Delaware Valley shoppers are expected to spend $12 billion this holiday season.  This will be approximately 4% higher than last year. These estimates are based on forecasts by the National Retail Federation and Deloitte.

To claim a fair share of the Christmas cash, local small business owners will need to battle some giant competitors. Advertising on Philadelphia radio stations may be the perfect weapon to ensure success.

According to information published in the retail trade magazine Chain Store Age, as of right now, here is where consumers are planning to shop...

Delaware Valley small businesses that sell products or services to pet owners should sit up and take notice.  Local consumers will spend $1.2 billion this year on behalf of Fido and Fluffy. This amount has increased 323% since 1994, with no sign of letting up.

According to the American Pet Products Association, here's how local spending on furry companions breaks down:

• Food: $477,474,000
• Supplies/OTC Medicine: $256,205,000
• Vet Care: $291,143,000
• Live Pet Purchases: $22,062,000
• Other Services: $34,937,000

The biggest month for sales of pet-related products and services in the Delaware Valley is, by far, December. That is when 10.5% of all annual spending happens in this category.

The first radio stations in the Delaware Valley went on-the-air in 1922.  Eighty-two years later, Facebook inaugurated the social media era.  Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and hundreds of other sites quickly followed.

As social media matured from a novelty to part of consumers' daily rituals, some Philadelphia area small business owners began to experiment with advertising.

By every key advertising metric, though, Philadelphia radio remains the best choice for a small business to market their goods and services. Here's why.

Delaware Valley small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since 1922.  That's the year three local retailers each put a Philadelphia radio station on the air.  These included John Wanamaker's WOO, Strawbridge & Clothier's WFI, and Gimbel Brothers' WIP.

Today, there are 59 radio stations that serve Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. Each provides a unique blend of music, information, and entertainment.  Some stations focus on politics or sports. Some play country music. Some play the hits. Some play classic rock. Some are on the AM dial. Some are on FM.

When WOO, WFI, and WIP began broadcasting, there were no TV stations in Philadelphia. Those would come 19 years later. Also, there was no social media, YouTube, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, or smartphones. Each of those would be products of a new Millenium.

With an overabundance of advertising options now available to small business owners, does advertising on Philadelphia radio still make sense?  Here are five facts that serve to answer that question.

"Our main goal has always been to grow every year just like we were a brand new business," says Daniel Pilquist, Vice President of Operations for Pilquist Enterprises, Inc. "Aggressive advertising helps us make that happen."

Pilquist Enterprises owns and operates 12 NaturaLawn franchises throughout the Delaware Valley. The business was founded by Daniel's father, Dean, in 1991. "My Dad started with one truck and one service rep out of a small location in Doylestown," he says. "We are now the largest franchisee in America.

NaturaLawn provides Philadelphia area homeowners with weed-free green lawns using an environmentally friendly approach. "We offer a proprietary, organic-based fertilizer that focuses on secondary and micronutrients as well as bio-stimulants to transform the home's soil ability to produce green grass," says Daniel.

The business, which started with franchises in Bucks and Montgomery County, quickly grew to eight fueled by telemarketing, direct mail, and customer referrals.

By 2008, the Pilquist's NaturaLawn franchises were serving 3500 customers per year. To achieve greater growth, the company began investing in advertising on Philadelphia radio stations.

Delaware Valley consumers are expected to spend $103.4 billion at retail this year, according to Nielsen. This means that every household, on average, will be paying out $50,228

To capture a larger share of these dollars, local small business owners need to know the answer to two questions.

The first question is, where is this enormous amount of cash being spent?  The list below details the answer.