Online market research booming, according to survey
European online research firm Ciao interviewed 260 market researchers in Europe and North America who are users of online research to compile the Ciao Online Research Barometer. It showed that the vast majority of online research users (87 percent) expected that their company’s use of online would increase in the next six months. Over a third (36 percent) said they expected it to greatly increase.
The survey also asked researchers their reasons for choosing online over other methodologies. Seventy-three percent cited time advantages, and 71 percent competitive pricing. Nearly two-thirds mentioned the use of multimedia elements (59 percent) and access to complex target groups was a reason cited by over half (53 percent).
The survey also illustrated the scope of today’s online research arena. Over two-thirds of online research users had used online for satisfaction studies (73 percent), A&U studies (71 percent) and concept tests (68 percent). In terms of business sectors, online is used across a wide breadth: 80 percent of respondents had used online for consumer goods research and 40 percent for business-to-business research. For more information visit www.ciao-ag.com.
Study analyzes home improvement queries
Tom Kraeutler and Debby Robinson, hosts of The Money Pit, a nationally syndicated home improvement radio show, recently teamed up with Fred Miller, president of Consumer Specialists and managing director of the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), to determine the most common problems and projects home improvement-minded consumers sought to tackle in their pleas to the program.
Among the findings of their analysis of almost 2,000 listener calls and e-mails to the program over the last two years:
- Men were one-and-a-half times more likely than women to ask how to do a project, perhaps proving that men will ask for directions. Women, on the other hand, were four times more likely than men to call and ask how to fix a project gone wrong.
- The top 10 projects consumers have questions about were: floor coverings; plumbing; windows/siding; kitchen/bath; walls/ceilings; heating/air conditioning; roofing; bugs, pests and rodents; indoor air quality/mold; and basements/crawlspaces.
- Women were twice as likely as men to use e-mail to ask a home improvement question.
- Women were over twice as likely to ask a safety question than were men.
Kraeutler says that callers to the program are looking for easy-to-understand answers for home repair projects and 14 percent of those reaching out to the show did so purely to get a product recommendation from the expert team. “They are often confused by advertising claims and turn to us for independent guidance on the right products, economical ways to complete their projects, new ideas - and even to prevent them from getting in over their heads,” he says.
Surprisingly, more men (63 percent) than women (37 percent) contact the show to ask questions and they do so in disproportionate numbers to the actual audience make-up. “We know that 46 percent of our audience is women yet they only account for 37 percent of those who contact the show. It may be that while women are playing an increasingly major role in home improvement, they still may be somewhat more reluctant than men to reach out for help,” says Kraeutler.
Key home improvement topics for women are plumbing; kitchens/bath; roofing; bugs, pests/rodents; indoor air quality/mold; basements and crawlspaces; and painting and wallpapering. Men prefer to talk about floor coverings; windows/siding; foundations; insulation/ventilation; and decks.
“In our industry more than half of all home improvement dollars are spent by women,” says Robinson. “While it might not surprise you to learn that women show more interest than men do in kitchen/bath or painting/wallpapering topics, even we were surprised by how many more roofing questions came from women than men.”
Where listeners live also has a huge impact on their concerns. Consumers in the South were far more interested in doing projects themselves than those in the Northeast. Floor coverings were a big concern for those in the Midwest , heating and air conditioning was a unusually high level concern for those in the South and West, and Northeastern consumers, who must batten the hatches for winter, were very concerned about issues like indoor air quality and mold. For more information visit www.888moneypit.com.
Bank branch location draws lots of interest
Findings from “Checking: Portals to Profitability,” a report from Chicago research firm Mintel’s new finance series, reveal that the most common reason consumers select their bank is branch location. In response, banks are adding branches at an unprecedented pace.
Mintel’s own consumer research found that three-quarters of consumers indicated that the location of branches is an important factor in choosing a checking account provider. The second-most popular criterion, at 71 percent, was the reputation of the provider. In response, banks have drastically increased their branch expansion efforts - 20 percent in the last 14 years. Despite the ongoing market shakeout that has slashed the number of institutions by more than a third since 1990, the branching craze shows no signs of letting up. Between 1990 and 2004, checking account providers dwindled by about 38 percent to under 8,000 banking institutions. But in the same time period the number of bank offices, or branches, actually surged forward by 20 percent, from 62,723 to 74,978 locations.
The traditional checking account business model, dependent on paper checks, is clearly in decline. Between 1979 and 1995, the volume of paper checks issued annually in the U.S. increased, from about 33 billion to approximately 50 billion. However, since that time, the volume of paper checks has plunged by about 26 percent, and is expected to reach only 36.5 billion in 2004. Paper checks are giving way to alternative forms of payment, such as e-banking and debit cards.
Since their introduction, both ATM and debit cards have reduced the need for paper checks and for interactions with tellers.
The trend in market size for consumer checkable deposits has been almost steadily declining: the dollar volume of checkable deposits has been cut in half, from almost $402 billion in 1997, to only $191 billion in a sustained market shakeout. But, despite the shakeout, remaining competitors are still furiously building out their branch networks. Mintel estimates that by 2008, checkable deposits will decrease by 12 percent over 2004 mainly due to trends in online banking and debit cards. For more information visit www.mintel.com.
Internet broadcast audience listens while it shops
A new study by New York-based Arbitron Inc. and Edison Media Research estimates the monthly audience for Internet broadcasting to be 51 million people, with half living in households with an annual income of $50,000 or more. The study, “Internet and Multimedia 12: The Value of Internet Broadcast Advertising,” also found that the monthly Internet broadcast audience, people who listened to or watched Internet radio and television in the past month, accounts for 42 percent of all estimated online expenditures.
A significant portion of Internet broadcast consumers shop and purchase online while listening to Internet radio:
- Just under half (42 percent) of Internet radio listeners have listened to Internet radio while researching a product or service online.
- Twenty-seven percent of people who tune to Internet radio have listened while making an actual purchase online.
The study focuses on the opportunity Internet broadcasting affords advertisers. Sixty percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers use programs to block pop-up advertising online and 43 percent also block banners. Commercials inserted directly into online programming are not affected by this software.
“Internet broadcast consumers spend more time online, shop more often online and spend more money when they do shop,” says Bill Rose, vice president and general manager, Arbitron Internet Broadcast Services. “The irony is that these consumers also go out of their way to eliminate most advertising from their online experience. Internet broadcast commercials may be the best way to reach these key consumers while purchasing decisions are being made.”
The study also reveals 21 percent (51 million people) consume Internet broadcasting on a monthly basis compared to 12 percent (30 million people) that used it in the week before the survey. “Therefore, advertisers who run their Internet broadcast commercial schedules for at least one month can almost double the reach of the their campaign,” says Pierre Bouvard, president, Arbitron New Ventures.
It was also shown that Internet broadcasting delivers a higher concentration of the elusive young, male demographic. Fifty-three percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers are ages 12-34 compared to 37 percent of the general U.S. population. Sixty percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers are male compared to 47 percent of the general U.S. population.
“Internet broadcast consumers skew younger and are more often male,” says Larry Rosin, president, Edison Media Research. “They also spend 10 percent less time with television on a daily basis, making Internet broadcasting a key medium for reaching this hard-to-reach audience.”
Additional findings from the study include:
- Twenty-four percent of all Americans had residential broadband Internet access at home as of January 2004. Half of monthly Internet broadcast consumers had broadband access at home.
- Fifty-four percent of monthly Internet broadcast consumers say they would be “very or somewhat interested” in listening to Internet radio on a form of CD Walkman-type device or cell phone.
- One in five Americans (20 percent) owns more than 20 DVDs.
The findings reported here are based on a January 2004 survey consisting of 2,290 telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of Arbitron’s Fall 2003 radio diary keepers. Since 1998, Arbitron and Edison Media Research have conducted 12 studies of the Internet and streaming media - one every six months. This latest study, as well as previous studies, may be downloaded free of charge via the Arbitron and Edison Media Research Web sites at www.arbitron.com and www.edisonresearch.com.
Buyers turn to Sunday circulars
Do the dozens of circulars you get with your Sunday paper get read or tossed on the spot? According to a study by New York-based Ipsos-Insight, 80 percent of Americans look at Sunday circulars with some degree of regularity, and many actually look forward to receiving new ones every week. “With 70 percent of Americans reading the Sunday paper every week, compared to 50 percent on other days of the week, the Sunday circulars have a better reach than the Super Bowl or the latest hit show of the month,” says Nicole Valenti, a senior analyst with the firm’s retail practice. The study reports that 39 percent of Americans “look forward to browsing the circulars just to see what’s there” and 25 percent “look for the best deals.”
“Both of these behaviors are dominated by women, while men tend to look at circulars when they’re considering buying something specific,” says Valenti. When it comes to categories like consumer electronics, which are heavily promoted in Sunday circulars, 39 percent of Americans claim to have looked at them in the past week, with another 17 percent in the past month. Large retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy dominate the consumer electronics shopping experience, with 46 percent and 41 percent of Americans having shopped at one of these stores in the past six months for a consumer electronics product. Other national retailers and heavy circular advertisers like Target and Circuit City earn about 30 percent and 25 percent of these shoppers’ visits, respectively. Online retailers like eBay (10 percent) and amazon.com (8 percent) get far less shopper traffic.
When it comes to buying a consumer electronics product, 57 percent of Americans are likely to “go to the store for a particular item on sale,” and 52 percent “look in the local paper for retail advertisement offerings.” Thirty-nine percent will “go online to compare prices” and 23 percent will “purchase online.”
The national survey research data was collected via Ipsos U.S. Express, a weekly national omnibus survey. Fieldwork was conducted between November 3-5, 2004. Data are based on 1,000 telephone surveys taken with adults (18+) across the United States using regionally-stratified random sampling. The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points. For more information visit www.ipsos-insight.com.
Public rates government agencies highly
When asked about 11 different government agencies, majorities of the public claim they understand what they do. They also give all 11 agencies positive ratings. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) tops the list receiving the most positive votes, as it has for the past few years. More than eight in 10 adults say they understand what the CDC does (86 percent) and give it positive marks (84 percent).
In terms of doing a good job, next on the list is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with 77 percent positive, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with 71 percent, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with 65 percent, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with 64 percent.
At the other end of the list, the federal agencies with the lowest marks are the Social Security Administration at 51 percent positive, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with 53 percent positive, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also with 53 percent positive and the Internal Revenue Service at 54 percent positive.
These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,114 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive, Rochester , N.Y. , between October 20 and 25, 2004.
Harris Interactive has asked these questions four times since 2000 and it is clear from these results that public attitudes toward federal government agencies are quite volatile, moving up or down sharply in response to events.
Just over half of the agencies have showed declines in their positive ratings from last year and the remaining five have increased their positive ratings.
Those with most significant declines are the NIH (dropping nine percentage points from 80 percent positive in 2003 to 71 percent positive in 2004) and the CDC (declining six percentage points from 90 percent positive in 2003 to 84 percent positive in 2004) and the FBI (from 69 percent positive in 2003 to 64 percent positive in 2004). While the ratings for the NIH and the CDC have dropped, nonetheless their positive marks are still very high, topping the list of the agencies and reflecting the public’s perceived goodwill about these agencies.
A few agencies had relatively modest positive increases including the SEC (increasing by five percentage points from 57 percent in 2003 to 62 percent in 2004). This increase probably reflects the media attention the SEC has received prosecuting a number of high-profile cases including Martha Stewart. Other positive increases included the Department of Homeland Security, IRS and the Social Security Administration - each increasing by three percentage points.
A number of the agencies measured are directly involved with fighting terrorism or maintaining security domestically. The FBI and the CIA have had slight declines in their positive marks, reflecting the significant criticism both agencies have received over the past year. The Department of Homeland Security positives have increased and, given that there hasn’t been a new terrorist attack within the U.S. since 2001, this may not be that surprising. In addition it is worth noting that once again the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has improved its rating very slightly from 76 to 77 percent positive. This is the highest rating this agency has received, reflecting perhaps the improved security at airports (for which the Transportation Security Administration, not the FAA, actually is responsible), a reduction in late and delayed flights, or just because there has not been another hijacking since September 11, 2001. For more information visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
San Fran is tops in coffeehouse patronage
San Francisco is the top local market for coffee bar patronage, according to a study by Scarborough Research, New York . San Franciscans are more than twice as likely as the national average to have been to a coffeehouse in the past month. More than one-quarter (26 percent) of Bay Area adults frequented these establishments during the past 30 days. Seattle (23 percent), Portland , Ore. (21 percent), San Diego (20 percent) and Sacramento , Calif. (20 percent) round out the top five markets for coffee bar patronage. Nationally, 12 percent of adults have been to a coffee bar during the past month.
Coffee bars attract a young, affluent and educated crowd. Patrons are 22 percent more likely than all consumers to be aged 18-24 and 65 percent more likely to have an annual household income of $100K+. They are 28 percent more likely than the average American adult to be single and 70 percent more likely to have a post graduate degree. “The coffee bar industry has exploded in recent years. While Scarborough ’s local market analysis reveals that the West coast has the highest percentage of coffee bar patrons, we can also see that popularity has spread across the nation,” says Alisa Joseph, vice president of advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research. “Customizing the coffee bar experience to the interests of consumers in local markets can help coffee franchises increase brand loyalty and further market penetration.” For more information visit www.scarborough.com.