More than 92% of Fayetteville area households own at least one vehicle. 

Pre-pandemic, 84% of workers spent, on average, 46 minutes every weekday in these cars commuting to-and-from their jobs.  

On their way to work, many of these drivers would contribute to the Fayetteville area's $8.5 billion retail economy by visiting the convenience stores, coffeehouses, auto repair centers, gas stations, daycares, grocery stores, or hundreds of other businesses they passed.

At lunchtime, these same cars would take their owners to restaurants, dentist appointments, nail appointments, barbershops, and on an infinite number of other errands.

On the weekends, these vehicles filled the parking lots of hardware stores, furniture stores, car dealers, appliance stores, bowling alleys, movie theatres, and nightclubs, 

Then on March 30, when the Governor of North Carolina shut down the state to slow the spread of COVID-19, traffic came to a standstill and so did the spending.

There are strong indications, though, that in the Fayetteville area, roads are filling up again.

To slow the spread of COVID-19, the Governor of North Carolina shut down all but the most essential businesses in the state on March 30. This public safety measure inflicted a severe disruption to the Fayetteville area's $8.1 billion retail economy.

As local small business owners prepare to reopen, each must concentrate on supercharging their cash flows to compensate for weeks of consumer abstinence. Turning the lights back on and hanging out a welcome sign might not be enough, though, to bring even the most loyal customers back.

Some customers may not return because of personal safety concerns. Other customers may have discovered alternative sources to purchase goods and services.

But, there is one thing every North Carolina small business owner can be assured of. Consumers will not return if they aren't aware that a business has reopened.

Advertising is a potent tactic for any Fayetteville small business that needs to reintroduce itself to local consumers.

“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.”

Fayetteville consumers spent more than $8.5 billion with retailers last year. The National Retail Federation forecasts 4.1% more will be spent this year.

Who are the shoppers that will be spending all this money?

According to Nielsen, 37.3% of retail dollars are spent by Fayetteville area consumers over the age of 50. This may surprise many small business owners because older consumers comprise only 29% of the area's adult population.

These older consumers account for the largest share of spending in almost every retail category. This includes furniture, cars, pet supplies, fast food, and electronics.

To earn a share of these massive dollars spent by these older consumers requires Fayetteville small business owners to advertise.

Retailers in the Fayetteville area rang-up $8,527,802,000 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 $349 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 Fayetteville 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.”  

Fayetteville area consumers are expected to spend $8.5 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be spending $48,564.

To capture a larger share of these dollars, small business owners in Clark and Robeson counties need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.

Based on information from the National Retail Foundation, Fayetteville consumers will be spending $11 million on Halloween this year. 

Typically, 80% of all Halloween shopping, according to the NRF, will occur between now and October 16.  The remaining dollars will be spent in the last 14 days leading up to the holiday.

Nearly 53% of consumers in the Fayetteville are expected to participate in Halloween this year, each spending, on average, about $86.  This money will go towards the purchase of candy, decorations, costumes, pumpkins, and greeting cards.

Almost every type of small business in Cumberland and Robeson County enjoys a taste of this spending. This includes hardware stores, convenience stores, craft stores, fabric stores, thrift stores, florists, card stores, consignment shops, haunted houses, home decor store, bakeries, and, of course, candy stores.

To claim a significant share of this Halloween cash will require local small business owners to advertise.  The key to successful advertising is reaching as many Halloween shoppers as possible over the next four weeks.

Small business owners who sell mattresses in the Fayetteville area might be losing sleep.

Last year, local consumers spent close to $17 million for new mattresses.  A recent survey conducted by Piper Jaffray indicates that many retailers believe  that the category will become even stronger during the last four months of this year.

The reason for the owners' sleep loss is that many customers are bypassing local stores and buying their mattresses on the internet. According to Statista, 37% of buyers are now purchasing from one-of-175 direct-to-consumer sites like Casper or from online retailers like Amazon. 

To keep customers shopping local requires advertising.

When a Fayetteville small business owner advertises on a local radio station, the first words determine if consumers will pay attention. The article "Be Heard: The #1 Job of Commercials on Fayetteville Radio" discusses this topic in-depth.

When it comes time to buy, however, getting in the final word can be equally important.  Advertising on Fayetteville radio is often the last voice a customer hears before making a purchase in-store or online.

Being the last voice serves as a potent reminder to consumers that a business or product exists.  Especially since our brains make things very easy to forget. Science says it's so.

Just about every adult in Fayetteville spent, on average, 15 hours last week listening to the radio.  As a matter of fact, more people tuned-in to their favorite Fayetteville radio station than watched TV; read a newspaper, or logged-on to Pandora and Spotify."Sure," a Fayetteville small business owner said to me. "People are still tuning-in to local radio stations, but do they switch stations when my commercial comes on?"

Not to worry. Unlike TV, which makes avoiding commercials a breeze, there is no ad-skipping technology for radio.  As a result, a study by Nielsen reveals that 93% of radio listeners stick around for the ads.

This raises the question: Consumers are not button-pushing during radio commercials, but are they paying attention to the content of the advertising? Research says YES.

Radio advertising is converting listeners to customers. Here is the proof.