“David is quick, thorough, great value for money and has enormous integrity.
On top of that he is a joy to work with”
- Ann Elliott, MD, Elliott Marketing & PR

Who is David?

David MartinDavid Martin has over 10 years of experience of managing research teams and projects for major PLC’s in the hospitality industry.

Working with trusted associates we have an ability to blend quantitative and qualitative information, and we know how to distill the nuggets
and highlight the ‘red circles’ – from within the bigger picture.

What can I do for you?

Vacant – and it’s not pretty

According to the Local Data Company we have 48000 empty shop premises in our town centres. 10000 closed in 2010 and 2011 alone, with footfall in centres outside central London down -10% in the last 3 years, according to a report for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Nationally the vacancy rate is stable [...]

BYO: XLNT

I’m admittedly quite prudent with my hard-earned, but I can’t be the only person that thinks that eating out is a more often than not a combination of good value food, and expensive drink. And in pubs, you can make that great value food. Even 25 years ago, I remember the then Marketing Director of [...]

The Future of (floor)Space

Last week we learned that internet retail sales now account for almost £1 in every £10 spent in the UK, according to new ONS data. Internet retail sales grew by a mere 30% year on year in September. At about the same time a survey emerged from the IGD showing that 40% of adults expect [...]

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Playing the brews

This month’s Research magazine carries an article on the work of the insight team at Universal Records. Nice jobs I thought, but it included an eye-catching observation from Universal’s Head of Research, Hanna Chalmers, on the changing nature of music consumption: “in the past people would badge themselves with the artists they liked – it [...]

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Eating out/eating in – blurring the lines

The difference between eating out and eating in? It’s increasingly not clear-cut. Asda has recently introduced a counter serving “restaurant quality food” supplied by an Asian restaurant operation, Zouk, which has two restaurants of its own, in Manchester and Bradford, with another one to come in Liverpool in 2012. (www.zoukteabar.co.uk) It has trial ‘Zouk Deli’ [...]

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The Price of Exploitation

Some businesses, and sectors, elect to charge seemingly greedy prices for add-on elements of their core proposition. Either because it’s a historical convention that is apparently addictive, or because of a deliberate policy. Think about the price of snack food and drinks at the cinema – recent Mintel research says that almost 9 in 10 [...]

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Crowdsourcing – for beer

Top marks to Sainsbury’s. I have just participated in their Great British Beer Hunt, a competitive tasting of a range of  bottled beers from a diverse range of regional and local brewers, in my case from the Midlands and the North. Selected via the Nectar database (thank you Mrs Martin), JS customers with some beer [...]

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Loyalty – or is it?

Loyalty – it’s one of the most ambiguous and misquoted words in marketing. A recent US study into out of home coffee purchasing habits gained a lot of coverage –  because McDonalds’ coffee customers are more “loyal” than those of Starbucks. Allegedly. http://www.thewisemarketer.com/news/read.asp?lc=f59024ix3431zj But surely it’s no surprise that McDonald’s coffee consumers should make a [...]

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Restless innovation

I’m a stranger to fashion. Unless it’s in the beer category in which case I am a slave to it. But in an era when retailer profit warnings are ten a penny, when discretionary spending is commonly accepted to be in retreat, and when the under 25’s are unemployed in record numbers, it is remarkable [...]

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Food for thought

Much is expected of the eating out market in the UK. Corporate plans are predicated on its continued long term growth, once we emerge from the extended squeeze on consumer spending. But what are the chances of the food retailers really going for this market – not just with the dine-in deals, but with a [...]

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