In Response to Haley's post

Haley asked,Have you ever found yourself being persuaded to purchase a product after noticing the ads while surfing the internet?

I have mixed feelings about these targeted ads. It is invasive for “someone” to know exactly what I have been searching for on the net. Privacy is important to many people. But does it really matter that “they” know you are looking for a new pair of shoes?

I have looked at some of these ads but I have never bought anything because of them. Information is important in the buying process. Knowing what is available can help you make the best buying decision.

Should these types of targeted ads be restricted from children? How do they know the age of the person doing the shopping?

Purchasing Power

Marketers bombard us every day with messages about products and services they want us to buy. These messages use many different techniques to try to get us to spend our money on their products. Much of the money we spend is used for necessities, food, clothing, and shelter. The money we have left over is considered “disposable income”. Regardless of our reasons for spending our money, most of us have a finite amount that we can spend. Many of us strive to increase the amount of money we earn so we can increase our spending on the things we want rather than the things we need. Purchasing power is important to marketers. The more money we have, the more we can spend.

President Obama has a plan to increase the minimum wage to $9 an hour. Will this increase our purchasing power?