Local consumers may have a gloomy feeling about economic conditions, but their spending has not tapered. This is good news for the 30,689 small business owners in the Southwest Florida 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). Fort Myers consumers were forecast to spend nearly $18.8 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 Fort Myers 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 Fort Myers radio since WFTM first signed-on in 1939.  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, 862,392adults listen to a Fort Myers 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.

Despite an abundance of media options, Fort Myers radio reaches the most consumers every week in Southwest Florida

According to Nielsen, every week 862,392 adults tune in to their favorite Fort Myers 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 Fort Myers 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 27.9% of all consumers who listen to a Fort Myers 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 11.2% of a station's total audience is listening on a device other than a traditional receiver.

Each week according to Nielsen, 852,000 consumers tune in to a Fort Myers radio station. This is significantly more adults 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.

There are two traits Southwest Florida radio listeners have in common. First, they are very loyal to their favorites, tuning-in to, on average, only 2.1 different stations each week.

Second, and of particular importance to SWFL small business owners, radio listeners are returning to 'normal' at a faster rate than the general population after more than two years of pandemic.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Nielsen has been measuring consumer sentiment in regard to normal behaviors. In a survey conducted in March of this year, 83% of adults say they are "ready to go and feel life is becoming more normal". This is up dramatically from the same time last year.

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), Southwest Florida consumers are expected to spend $119 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 Fort Myers-Naples-Cape Coral consumers will spend $26.3 million on jewelry and another $19.9 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 Fort Myers 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, SWFL 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 Fort Myers radio.

There are 30,689 small business owners in the Fort Myers-Cape-Coral-Naples area, according to the US Census Bureau. Each of these companies will need larger advertising budgets to successfully compete for a fair share of the expected explosion in consumer spending this year.

Based on new forecasts from The National Retail Federation (NRF), Fort Myers area consumers are expected to spend between $18.8 and $19.2 billion at retail in 2022, a six to eight percent growth over the previous year.

The NRF's forecasts exclude restaurants, gas stations, and automotive dealers. Included in the numbers, though, are non-store and online sales, which, in Fort Myers, could reach as high as $4.6 billion this year. This level of spending would be 13% more than in 2021.

Even though the rate of growth rate for 2022 is lower than the 14% jump in 2021, the NRF points out that this year's spending will be well ahead of the 10-year, pre-pandemic growth rate of 3.7%

To participate in the expected surge in retail spending will require Fort Myers business owners to advertise. Especially if retailers want to hold their own against the continued growth of non-store and online competition.

There are about 761,000 registered passenger vehicles in the Fort Myers-Naples 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 Southwest Florida 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 SWFL 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 Fort Myers 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 Southwest Florida will need to recruit 2,448 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 Fort Myers area will continue into 2023, according to ABC. It is expected that during that year,  an additional 2,222 blue-collar workers in addition to the normal pace of hiring.

Right now, at least one of the 32,556 businesses located in the Southwest Florida area is thinking about using the phrase 'March Madness' as part of upcoming advertising and marketing plans. Why not? It's a great use of alliteration. It's a familiar term. And, it's that time of year.

A furniture store in Naples might think it would be clever to use 'March Madness' in its commercials on Fort Myers radio to promote a big spring sale. A non-profit in Cape Coral feels it would be a good way to describe its charity fun run on social media and online advertising. A sports bar in Bonita Springs believes it would be a no-brainer to use the term in streaming video and audio ads to bring in scores of basketball fans.

It is, indeed,  tempting for a Fort Myers small business owner to use this term for advertising or marketing purposes. But,  to avoid a costly legal battle, the use of this trademarked phrase should be a non-starter. Here's why.

No matter which Fort Myers 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 WINK, WBBH, WZVN, WGCU, or WFTXthe most effective way to reach likely voters in the Fort Myers area? Or is advertising on cable channels provided by Xfinity, DISH, and DirecTV 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 Fort Myers radio.

Every week, 548,000 likely voters will listen to Fort Myers 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.