According to the McKinsey sixth annual "McKinsey Global Survey," executives say their companies are boosting IT spending. Looking ahead, executives expect IT to create new platforms to support innovation and growth, help guide strategy with data and advanced analytics, and stay on top of possible new roles for mobile devices. Among respondents to this survey, the highest current priorities for IT mirror those of previous surveys: improving the effectiveness and efficiency of business processes and reducing IT costs. Also, 40% of respondents indicate that providing managers with information to support planning and decision making is quickly becoming a critical priority, …

Trip mix has shifted during the course of the economic downturn, but pantry stock-up and quick trips together still account for about two-thirds of CPG trips and dollar sales. According to SymphonyRI, in a recent study "the CPG Basket, Fostering Growth in a Time of Conservation," consumers are very discerning about the money they spend today. They are carefully choosing what they will buy, when they will buy it, and where they will buy it. They are choosing to eliminate and/or postpone some purchases in the name of keeping their budgets manageable.

According to Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs, who developed and conducted the study "B2B Content Marketing: 2012 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends," even though the confidence gap is shrinking this year vs. last, regarding tactics used in content marketing, there is still more education that needs to be done.

New marketing trends data from MerchantCircle's 7th survey of small business owners across the U.S. reveals that Group deals are experiencing steady growth among local merchants. Nearly 12% of local merchants now report (December, 2011) having offered a daily deal, up 33% since the last MerchantCircle survey in June 2011. About 75% of respondents say they would offer another deal in the future, 61% citing its effectiveness for customer acquisition as their top reason. Deal profitability is on the rise, with 37% saying solid profitability will lead them to offer another deal, up from just 24% in June. Among the …

A new whitepaper from Juniper Research predicts that recessionary conditions will possibly have an adverse impact on smartphone and tablet sales, particularly in the case of unsubsidised devices. Given the extent to which smartphones have already become a near "must-have" device, says the report, the impact will be less significant than for tablets, where it may well reduce the extent to which these devices penetrate the wider market.

A recent StrongMail survey, conducted by Zoomerang in November, reflects the attitudes of business leaders about their planned marketing budgets, priorities and challenges for 2012, revealing a healthy outlook for marketing budgets with 51% of companies increasing and 41% maintaining current levels. For the third year in a row, email marketing and social media marketing remain the top targets for increased spend.

Arbitron, Media MonitorsSM, and Coleman Insights, with Arbitron's PPM (Portable People Meter), provides a study of radio listening during commercial breaks covering nearly 18 million commercial breaks containing nearly 62 million minutes of commercials airing over a 12-month period on 866 stations from all 48 PPM markets. For years, many believed that the radio audience levels during commercial breaks were much lower than the program audience. This new report provides detailed evidence showing that radio does a remarkable job of delivering audience during commercial breaks.

According to a new study by The CMO Council, in partnership with Lithium, more than 1,300 consumers and 132 senior marketers feel that social media consumers are open-minded, engaged, demanding, loyal and willing advocates for brands they love. The research, "Variance in the Social Brand Experience," also uncovered significant gaps between how brands and consumers approach the social media marketplace. The overarching finding was that consumers want more from brands online, including better experiences, deeper engagement with each other and the brand, reasons to participate, and rewards when they do.

According to a new consumer poll by Broadcom Corporation, exploring technology trends on the go, in the home, and on the road, 32% of those who own a capable mobile device say they consume more than 10 hours of content a week while on the go, and 51% say they consume more than five hours a week. Consumers are connecting more devices to the Internet and to other devices than ever before, and want to spend less time configuring those connections and more time enjoying them. The demand for seamless, pervasive connectivity will be possible with new technologies.

According to Allison Enright, Senior Editor at Internet Retailer, analyzing early retail sales by the U.S. Department of Commerce and various retailers, total retail sales increased 6.7% in November, but that sales at non-store retailers increased at more than twice that rate at 13.9%. E-commerce and mail-order sales make up more than 75% of the non-store retailer subsector, the Commerce Department says.