In the jargon, above-the-line spending drives brand "awareness" (probably on television) or "consideration" by a consumer planning a purchase (probably in a newspaper).
The rail freight giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the country's biggest diesel consumer, plans to test liquefied natural gas in its engines.
Many Americans have outdated technology in their homes, especially after the holidays when the average consumer planned to spend a record $232 on electronics gifts, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
Rather, he says, consumer plans like Tonik will be used only to reach new customers.
The plan is to make the Tango tablet a limited developer project at first, just like the Tango smartphone, with consumer plans still up in-the-air.
And his survey indicates that consumers plan to keep on spending.
In California, where consumers plan to spend 20% less on gifts, according to the NRF survey, many former dot.com managers will have fewer packages under the tree.
According to a new survey by the NPD Group, 30percentt of consumers plan to spend less money on holiday gifts this year than they did a year ago.
According to a survey by Forrester Research, about half of consumers plan to delay technology purchases — and shell out less money for them — because of the economy.
