(First of a series)

Happy New Year! This week, the junior MRxer shares some of his market predictions for 2010. Here we go:

1. In 2010, money will continue to flow in from OFWs all over the world.

The World Bank got it wrong, says economist Bernardo Villegas.

The self-proclaimed prophet of bloom, in the midst of all the gloom prophets, has already been proven right.

OFW money is not tightening. There?s even an increase in remittances.

Why? Pinoy OFWs have not been among those axed for employment by companies in the worldwide tightening of belts.

Villegas has funny anecdotal evidence as well, which he shares when he makes the rounds of the speaking circuit. ?Filipinos take a bath every day?sometimes even twice a day,? was one reason he cited. The hotel and restaurant industry likes the fact that Pinoys smell good.

Those who smell like a deodorant-free underarm at the end of a long hot day? Bye bye!

Because of this, expect the current growth in retail to be sustained. And we?re not talking about single digit growth, we?re looking at double digit growth! There?s a reason why the Sys and Ayalas also have double digit grins this year, even if some SM malls were affected by Ondoy and the Ayala group had to cope with the daytime armed robbery in upscale Greenbelt 5.

So what to do with the continued flow of money from our Pinoys overseas?

Don?t hold back on promoting your real estate projects (especially those that are above sea level).

Go get your lion?s share of the 13th and 14th month bonuses that were released and remitted. Offer trade-ins for water damaged properties? Hmm. Whatever, the offer is, go and get business.

2. Pinoy consumers will become even more ?savings savvy.?

Despite their continued spending, Pinoys will save more. Well, never mind the rural banks owned by the Legacy group that went under at the start of 2009.

Banks are reporting that Filipinos are saving more money with double digit growth in the savings deposits. That?s a good sign since Pinoys are among the worst savers in Asia. We are not a nation of conscientious savers.

One of the blessings, I guess of the global economic crisis, is that it has taught us to be better at handling money.

Government has done its small part by doubling the amount of insurance coverage to P500,000, thereby instilling more than a sliver of confidence in consumers.

Still, banks offer investment vehicles that offer rates that are just a little over the inflation rate.

With author/speakers like Topaks Colayco (Pera Mo, Paluaguin Mo and One Wealthy Nation founder), Chinkee Tan (For Richer or For Poorer and ?Till Debt Do Us Part), Bo Sanchez (8 Ways to be Truly Rich) and Larry Gamboa (Think Rich Pinoy!) educating more and more consumers on how to invest and be smart with their money, there is opportunity in this area for marketers of legitimate investment vehicles.

?Your money is best invested in a business? is the sentiment of many. Marketers of affordable franchises, especially food cart franchises will boom.

So take advantage of the entrepreneurship fever.

On the other hand, mutual fund offerings will be popular again. Companies like Citiseconline will benefit.

Insurance companies offering investment products other than the usual insurance-alone options will see a boom in 2010. Gold will continue to increase in value and be a safe haven for investors (as compared to the dollar and even the euro), so companies that will offer investment vehicles based on gold or gold itself, instead of the usual cash currencies, will be like geese laying golden eggs.

3. Feel-good luxury products will continue to do well this 2010.

Those from the middle class whose cars and houses were flooded and damaged during Ondoy and Pepeng will likely turn to products that will make them feel good.

They will want to treat themselves to something they think ?they deserve? because of all that they have been through.

It was marketing author and guru, Josiah Go, who first mentioned this in his fearless post-Ondoy marketing predictions that he published in his Facebook account (and which my father and I later re-published in our MarketingRx column last October). It is worth echoing here.

Think Royce luxury chocolates from Japan. Have you tasted its dark chocolate coated macadamias? Probably not, because they were still out of stock the last time I checked.

But they do have enough ?I-deserve-this? chocolates stocked in the small Royce stores in Rockwell and Greenbelt 5 to serve those who want to feel not just good, but much better after the turmoil of 2009 (from both man made and natural made disasters).

Concerts and the movie industry will make a comeback (actually the growth of the movie industry in the US is eye-popping, thanks a lot to movies like Avatar.

Consumers in the US are treating themselves to more movies as an escape from the reality of unemployment scares and subprime mortgage realities knocking on their doors.) Here in the Philippines, the movie industry has been sick for so long that it is definitely poised for a stunning turnaround.

Who knows? Wapakman might have been the answer if Dionisia Pacquiao were in it!

Don?t forget to register to vote before the new deadline. We?re out of space but not out of good wishes for all of our readers. Have a blessed new year! (To be continued)

Send us your comments or questions to marketingrx@pldtdsl.net or drnedmarketingrx@gmail.com