(Columbus, OH; March 13, 2002; Business Wire) Six months after 9/11, 44.4% of consumers say they have changed and become more practical and realistic when making a purchase and 52.2% of them say this change is long-term. That's according to the March Consumer Intentions and Actions survey of 7,000 consumers by BIGresearch. The survey was conducted March 1-7.

``The priorities of consumers have changed since 9/11 and the new American consumer may pose challenges for old line traditional retailers who fail to recognize the change and shift their marketing strategy to meet consumer needs,'' said Joe Pilotta, Ph.D., Vice President of Research for BIGresearch. ``With a slight increase in consumer confidence (up 2%) for March, which halts a downward trend started in November, it appears the economic skies are beginning to brighten but consumers' purchasing patterns look to be different. Consumers continue to indicate a preference for value oriented merchandise and are less inclined to purchase based on a brand name. Likewise, value oriented retailers like Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Kohl's, Sears, Target, Old Navy and even Kmart are the preferred destinations for shoppers,'' said Pilotta.

It is also interesting to note the difference between men and women since women are the driving force behind retail purchases. This is significant as purchasing is clearly in the hands of a ``household administrator'' who is female and is not as confident in the economy as the male who in old line surveys are designated as ``head of household.'' Retailers need to pay attention to the shift in household administration.

The emphasis on spending more time at home and entertaining family or friends has created a very hot market for those businesses that support this need. In the electronics area consumers are saying its Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City and Sears. For Home Improvement, Home Depot, and Lowe's, are runaway winners followed by Wal-Mart, Menards, ACE Hardware and Sears.

Future purchase intentions remain strong for furniture, housing and vacation/travel with 18.2%, 7.6% and 28.5% planning purchases in the next six months. Consumers continue to indicate a desire to manage finances tighter with 45% saying they plan to pay down debt, increase savings 37.9% and decrease overall spending 32.4%.

About BIGresearch:

BIGresearch gathers consumer market intelligence from one of the world's largest online communities of over 60 million people. BIGresearch's monthly syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey monitors the pulse of over 5000 consumers to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and transitory marketplace. Complimentary top line findings are available at http://www.bigresearch.com/.