Southwest Florida shoppers are expected to spend a record $2.9 billion online in 2020, based on the most recent projections from eMarketer. This would represent year-over-year growth of 32.4%.

During the same period, according to eMarketer, receipts at brick-and-mortar stores have contracted by 3.2%.  Overall, excluding gas and auto sales, e-commerce will account for 20.6% of all retail sales this year.

The Coronavirus pandemic is credited with this seismic shift in shopping behavior as consumers continue to avoid stores and opt for online shopping.

“We’ve seen e-commerce accelerate in ways that didn’t seem possible last spring, given the extent of the economic crisis,” said Andrew Lipsman, eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence. “While much of the shift has been led by essential categories like grocery, there has been surprising strength in discretionary categories like consumer electronics and home furnishings that benefited from pandemic-driven lifestyle needs.”

Even before the onset of the pandemic, 73.9% of Fort Myers-Naples area consumers had bought goods online over the prior six months, according to Nielsen research. Purchases included clothing, health & beauty products, travel reservations, books, furniture, and groceries.

Type "FORT MYERS REAL ESTATE AGENTS" into Google. In slightly over a half-second, the search will deliver 41,000,000 results. Similar searches for Naples, Cape Coral, Whiskey Creek, Villas, or Sanibel produce a proportional number of returns.

Despite the economic hardships imposed by the Coronavirus crisis on Southwest Florida consumers, the demand for real estate is booming. 

The Wall Street Journal published a trend last week indicating that mortgage applications for purchase a home have achieved levels equal to last year.

According to redfin.com, home buying demand is 16.5% higher now than it was pre-COVID-19 on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Redfin attributes this explosive growth in real estate shoppers to two factors, including record-low mortgage rates. The other primary driver is a migration trend from expensive metropolitan areas as buyers hunt for more space at lower prices.

To capture a larger share of the robust market, local real estate agents need to stand apart from the millions of Google results.  Advertising on Fort Myers radio will help accomplish this.  Here's why.

In January, Fort Myers-Naples area small business owners were in a panic. The unemployment rate was at a record low 2.8%, and there were not enough workers to fill their open jobs. 

As of today, though, Florida is reporting that at least one-in-six of the state's workforce have lost their jobs for COVID-19 related reasons. Yet, many small business owners are still struggling to find employees.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "For some workers, unemployment benefits are now paying more than their old jobs did. For others, safety concerns or a lack of child care, as most schools and day-care centers remain closed, are making them hesitant to go back."

“That’s going to get in the way of any real recovery,” Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, told WSJ.

The struggle to hire employees creates an additional threat for those SWFL small business owners who received loans under the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program.  

To qualify for the loan forgiveness provision of the PPP, business owners must restore its workforce to pre-Coronavirus levels. This must be accomplished within eight weeks of receiving the monies.

So, just like in January, local small business owners are under pressure to fill open jobs. Advertising on Fort Myers radio is a potent way to attract and hire the needed employees.

Facebook usage has swelled since the onset of the Covid-19. 

According to Nielsen, before the current chaos, 59% of Southwest Florida area adults used Facebook each month. This was significantly fewer than were reached by local radio or television each week.

According to the New York Times, however, since the start of the Coronavirus, daily Facebook traffic has increased by 27%. This compares to 33% growth in the amount of time consumers spend listening to local radio during a similar period.

Based on the surge in Facebook consumption, Fort Myers-Naples small business owners might be tempted to purchase advertising on the social media platform to augment their regular, free postings. Here are are few facts these businesses should consider before investing.

Since the onset of the Coronavirus crisis, consumers are not flocking into the showrooms, storefronts, offices, or dining rooms of Southwest Florida small business owners. It turns out, though, social distancing has not proven to be an impediment to shopping.

Fort Myers-Naples consumers are still spending money despite the chaos imposed by the pandemic, according to Gordon Borrell, CEO of Borrell & Associates. His company specializes in the collection of marketing data from business owners across the country.

"During depressions, recessions, floods, hurricane, earthquakes, fires, and, now, pandemics, commerce goes on," Mr. Borrell told members of SWFL's small business community during a recent teleconference.

To prove his point, he shared research from IBISworld  which, indicates spending continues despite a plunge in consumer confidence.

Every week, 807,219 adult consumers tune-in to a Fort Myers radio station. That is way more than are reached by other media, including local television, newspaper, social media, or streaming audio sites like Pandora and Spotify.

A more significant number for thousands of Southwest Florida small business owners who advertise on Fort Myers radio is how many of these listeners stick around when their commercials come on.

A 2011 Nielsen study discovered that, on average, 93% of listeners stayed with the radio station they are tuned-to when the commercials come on. That number amazed many advertisers at the time who believed that audiences were far more likely to defect when the music stopped.

A lot has changed since 2011. SWFL consumers have many more media options and can instantly connect to each  with a button-push, mouse-click, screen-tap, or voice command. With all of these choices, do radio audiences still stay tuned during commercial breaks?

The chaos created in Southwest Florida by the onset of Coronavirus has been a disruptive force among consumers. 

Work routines, buying habits, family life, and media consumption have all been palpably affected. These are all factors that need to be considered by small business owners who continue to advertise their goods and services during the crisis.

Before the current chaos, advertising on Fort Myers radio, by any metric, was the best way a local small business could advertise.

For instance, pre-Coronavirus, 807,000 adult consumers tuned-in to a Fort Myers radio station every week. This is significantly more than watched local TV, read a newspaper, accessed social media, or streamed audio from sites like Pandora and Spotify.

New research released from Nielsen indicates that amidst the current crisis, listening to local radio remains little changed. This is great news for those SWFL small business owners who are depending on advertising for their long-term survival.

Retailers in Southwest Florida rang-up $22,714,044,000 in retail sales last year, according to Nielsen. But wait. It's about to get better.

The National Retail Federation forecasts that in 2020, sales will increase by as much as 4.1%. This will create another $931 million for local small business owners.  

“The economy is growing at a more modest pace, but the underlying economic fundamentals remain in place and are positive,” stated NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz. “Consumers remain upbeat and have the confidence to spend, and the steady wage growth that has come with the strong job market is fueling their spending. The state of the consumer is very healthy.

To claim a fair share of this enlarged pool of spending will require Fort Myers-Naples small business owners to advertise.

“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.”  

March is the biggest single month for used car sales in Southwest Florida. During these 31 days alone, local pre-owned vehicle dealers are expected to bring in $44 million in sales. This will represent 10% of their annual revenue.

By the end of May, these dealers owners will sell more than $129 million worth of pre-owned cars and trucks. This, undoubtedly, makes March-May 'used car season' in the Fort Myers-Naples area.

Although most SWFL used car dealers are small business owners, they do really big business. In all, over the next 12 months, more than 154,000 pre-owned vehicles will be driven off their lots.

To capture a larger share of the area's $449 million used car market requires pre-owned vehicle dealers to advertise. By any measure, the best way for these business owners to advertise is on Fort Myers radio.

As Valentine's Day sales begin to dwindle, that's when Southwest Florida small business owners start thinking about Mom.

Mother's Day, which happens on the second Sunday of May, is second only to Christmas in terms of holiday spending. Last year, SWFL consumers spent more than $94-million celebrating the women in their lives. That number is expected to grow again in 2020.

To claim a significant share of this Mother's Day cash, local retailers and restaurants will need to advertise.  By almost every key metric, advertising on Fort Myers radio is the best choice.