According to the Experian Marketing Services annual 2010 Holiday Marketer: Benchmark Trend Report, 2008 and 2009 holiday seasons registered the first declines in sales since the early 1950s, but an analysis of 2010 catalog sales data, the study predicts that this year's fourth quarter will register a 1% to 2% increase. The Internet continues to grow as the most preferred media channel, with 37.7% of U.S. consumers identifying it as the media that they can't live without, above television at 21.6%. The percentage of consumers who purchase from mobile phones has grown from 10% in 2009 to 13% in …

According to recent Scarborough Research analysis of breakfast diners and the fast food establishments they patronize, 37% of adults have eaten breakfast at a fast food restaurant in the past month. McDonald's holds the top spot among fast food (or quick service) breakfast diners... 46% of adults dined at the Golden Arches for breakfast in the past month. Dunkin Donuts (19%), Starbucks (19%) and Burger King (12%) round out the top four national fast food chains for breakfast diners.

Some of the findings of a recent Harris Poll, conducted among 2,503 online U.S. adults ages 18 and over show that 50% of Americans watch TV shows about cooking very often or occasionally, but half say they watch these shows rarely or never. Just 21% of U.S. adults never watch TV shows about cooking while 29% do so rarely, 34% do so occasionally and 15% watch cooking shows very often.

According to a new survey from the ANA, fees continue to be the dominant method of payment for advertising agencies, despite the discussions surrounding value-based compensation. 75% of all compensation plans use the fee-based model, while the value-based method accounts for less than 1%.

According to a recent study by Forbes Insights, in association with MarketShare Partners, on the topic of measurement and accountability, companies are not cutting back on marketing despite the recent economic roller coaster. Three quarters of marketing executives who responded to the survey noted that they expected their marketing budgets to stay the same or increase in their 2010-2011 fiscal year, with fully one-third expecting an increase. And, measurement is not taking a backseat to the overall campaign development process, says the report. Marketers' focus is split equally between the importance of the "big idea," a core theme guiding …

According to a study from the Urban Institute "Childhood Poverty Persistence..." by Ratcliffe and McKernan, 49% of American babies born into poor families will be poor for at least half their childhoods. Among children who are not poor at birth, only 4% will be "persistently" poor as children. Those poor at birth are more likely to be poor between ages 25 and 30, drop out of high school, have a teen nonmarital birth, and have patchy employment records than those not poor at birth.

According to a new study by PointRoll, Back?to? School revenues from this year's shopping season for K?12 and college combined are expected to rise sharply from 2009 levels. Back?to?School season, notes the report, represents a vital period for certain manufacturers and retailers who do some of their biggest business as families and students stock up on gear for the new school year, ranking second only to winter holidays. PointRoll advertisement engagement, and ShopLocal retailer site data, indicate that users remained highly interested and engaged with advertisements and offers from these marketers into September and after school started.

According to an analysis of key listening metrics included in Nielsen's spring 2010 ratings within 51 U.S. markets, listeners age 25 to 54 continue to thrive as the "sweet spot" for radio, while consumers in cell phone only (CPO) households continue to listen at a higher rate than the 12+ population. Meanwhile, listening among persons age 18 to 34 remains consistent with their counterparts age 12 and over in the 51 measured markets.

According to a comScore study, Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet, social networking sites reach a higher percentage of women than men globally, with 75.8% of all women online visiting a social networking site in May 2010 versus 69.7% of men. Globally, women demonstrate higher levels of engagement with social networking sites. Although women account for 47.9% of total unique visitors to the social networking category, they consume 57% of pages and account for nearly 57% of total minutes spent on these sites.

The recession has made it necessary for Americans to rethink and adjust their shopping patterns, resulting in a more strategic, informed, and even calculating approach to shopping previously driven by impulse, advertising responsiveness and the fundamental attractiveness of brands. A joint study by Deloitte and Harrison Group titled, "The 2010 American Pantry Study: The New Rules of the Shopping Game," found that 92% of people surveyed have changed their grocery shopping behavior in the last two years. 89% said they have become more resourceful while 84% say they are more precise when they shop.