Leading consumer researcher Britt Beemer has some good news for Christian retailers, for whom he has authored two influential past reports.

His America's Research Group (ARG) has found a significant upswing in traffic and spending at Christian retail stores in the past quarter-fueled by a trend he said could be capitalized on with some good marketing.

ARG's bi-monthly Consumer Mind Reader report for March--which tracks the performance of 26 retail categories--reported 8.9% of the population visiting a Christian bookstore the previous month, with per-capita spending of $4.48. Those figures compare to 5.8% and $2.61 for the same time last year.

Similar results were found in January, with 9% of the population visiting a Christian bookstore and per-capita spending at $6.35. Those figures compared with 6.1% and $4.58 for 12 months previously. The November 2009 data was 5.6% and $3.34.

While the March and January figures reflected spending the previous months that included Christmas and Presidents' Day shopping upswings, Beemer told Christian Retailing that his researchers had found more than a seasonal reason for the increases.

Their survey results bore out anecdotal reports from stores that more people were looking for inspirational resources because of the tough economic times, he said. And with the average price point for gifts at Christmas dropping from $30-35 to $20-25, the desire for inspirational resources had made books a more popular choice, he added.

"More and more parents told us how they were concerned about what their kids are being taught in school, and almost 3% were looking at Christian bookstores as a place to shop for a number of their kids' Christmas gifts."

Beemer said that he believed Christian retailers could capitalize on the opportunity by special-mailing to customers. "I think they would see a greater response than ever before," he said. "Their destiny is really in their own hands."

Beemer produced landmark studies for CBA on Christian retail stores in 2006 and 1998. Click here to read more about ARG's latest research.

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