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Free Data | Weekly insights from Experian Simmons DataStream
Experian Simmons DataStreamSM is the industry's first syndicated research service that delivers weekly insights into consumer trends enabling advertisers, agencies and media companies to closely monitor market conditions, evaluate advertising effectiveness and demonstrate marketing accountability. Experian Simmons DataStream provides weekly tracking of approximately 40,000 consumer variables from the Simmons National Consumer Study including an extensive range of brands, media properties and consumer attitudes. Review topical reports below to experience the high-caliber consumer insights Experian Simmons DataStream can supply your company. Each week, a new report is posted here along with an accompanying chart featured in MediaPost's Marketing Daily. Bookmark this page and return often for the latest information on consumer trends and market conditions or request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are published here. Have a topic in mind for a future Simmons DataStream report? Let us know! Email us your requests and you just might see your idea here. For more information about Experian Simmons DataStream, email SimmonsMarketing@experian.com or click here. For more free Consumer Insights from Experian Simmons click here.
News of Americans’ declining faith in the economic recovery has been widespread in the recent weeks, with unemployment concerns and dwindling stock returns contributing to an increasingly pessimistic sentiment. In fact, the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® fell to 52.9 in June 2010 from 62.7 in May 2010. Even high earners, those with personal annual income of $150,000 or above, seem to be showing doubts in their own financial security. As of May 30, 2010, fewer than half of high earners (49%) said that they felt financially secure. This marked the first time since February 8, 2010 that less than half of America’s top earners felt financially secure.
Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here.
In the June 22, 2010 Simmons DataStream post, we illustrated a consumer trend indicating that Americans are increasingly paying off credit card debt in full each month. This time around, we are taking a look at the percent of credit card holders who pay off their credit card balance in full according to their level of their financial optimism. First, it is worth noting that the percent of U.S. credit card holders who are optimistic about the future of their financial situation has increased by 22% between October 6, 2008 through May 24, 2010. A significant focus of the U.S. economic recovery effort has been based on a return to pre-recession consumer spending levels, which includes leveraging available consumer credit in addition to disposable income. As such, we found the following consumer trend insightful: Prior to the economic downturn, financially optimistic consumers were less likely than financially pessimistic consumers to report paying the full balance due on their credit card each month. This behavior was no doubt driven in part by the belief that optimistic consumers would pay off acquired debt sometime in the economically rosier future. However, during the past year, the gap has significantly narrowed with both optimistic and pessimistic consumers today equally likely to pay off their credit card debt in full each month. In addition, financially optimistic credit card holders today are 14% more likely to pay their credit card balance in full than they were two and a half years ago. Consumers may be in a better economic position today given their increased effort to pay off debt, even in anticipation of more profitable months ahead. However, their growing discomfort with carrying credit card debt may be a hindrance to the recovery of the economy as a whole. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. July 6, 2010: Online Browsers Increasingly Shop at Wal-Mart According to a recent Media Post article, Amazon’s brand value has risen to $27.4 billion, a 359% increase since 2006. Experian Simmons DataStream confirms that over the past two and a half years, the average share of U.S. adults visiting Amazon.com in a typical month increased to 23% in 2010, up from 19% in 2008. During the same time frame, the average share of adults shopping at both Wal-Mart and Target stores showed a slight decline. This trend is reflective of the fact that online shopping continues to gain popularity--even during difficult economic times. During the first six months of 2010, an average of 24% of all American adults made an online purchase in a typical month, up from 21% of adults who purchased products online during a typical month in 2008. Consumers’ growing acceptance of online purchasing is not necessarily bad news for mega offline stores like Wal-Mart. In fact, many consumers turn to the Internet to research products that they will ultimately buy offline. And Amazon, with its trove of product details, pictures and reviews, has become a favorite among consumers searching for product information. In 2010, for instance, 59% of Amazon.com visitors who say they go online to gather shopping information also shopped at Wal-Mart and 45% made a purchase at Wal-Mart. In 2008, 51% of Amazon.com visitors looking for product information online shopped at Wal-Mart and only 41% made a purchase there. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. On June 15, 24/7 Wall St. published their “24/7 Wall St. Ten Brands That Will Disappear in 2011” a report in which they identified some interesting brands that they expect will either be gone by the end of 2011, or whose parent company will be sold or go into Chapter 11. One of the brands singled out for doom is T-Mobile, the wireless company owned by the German telecom company Deutsche Telekom AG. Using Experian Simmons DataStream, we were able to track the market share of T-Mobile versus AT&T and Verizon, which 24/7 Wall St. identifies as the only “two really successful firms.” Simmons DataStream confirms that for the past two years, T-Mobile’s market share has remained stagnant at less than half of AT&T’s or Verizon’s market share. As of May 17, 2010, 9.6% of the adult population were T-Mobile wireless subscribers, up slightly from 2008, but virtually unchanged in the last year. By comparison AT&T claims 22.4% of U.S. adults as their customers and Verizon collects subscriber fees from 25.7% of the nation’s adult population. Sprint-Nextel, a company that presents T-Mobile with more even competition, has the advantage of being ahead of T-Mobile in offering its customers speedier service. 24/7 Wall St. mentions talks of a merger between T-Mobile and Sprint-Nextel, which combined would have a customer base on par with AT&T and Verizon. Even if the merger takes place and Deutsche Telekom becomse the owner of the combined operation, T-Mobile, 24/7 Wall St. reports, “has little brand equity in the U.S.,” suggesting the parent company may not object to disconnecting from the T-Mobile brand. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. According to data released by Standard and Poor’s and Experian for S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices, “default rates nationally fell in May across the board.” Defaulting balances declined among all types of credit lines, including bank card loans, first and second mortgage default rates and auto loans. Further research from Experian Simmons DataStream underscores this trend. Between November 17, 2008 and May 10, 2010, there has been a 15% increase in the share of major credit card holders who report usually paying their credit card balance in full each month. This increase is reflected among both VISA and MasterCard credit card holders, during the same time period. Specifically, the percent of VISA and MasterCard credit card holders who usually pay their credit card balance in full increased by 25% and 17%, respectively. During the later part of 2008 and much of the first half of 2009, MasterCard holders were the more likely to pay their card balance in full each month. Today, however, VISA card holders are the more likely to pay the full amount due. As of May 10, 2010, 42% of VISA card holders usually paid their VISA balance in full compared with 40% of MasterCard holders. American consumers’ attempt to become solvent shows that personal financial responsibility standards are increasing in response to the recent financial crisis. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. With the mercury rising, one might think that video gamers would be ready to hit “pause” so they can better enjoy the outdoors. While we see a clear drop in video game buying among men and women without kids during the spring and summer months, those with kids tend to buy games year-round. If anything, we see a small rise in game purchasing by this demographic around the winter holidays, but there is little-to-no perceivable decline when school is not in session. The vast majority of Facebook visitors—like most Internet users—say they like websites that take special care to protect their privacy. Yet as the popularity of Facebook grew during 2009 among both younger and older adults, there was a general waning in visitors’ advocacy of online privacy. In fact, the share of Facebook visitors sensitive to privacy protection experienced a 9% relative decline between January and November of 2009. That decline may have continued, were it not for a series of privacy policy updates issued by the social networking giant. In November 2009, Facebook changed its default settings to publicly reveal a larger than before amount of its users’ information. Then in December 2009, the privacy settings were entirely removed from certain categories of users' information. And lastly, in April 2010, users’ General Information became publicly exposed whenever they connected to certain applications or websites, a move that seriously angered many Facebook adherents. Following these changes, the share of Facebook users who are sensitive to privacy protection rose. Specifically, between November 2009 and April 2010, the percent of users who like sites that protect their privacy increased a relative 7%. Facebook’s decision to return, and even simplify, control over privacy settings to account holders may appease users, but whether a subsequent drop in support of online privacy will ensue down the line is far from certain. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here.
Same network viewers’ economic sentiment began to diverge almost immediately after the election, a trend that continues today. Fox News, CNN and MSNBC viewers are all more likely today to think that the economy is going to be better off in the next year than they were at the end of 2008. However, CNN and MSNBC viewers are considerably more likely to hold an optimistic view than viewers of Fox News. As of April 5, 2010, 34% of CNN viewers and 32% of MSNBC viewers thought the nation's economy would be better by this time next year versus only 24% of Fox News viewers who held that opinion. The fact that viewers of the three major cable news networks come from different socio-economic backgrounds offers only a partial explanation of their diverging opinions. What these data also show us is the extent to which media play a role in shaping up public opinion. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. According to AdAge, McDonald’s will be the first marketer to take advantage of location-based status updates by building an application that will allow users to post featured products from specific restaurants. Experian Simmons DataStream substantiates this marketing decision as McDonald’s customers are increasingly likely to be facebook.com visitors who access the Internet from their cell phones. The same holds true, however, for Starbucks customers. As a matter of fact, Starbucks customers are twice as likely as McDonald’s customers to be facebook.com visitors who access the Internet from their cell phones. *Addendum: On May 7, 2010 there were 7,084,599 Facebook users who liked Starbucks and 2,209,919 Facebook users who liked McDonald’s. McDonald’s offers free wi-fi at more than 11,500 participating restaurants and both McDonald’s and Starbucks feature prominent links to Facebook and Twitter on their homepages. In a typical week, 10% of all U.S. adults watch streaming content online such as videos, TV programs and movies. This percentage has doubled in just the last two years. Despite such balancing signs, the American consumer continues to exhibit overall risk-averse behavior and mistrust in the financial system. Compared to March 2008, U.S. adults today are 6% more likely to claim that they do not own any investments and they are 11% less likely to say they feel financially secure. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here.
The overarching trend in personal federal income tax filing for the past two years has been a slight decline in the US tax payers’ inclination to use professional tax services. Over the past two years, the number of tax payers who prefer to let professionals prepare their taxes has decreased by three percentage points (from 46% to 43%).
Gone seem to be the days when the TV set was the main point of attraction in home entertainment. Today’s average home has quite a few screens that are used simultaneously and multifariously. The TV set can play the main role, become background noise, or act as a first step in a further quest for information. Who thought multitasking could be fun? Apparently, nearly a third of U.S. consumers think so as they report using their cell phones and/or computers at the same time they watch TV. While watching TV, Americans regularly admit to searching for information online, communicating via e-mail, instant messenger, and text, and even watching other video on a computer or cell phone. This simultaneous media use activity is also on the rise. Between August, 2009 and February 2010 (just 6 short months), Experian Simmons observed a 4% increase in the number of adults using a computer while watching TV and an increase of 2% in the number of adults using their cell phone while watching TV. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here.
Online streaming video and downloading technology enables instant gratification, which is something that U.S. consumers seem to relish to the fullest. For the past year and a half, online video streaming and downloading activity has been on a continuous rise, with 31% more U.S. adults today watching streaming video online and 30% more U.S. adults downloading movies online. Instant gratification on the go is an even more notable trend. Since the end of September 2008 until now, the percent of American adults downloading video to their mobile phones has increased by a relative 385%. When we compare this rise with a decrease of 14% in the number of adults who rented DVD/Blu Ray disks through a retail store, we can safely say that consumers are embracing online video in rapidly increasing numbers. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. To be the first to know when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available request an alert here. As recently reported on the blog of our sister company Experian Hitwise, Facebook surpassed Google in the U.S. to become the most visited website during the week ending March 13, 2010. The market share of visits to Facebook.com increased 185% during that week as compared to the same week in 2009, while visits to Google.com increased 9% during the same time frame. Together Facebook.com and Google.com accounted for 14% of all US Internet visits during the week ending March 13.
Experian Simmons DataStream found that while visitors to both Facebook and Google are making more frequent visits to each site in a given month today than they were two years prior, Facebook has seen its visitors' average montly visit count rise at a much faster clip. As of February 8, 2010, Facebook visitors made an average of 11.7 visits to the site in the previous month, an increase of 21 percent compared to February 11, 2008 when Facebookers made only 9.6 visits to Facebook.com a month. During the same time, Google experienced only an 8 percent increase in the average number of visits its visitors made to Google.com each month. As of February 8, 2010, Google visitors made an average of 12.1 visits to Google.com in the previous month versus an average of 11.3 visits that Googlers made to the site in the month ending February 11, 2008. With momentum on its side, Facebook may soon exceed Google in both traffic and average monthly visits.
Before the beginning of the “Great Recession” in October 2008, Hispanic Americans were more confident than non-Hispanic consumers that they would be better off financially in 12 months than they are today. While Hispanic consumers’ financial optimism was challenged during the last year and a half—at times declining to the point where it matched or nearly matched that of non-Hispanics—confidence levels generally remained above those of non-Hispanics during the course of the recession. Today, Hispanics are more optimistic about their future financial well-being than at almost any point during the last 20 months. As of February 8, fully 41% of Hispanics believed they would be better off financially in 12 months. Non-Hispanic consumers, too, are increasingly optimistic with 34% saying they will find themselves better off financially in the next 12 months. One of the theories about why Hispanics appear to have weathered the economic storm while generally maintaining greater confidence than non-Hispanics that their financial situation would improve may be due in part to possible differences in debt level and risk exposure. One financial burden is credit card debt, which can be a significant source of strain on household finances. As illustrated in the chart below, the incidence of Hispanics having or using credit cards is significantly lower than that of non-Hispanics both before and during the recession.
In recent weeks, Hispanic consumers’ ownership and use of credit cards has dipped while non-Hispanics have shown relative stability on this metric. It is possible that this drop may be a temporary turn and the direction of the trend line may reverse in the coming weeks and months. It is also possible that this latest trend may endure. Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends and share those findings here. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are available here.
Toyota, for years the top selling automotive manufacturer in the United States, has been beleaguered in recent months by safety concerns and recalls involving unexpected acceleration of several of its popular models. And American consumers seem to be associating Toyota's woes with foreign cars in general. As of February 1, 2010, 24.2% of American adults agreed with the statement "Foreign cars are higher quality than American," down from 27.2% of adults who felt the same way on April 6, 2009. The 11 percent relative decline in support of foreign cars over domestic brands may create an opening for American automakers who have experienced their share of misfortunes. As only time will tell, Experian Simmons will continue to monitor this and other important consumer trends. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
Employers have long suspected that the NCAA® men's basketball tournament was the cause of lost productivity - not to mention bandwidth - as workers streamed games online to their computer during working hours. Experian Simmons DataStream confirms that use of streaming online video among March Madness fans rose a relative 23% from the start of the tournament in 2009 through the championship game. Meanwhile, non-fans who didn't watch or plan on watching any of the basketball games showed no increase in use of online streaming video. In fact, there is actually a slight dip in streaming video use among non-March Madness viewers during the nearly month-long tournament. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. As the celebritites walk the red carpet this weekend at the 82nd Academy Awards, producers of Moët & Chandon champagne are hoping viewers at home will associate the glamorous lifestyle of the Hollywood elite with their product, which is the exclusive champagne of the Academy Awards. This is not the first year that Moët & Chandon has been associated with the annual Hollywood bash. In fact, Moët was the exclusive champagne of the Oscars® in 2009 as well and Experian Simmons DataStreamSM provides evidence that the producer was wise to renew their agreement in 2010. In 2009, the share of American adults age 21 and older who drank at least 1 glass of Moët & Chandon champagne in the last 30 days increased a relative 32 percent in the month after the awards show among adults who either watched the last Academy Awards on NBC or who planned to watch the next ceremony. Meantime, the percent of non-Academy Awards show viewers who drank Moët in the last 30 days remained unchanged after the airing of the Oscars proving strong evidence that the increased consumption among viewers was a direct result of the champagne producer's exclusive deal with the awards show. Should the audience reaction following this year's annual show be on par with last, Moët & Chandon will have something to toast to. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
In mid-June 2008, the percent of those who watched the Summer Olympics on NBC who were likely to buy products from sports sponsors was 13%. By the second week of August of that year (the mid-week of the Summer Olympics), that number rose to 18%, a relative increase of 36%. On the contrary, those who did not watch the 2008 Summer Olympics on NBC were less likely to buy products from sports sponsors. They also did not experience a significant change in their respective buying habits at the time of the Olympics. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. The use of VISA debit cards among viewers of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics broadcast on NBC increased by an average of 32% between July 14 and September 1, 2008. By contrast, the use of VISA debit cards among those who did not watch the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics remained relatively flat for the same period, until closer to the holiday shopping season. In 2002, VISA extended its sponsorship of the Olympic Games through 2012. With the Vancouver Winter Olympics getting underway, VISA can expect to see a solid increase in the number of VISA debit card transactions in the coming weeks and beyond. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. The 2009 Chinese New Year took place on January 26, when 34% of Asian Americans sent money in and out of the U.S. This number peaked shortly afterward, with 42% of Asian Americans sending money in and out of the U.S on February 16. In 2010, the Chinese New Year starts on February 14 and it could be another opportunity for money sending services to benefit from a potentially increased money sending activity. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
One factor that might have contributed to last year’s increase was the mass appeal of Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercials. According to http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com, the top two 2009 Super Bowl commercials were Bud Light: Fetch and Bud Light: Office Meeting. At number one, Bud Light: Fetch featured the now famous Clydesdale horses. This year, Budweiser has asked fans to vote whether the Clydesdale horses should be part of the Budweiser 2010 Super Bowl campaign and The Facebook fan vote chose a Clydesdale spot over two other Budweiser ads.
On January 11, Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com said at the National Retail Federation’s Annual Convention and Expo in New York that total U.S. retail sales will grow between 3 and 4% this year. Consumers' increasing optimism about their financial situation and the future of the American economy could indeed spur consumption. In fact, the percentage of optimists has increased by 29% on average between its lowest point in 2008 and the end of 2009. However, as a result of retailers’ heavy discounting during harsh economic times, consumers have become increasingly adjusted to shopping on sale. This trend is on the rise even among optimists. The percentage of optimists who say they shop the clearance rack or hold out on buying until things go on sale has risen a relative 10% between early 2008 and late 2009, a trend that will continue to pose a challenge to retailers trying to recover. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. The Sprite Slam Dunk Competition showcases some of the NBA’s best players, as they compete for the title of best dunker during the NBA All-Star Weekend. New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson won last year’s contest. Sprite was also a winner in its own right. During the two months following the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Competition, Experian Simmons DataStream detected a 23% relative increase in the percentage of TNT NBA All-Star Game viewers who drank Sprite in the last 7 days. By comparison, the percentage of US adults who drank Sprite in the last 7 days remained relatively flat over the same period. The Internet, despite having recently celebrated its 40th birthday, continues to play an increasingly important role in delivering news to American consumers. As of October 12, 2009, 41% of American adults ages 18 and older agreed with the statement, “I am getting more and more of my news online.” But are online news gatherers getting their news from traditional news outlets or are they getting it from sources not previously associated with “news”? Sites like blogs and short message services like Twitter, for example, offer consumers a more personalized experience than traditional news sites by giving users the ability to custom tailor the content of such sites to align with their interests. And early signs indicate that users view the information in their “news feeds” as legitimate sources of news: Between January 5 and October 12, 2009, the share of online news gatherers who accessed blogs or Twitter in the previous seven days rose to 23%, up from 18%. Meantime, the share of that group that accessed a traditional media site fell to 38% from 43%, a decline of over 11% in less than a year. As bloggers and tweeters become increasingly sophisticated and savvy about posting relevant content, the major news anchors will likely be competing for audience share as much with John Q. Public in the years ahead as they do with one another. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. Credit card debt has been at the center of the economic crisis with both credit card companies and consumers trying to determine the right amount of debt each can responsibly take on. At the beginning of the recession, consumers seemed to be accumulating more credit card debt as observed by the drop in the percentage of credit card holders who say they usually pay the full balance due on at least one credit card. However, starting in early Spring, consumers began to strongly reject credit card debt as the percentage of card holders paying the balance in full began to rise. In the 8 months between March 30 and October 26, 2009 the percentage of credit card holders paying off the balance of at least one of their credit cards rose to 53% from 48%, a relative increase of 10%. That doesn’t mean that credit card holders have declared war on debt all-together. In fact, throughout the economic recession, credit card holders have had their ups and downs when it comes to their comfort with debt. Between February 9 and April 6, for instance, consumers became increasingly uncomfortable with debt as the share of credit card holders who said they agree a lot with the statement “I don’t like the idea of being in debt” rose from to 62%, a 95-week high, up from 58%. In the two months immediately following though, consumer attitudes reversed indicating Americans were becoming more comfortable with debt again as the share of credit card holders who don’t like the idea of debt dropped 13% to a 95-week low of 54% reached on June 8. As if that weren’t enough of a roller-coaster, consumer discomfort with debt rose 13% again between June 8 and September 14 when at which time 61% of credit card holders agreed a lot that they didn’t like the idea of being in debt. Consumer attitudes towards debt will surely continue to change as economists, politicians and others forecast the future of the economy. But regardless of Americans’ attitudes towards debt, consumers, for now, are playing it safe by minimizing the balances on their credit cards. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here. We all have unique ways to celebrate special events, but nothing says “special occasion” like a glass—or bottle—of champagne or sparkling wine. In any given month of the year, approximately 10% of Americans age 21 and older will enjoy at least one glass of champagne or sparkling wine. As Americans celebrate the holidays and ring in a new year, many will do so by popping the cork of a bottle of bubbly. In fact, if the previous two years are any indication, nearly 20% of Americans of legal drinking age will enjoy a glass of champagne or sparkling wine over the course of this holiday season. Even though sparkling wine consumption rates over the holidays are twice what they are during a typical month, the hangover hits Americans hard as consumption rates return to normal seemingly as soon as the clock strikes midnight on January 1st. Happy Holidays from everyone at Experian Simmons!
As consumer confidence and the economy have declined, American consumers’ commitment to environmentally friendly products and companies has faded from green to brown. Since the beginning of 2009, the percent of adults who agree with the statement “I am more likely to purchase a product or service from a company that is environmentally friendly” fell almost 6% with the steepest declines observed during the month of August. So too has the percent of consumers who say “companies should help consumers become more environmentally responsible,” which dropped by 9 percent. American consumers are similarly less likely to say that they are personally obligated to be environmentally responsible. Sentiments towards that effect have dropped 4% since the start of 2009.
According to PriceGrabber.com®, a part of Experian, GPS and portable navigation devices are among the most searched for items this holiday season, and prices have dropped dramatically from year’s past. That may be due, in part, to the fact that more consumers than ever report having a GPS/Navigation feature built into their current cellular or wireless phone. In the 52 week period ending October 12th 2009, the share of cell phone owners who say they have GPS built into their phone has increased by nearly 75% and the share of cell phone owners who say they have actually used this feature on their phone in the last 30 days has more than doubled. This should come as good news to marketers seeking to geo-target consumers with messages from businesses in the vicinity of a consumer. Getting consumers to accept such targeted advertising is another issue. According to the Experian Simmons Spring 2009 New Media study, only a third of online cell phone owners say they would find ads for businesses located nearby and based on the consumer’s current location “useful.” Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
Arguably the best (and worst) thing about the holiday season is the food. Wherever, whenever and for whatever reasons Americans gather during the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years, there will likely be copious amounts of food. Those tasty morsels may look, smell and taste delicious, but many Americans will suffer from upset stomach as a result.
Seasonal family gatherings are regularly celebrated with food, football and the obligatory holiday movie. As many Americans get to work preparing their festive movie rental queues Experian Simmons is taking a look at the changing behaviors of American consumers when it comes to DVD and Blu-Ray movie rentals.
As expected, online purchases increase during the holiday season specifically between the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, in 2008, there was a spike in online shopping two weeks prior to Thanksgiving week. This is interesting because this year’s Thanksgiving, like in 2008, is falling late in November. Therefore, consumers are expected to start their holiday online shopping a few weeks prior to Black Friday. In addition, according to our sister company, Hitwise, searches including the term ‘black Friday’ in the query have increased over the past three years when comparing the number of variations during the peak week. The number of combinations increased 41% year-over-year-to reach 7,822 during the spike for ‘black Friday’ searches during the last holiday season. And Hitwise expects for ‘black Friday’ searches to be even higher this year. Furthermore, the number of email campaigns focusing on and mentioning Black Friday and Cyber Monday are expected to increase this year as well. According to another sister company, Experian CheetahMail, Black Friday and Cyber Monday mentions are expected to be more prevalent in email campaigns earlier in the year. And if sales are low towards the end of November, there is a large chance that companies will react by increasing the volume of Black Friday and Cyber Monday email campaigns to an even higher capacity. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
On Sunday morning November 1st, the better part of North America set their clocks back an hour as Daylight Savings Time came to an end. While that "gained" hour is typically though of as being used to catch up on sleep, American employers might also notice that their offices are a little quieter after 5:00 PM the first week of the return to standard time than they were the previous week. In fact, according to Experian Simmons DataStream, American workers are more likely to shut down and head home when the 5 o'clock whistle blows during standard time than they are during Daylight Savings. During the last week of Daylight Savings Time in 2008, 51% of full-time adult workers said they were at the office between 5:00 and 7:00 PM Monday through Friday. The week later when the clocks had been turned back half as many workers (24%) reported being at the office after 5:00 PM. Eventually, when Daylight Savings Time returns Americans will once again stay at the office after normal working hours. But for now more workers are calling it a day at 5:00 PM. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
Consumers will soon be hitting the stores en masse in search of the perfect holiday gifts. And when it comes time to pay the bills for all that joy and cheer, fewer shoppers will be reaching for their checkbook, an envelope and a book of stamps. That’s because the share of American adults who say they “always” pay their bills online has grown by 40% in the past two years. As of mid-September, 14% of Americans said that they “always” pay their bills online, up from 10% who said the same in mid-September 2007. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
Earlier this week, the Obama administration issued a policy memo instructing federal prosecutors not to devote federal resources to target individuals who use or provide medical marijuana in compliance with state laws, a departure from the policy of the previous administration. Medical use of marijuana is legal under the law in California and thirteen other states. While only a quarter of Americans today support the legalization of marijuana, Experian Simmons shows that American’s of all political stripes are becoming increasingly supportive of its legalization. One year ago, registered Democrats were the group most likely to support the legalization of marijuana, but today that title goes to registered Independents of which 38% now support legalizing pot, up from 30% a year ago. Even Republicans, the party that least supports legalized marijuana has become more supportive in the past year going from 17% supporting to 19% today. Those who support legalizing marijuana are also advocates for alternative and homeopathic medicines. In fact, adults who believe that pot should be legal are 31% more likely than the average adult to say they “prefer alternative medicine to standard medical practices.” Likewise, legalization proponents are 42% more likely to say they “trust homeopathic medicine.” Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
The travel industry is beginning to feel the affects of companies cutting back on corporate travel. Whether it is to keep an eye on their public image or just their bottom line, companies are spending less on domestic travel. An average of 28 percent of U.S. adults traveling domestically reported staying in a hotel for business prior to August 2009. However, in August 2009 there was a relative 18 percent decline to an average of 23 percent.
Furthermore, the number of Americans reading travel-related literature is also down. Compared to 2004, readership of:
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Over the last 12 months the percentage of online adults in the U.S. seeking local information has increased to almost 77%.
Newspapers have traditionally been a primary source of local information for people.
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Note that the percentage of Hispanics who are heavy online users at home is highly correlated with the percentage of Hispanics using WiFi at home across time. One of the reasons for this likely lies in the way that home Internet connections are configured. For homes with a single computer often the most popular configuration is to have the computer plugged directly into the cable or DSL modem. In addition, in single computer households members of the household must compete for time on the computer. When there are additional computers in the household often they are in different rooms, making wired Internet connection configuration difficult. Households in this situation often shift to a WiFi solution. This suggests that retailers might want to offer a promotion that features low cost or free wireless routers as an incentive to purchase a computer. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
Ever wonder how much a brand extension might help you retain customers? McDonald's saw an opportunity to retain customers who were waking up to the smell of coffee elsewhere.
For some time, the percentage of McDonald’s customers who also visited Starbucks trended steadily at around 17 percent. This trend quickly changed upon the launch of the McDonald’s McCafe coffee line in May of 2009. In one week, the percentage of McDonald’s customers also visiting Starbucks dropped below 15 percent and remained below 15 percent for about 9 weeks.
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While more than 90% of mobile web browsers also subscribe to internet services at home, usage of the internet at home appears to be slightly decreasing among this group. This trend suggests that these users may be becoming more comfortable with mobile internet use and are choosing to spend more time online with their mobile device rather than through traditional devices in the home. Mobile devices are becoming a constant in the lives of U.S. consumers as we begin to rely on mobile access to the internet and applications we previously accessed at home or work, and marketers are paying close attention. While quantitative measures of usage demonstrate the potential reach of mobile marketing, the savviest of marketers are aware that qualitative measures on consumer attitudes and opinions about mobile marketing will be the key in appealing to consumers through this more personal medium. Early benchmark trends beginning January 2009 from Experian Simmons provide insight on key attitudes and opinions among mobile phone users. First, Simmons data indicate that mobile phone users in the U.S. may become more willing to accept advertising on their phones if the right incentive is offered. In fact, the percentage of mobile phone users willing to accept advertisements on their mobile phone in exchange for something of value has already increased about 18% since January 2009. We also found that consumers are relying more on their mobile phone for information to help them determine how to spend their time. Over the last 9 months, there was a nearly 33% relative increase in the percentage of mobile phone users that indicate using their phone to help them decide where to go or what to do with their free time. This increase is mirrored among a younger demographic of 18-24 year-old mobile phone users, but starting at a level of over twice that of the average mobile phone user. Finally, although still a small proportion of mobile phone users, the percentage that reports being likely to buy products advertised on their mobile phone is slowly increasing. From the beginning of 2009 to mid-September this group increased from about 5% of the cell phone population to nearly 6%, a 21% relative increase. Though it may be a stretch to claim U.S. consumers are warming up to the idea of more advertising and marketing on their mobile phones, the data do suggest that perhaps the percentage of mobile phone users who will be accepting and tolerant of mobile marketing will continue to climb in the near future. This suggests mobile phone users are becoming more accustomed to seeing advertising on their mobile phones just like other more traditional media. In summary these trends suggest that not only is it important to capture the incidence levels of activities on mobile platforms such as web browsing but also on how information from mobile devices guides and directs people’s lives. Finally, it is also of key importance to marketers to keep up with the changes in attitudes among mobile phone users toward mobile platform advertising. Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
A leading indictor of consumer confidence is how many people feel the U.S. economy will get better over the next 12 months. The latest information from Experian Simmons DataStreamSM indicates that every week more consumers feel the economy is bound to recover soon. While consumers are still cautious about their own personal financial situation, confidence in the future of the U.S. economy made slow but steady gains from July 2008 to March 2009, after which confidence levels began climbing at a much faster rate. Some major contributors since March 2009 include a significant stock market rally that was the largest 1-month gain since 2002 as well as the beginning of a mid-summer surge in home sales in July.
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One leading indicator of economic outlook is consumer optimism about our own individual financial future. This optimism was on the rise with government action in the mortgage and banking markets in the summer of 2008, but fell sharply through September with the failure of numerous banks. In 2009, the percentage of consumers optimistic about their own financial future increased during the run-up to the Presidential election. That increase was short-lived and optimism fell again and remained low through most of the first quarter of 2009. With strong market rallies in March followed by increased consumer spending in May, optimism over personal financial futures has trended upward in fits and starts. So, while it may be too early to proclaim that consumers are bullish, we certainly appear less pessimistic about our own financial futures. • 26% relative decline in one month from September 2008 to October 2008 Request an alert when new insights from Experian Simmons DataStream are availble here.
One measure of economic outlook is consumers confidence in their current financial state compared to 12 months ago. After a severe decline following the September 2008 economic crash, the percentage of consumers feeling better off now than in the past has hovered in the mid teens, with a short-lived increase after President Obama took office in late January. Since January 2009 there is a slight trend upward, but it may be too early to tell if the upward trend will continue or if we are in a holding pattern.
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October 27, 2009: More Americans Are Paying Their Bills Online
