM radio's durable reach among all media.

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Despite an abundance of media options, Wilmington, Delaware radio reaches the most consumers every week. 

According to Nielsen, every week 501,249 adults tune in to their favorite Wilmington stations. This is more than watch local TV stations, cable, or streaming video. It is more than browse social media. It is more than listen to streaming audio services or podcasts. It is more than read local newspapers.

Not all listening to Wilmington radio happens on car radios, table-top radios, or boom boxes. Instead, local consumers also use their smartphones, computers, and tablets as a way to connect to their favorite local stations.

Neilsen finds that 24.9% of all consumers who listen to a Wilmington radio station over the air will, at some point during the month, also connect to a local station via the internet. As a matter of fact, during a typical hour, Nielsen data suggests that 11.3% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Eighty-four percent of all adults say they will celebrate Mother's Day in 2022. Based on per capita forecasts from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Wilmington, Delaware consumers are expected to spend $71.3 million on the moms in their lives. This is a 13% increase over last year.

“Consumers are eager to find memorable ways to honor their mothers and other important women in their lives and are willing to spend a little extra on this sentimental holiday,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.

The NRF spending projections indicate that Wilmington consumers will spend $15.7 million on jewelry and another $11.9 million on special outings such as dinner or brunch. This will be the highest level of Mother's Day spending ever in these categories.

Here is how this large pool of Mother's Day cash in Wilmington is expected to be distributed by all retail categories.

The NRF research indicates that men will outspend women 3-to-1 this year on Mother's Day gifts. Most of these dollars will go towards presents for their moms, stepmoms, and wives.

Of all the money spent, Wilmington consumers are expected to spend 36% online, 30% at department stores, 27% at specialty stores, and 23% at local small businesses.

To compete for a share of record-high Mother's Day spending this year, local business owners will need to advertise. By most key marketing metrics, the best way to reach holiday shoppers is by advertising on Wilmington radio.

There are about 300,000 registered passenger vehicles in the Wilmington, Delaware area. Some are cars. Some are trucks. Some are Hondas. Some are Fords. Some are Teslas. Some have four doors. Some have two. Some go fast. Some go slow. Some guzzle gas. Some sip. Some are red. Some are blue.

The one thing that almost every car and truck in the Wilmington area have in common, though, is the AM/FM radio smack-dab in the middle of the dashboard.

The first car radio went on sale in 1930. It was an invention of the Galvin Manufacturing Company. The company named the radio 'Motorola,' and its cost was $130, around $2000 in today's dollars. By 1935, more than three million car radios had been installed.

Today, AM/FM radio is part of every car and truck on Wilmington area roads. In addition to the radio, many of these vehicles also provide drivers with other audio options, including a CD player, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, podcasts, and easy access to personal MP3 collections.

It is fair, then, for small business owners who depend on Wilmington radio to advertise their goods and services to ask: with all the audio options on today's dashboards, is anyone listening to local AM/FM radio in the car anymore?

Construction companies in the Wilmington, Delaware area will need to recruit 1,436 blue-collar workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2022 to meet the demands of the current building market. These statistics are based on forecasts from Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC), an association comprised primarily of U.S. firms that work in industrial and commercial construction sectors.

"The construction industry desperately needs qualified, skilled craft professionals to build America," said Michael Bellaman, ABC president and CEO. "The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in November and stimulus from COVID-19 relief will pump billions in new spending into our nation's most critical infrastructure, and qualified craft professionals are essential to efficiently modernize roads, bridges, energy production, and other projects across the country. More regulations and less worker freedom make it harder to fill these jobs."

The construction industry's appetite for new hires in the Wilmington area will continue into 2023, according to ABC. It is expected that during that year,  an additional 1,328 blue-collar workers in addition to the normal pace of hiring.

No matter which Wilmington, Delaware area television station or cable channel adults tune to in 2022, they can expect to be assaulted by a deluge of political advertising. Often entire commercial breaks are stuffed with back-to-back pleas and promises to secure viewers' votes.

But is advertising on Philadelphia stations like WDPN, WPPX, KYW, WCAU, or WHYY the most effective way to reach likely voters in the Wilmington area? Or is advertising on cable channels provided by Xfinity, DISH, DirecTV, and Verizon FIOS the way to go?

The answer is neither. According to research from Nielsen, the best way to reach local adults who are most likely to vote is by advertising on Wilmington radio.

Every week, 327,000 likely voters will listen to Wilmington radio stations. This is significantly more than watch local TV, cable, and streaming video. More that use social media and streaming audio. More than will read newspapers.

The current high rate of inflation is tempering how much Tri-state business owners can spend on advertising.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 19,142 small businesses in the Wilmington, Delaware area. There is one thing each of the owners of these companies has in common, whether they own a hardware store in New Castle, a furniture store in Pennsville, or a restaurant in Elkton. They are all experiencing the negative consequences of inflation.

In a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), inflation now ranks second as the single most important problem companies face. A year ago, inflation was barely an issue.

Inflation has not hampered the enthusiasm to spend among Wilmington area consumers keeping retail sales hovering above pre-Covid levels. But, inflation is taking a dramatic toll on the amount of revenue business owners can keep.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, small business owners see inflation-fueled price increases in almost every cost of operation, including inventory, utilities, rent, and wages.

Because of these rising operational costs, Wilmington business owners are looking to cut expenses where they can, including advertising expenditures. But, because there is still robust consumer demand for goods and services, these companies need to make sure that the amount they do invest in advertising has the best return possible.

By almost any marketing metric, advertising on Wilmington radio provides the greatest return-on-investment (ROI) of any medium available to local business owners.

There are 19,142 small businesses in the Tri-Stare area, according to the US Census Bureau. Based on projections from the National Federation of Independent Business Owners (NFIB), nearly half of these companies have job openings they cannot fill.

As a result of the acute labor shortage, says the NFIB, 29% of small business owners rank the quality of labor as the most important problem they face. A year ago, only 21% said finding workers was their biggest issue.

The labor crunch in the Wilmington area is being driven, in big part, by a record-high number of employees voluntarily quitting their jobs. Just last month, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 4.5 million employees across the country left their current place of employment.

According to the Wall Street Journal, those who are not currently working say they are in no hurry to return to the workforce. The lack of urgency stems from five primary reasons:

• 29% say they don't need to work right now because their spouse is employed
• 28% say they cannot return to work because of care responsibilities at home
• 25% say they don't need to return to work because they have a financial cushion
• 20% say they are fearful of returning to work because of COVID-19
• 5% say they do not need to return because of current unemployment benefits

There seems to be little chance that these resigned workers can be lured back into the labor force. Therefore, to fill open jobs, local business owners will need to focus their efforts towards recruiting among Wilmington's "passive" job candidates.

To ensure success, every Tri-state area business owner needs to advertise.

"Think you have a great product?" asks the US Small Business Administration. "Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.”

The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.”

There are dozens of ways for local small business owners to advertise. By most metrics, the best way to advertise is on Wilmington, Delaware radio. These measures of effectiveness, however, are often obscured by the glimmer and glitz of newer technologies. 

To help reduce the glare that often blinds business owners to the potency of advertising on Wilmington radio, here are the top five things many local business owners get wrong.