Depending on the product or service, a researcher can tell you who buys it, what they buy, where they buy it and why. But not as much attention is paid to when the product is bought. A new book "The Seasons of Business" gives convincing evidence for considering the "when" part of the who/what/when/where/why equation.Author Judith Waldrop, research editor of American Demographics magazine, and freelance writer Marcia Mogelonsky have fashioned a book that reads like a monthly journal of the nation's consumers. It begins in August (because that's the start of the busy back-to-school season, which leads into the important holiday shopping months) and moves through the rest of the year.The book gives a compact but thorough look at consumption habits using a mix of weather data, insights from business people, countless surveys, and government stats, pre-sented in a folksy manner that's part census report and part Farmer's Almanac.
As usual with the books I've reviewed here from American Demographics Press, "The Seasons of Business" feels thoroughly researched. It has plenty of numbers and plenty of sources. You'll also find it quite entertaining, if, like me, you find the consumer psyche fascinating.The book uses the months and their respective holidays and weather patterns as a framework to discuss how various marketing issues are affected by the time of year. Each chapter contains mini reports on specific consumer segments such as business travelers, college students, baseball fans, Bible buyers, allergy sufferers, and newlyweds. The January chapter includes the Super Bowl; March: spring break; June: high school graduations; December: charitable activities, etc.
As an example, the book shows that the month of February might be good one for TV advertisers, publishers, pizza delivery people, and makers of flu remedies. During February many people get a case of the winter blahs - that feeling of ennui that creep...