WJR Business Beat

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The days of trying things and experimenting and simply seeing what works best are at least temporarily on hold, as we must be, as sure as we can be with our marketing and sales campaigns and spend these days as we go after that highly coveted share of consumer spend. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data...

What's driving this: price hikes and potential product shortages they may face later in the season. Some major retailers have already announced their plans to pass cost increases onto consumers, and that makes consumers get their shopping done now before prices increase even further. So if you're a retailer who depends, at least in part, on a successful back to school shopping season. It's not too...

While we know that AI technology can be transformative when deployed effectively, one major barrier to getting AI implemented is the pushback companies are getting from a meaningful percentage of their employee ranks getting buy-in through proper onboarding and training is a key facilitator. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection...

Marketplaces and social commerce are providing consumers with convenience, variety, and competitive pricing, and as a result, they're trending up in terms of increased engagement over two thirds of global digital shoppers bought from a marketplace like Amazon or Walmart, for example, and at the front end of the purchase journey, 20% of global shoppers say they typically begin their search for a ne...

Father's Day Spend in 2025 Expected to Set Record: National Retail Federation reports 76% of Americans will spend during the holiday, focusing on bespoke and unique gifts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Importance of Brand Purpose Today: Companies leading with purpose win and are preforming better today. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tech Town Announces Launch of New Program - Live, Innovate, Play program. Workshops kick off this summer through Wayne State University. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Memorial Day Weekend Sales Predicted to be Mixed Bag Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A report from Deloitte, about 12% of Americans said they changed their vacation plans already for this summer because of concern over tariffs and what that's gonna do to further their financial challenges. According to a survey of more than 2000 travelers by market research firm, Future Partners, conducted in mid-April. Some of us are canceling vacation plans for this summer altogether. The share...

Surprising data point in GoDaddy's summary of the data: Only 9% of the 2100 business owners surveyed forecasted a sales decline for their business. Now to be sure entrepreneurs are a resilient and resourceful bunch with the ability to turn on a dime and adapt to the changing circumstances in which they're operating. For example, the report sites that entrepreneurs are changing their long-term goal...

What's driving these trends? Largely, it's uncertainty. Uncertainty, driving concern over where we are headed and what the future holds for the average consumer, is having a real-world impact on the economy and won't resolve favorably until consumer sentiment improves. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal dat...

The contest is intended to pick the most promising new brick and mortar business concept. The businesses competing in this competition are doing so to win a hundred thousand dollars from Comerica Bank to take their concept to reality and actually open a physical store in either Detroit, Hamtramck, or Highland Park. 10 small businesses are competing as semi-finalists and the public will vote on the...

The total digital ad spend is estimated to grow 3.9% and about 4% annually through 2028. Digital media is expected to gain share at the expense of print, broadcast and cable media. Search display banner streaming and connected TV dominated the local digital budgets last year with BLL Associates estimating that combined sectors will hold 78% of digital and 57% of total local advertising within thre...

top import categories in which states will be most effective by the dynamic changes going on today in those industry sectors. So first, the second biggest category of imports to the US relate to computers and electronics. Those imports are the top related import in nine states. The top import in the country, cars [00:01:00] and auto equipment. That industry sector has the highest value import in 1...

2025 rankings reveal a shift taking place across corporate America in which corporations are increasingly untethered from traditional urban economic hubs. Companies are migrating towards states offering a powerful trifecta that is a business-friendly environment, a skilled workforce, in a more affordable, higher quality of life. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com...

If there's ever been a time to buy generic, it's now many consumers are turning to private label products, including Kirkland Signature to save money. Creating demand for items, better purchase now, rather than waiting when prices will be higher. And in other cases where consumers are already pulling back on certain purchases, one thing is for sure, consumers today are a lot more conservative with...

Where will small business advertisers turn should TikTok be banned? Well, it looks like Instagram reels followed by YouTube shorts are the two most popular alternatives to advertising on TikTok. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Spending on this year's Mother's Day hit $34.1 billion, total spending amount is up from last year's $33.5 billion. A deeper look into the spending reveals that, consistent with previous years, 84% of adults celebrated the holiday, and on average, it's estimated that those who did celebrate spent $259 on average on Mother's Day gifts and other things relating to celebrations. That's about $5 more...

The good news when it comes to AI, more than three in five consumers are comfortable or very comfortable with chatbots or AI support when contacting brands. Julie Geller, principal Research Director at Infotech Research Group, says "the key with AI and customer service applications is to design for customer outcomes rather than company convenience". Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See ht...

According to a new user testing survey released last month, more than 2/3 of consumers in the US, Australia, and the UK are willing to pay an average of 25% more for their purchases made from their favorite brands. The average person remains loyal to as many as six brands with the most loyalty being associated with grocery, food, clothing, footwear, phone, and electronics brands. Hosted by Simplec...

Addressing cash flow through instant collections can be one of the most transformative things a small business can do to operate more efficiently, as well as to be able to utilize and deploy cash on hand for growth. Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay online payment platforms like PayPal and Stripe, and platforms like Square and Shopify payments offer instant payment, and that means fund...

New data from the Brookings Institute of Washington DC based policy and governance research organization provides analysis by occupation specific exposure data supplied by OpenAI and compared it to each occupation share of local employment to calculate exposure statistics. Now, in general, the researchers found that the greater the education level or pay for an occupation, the greater its exposure...

Report by Voice Solutions Platform offers insight into how AI is impacting the production of advertising content, specifically audio content, in which it is becoming harder to know if it's human or if it's AI. The Voices Report known as the Ad Agency Trends report makes clear that while AI is having a significantly greater impact on the production of voice in advertising, 56% of respondents from a...

Many of us find purchase inspiration by going to our favorite social media platforms and one getting a huge boost is the travel industry. As social media has become a major driver of travel inspiration, especially when trying to reach Gen Z audiences. Proof that the seemingly authentic and personal nature of content published on social media is transforming how business is done and how our lives a...