••• health care research
Now and in the future
Levels vary but all generations worry about health care
When it comes to health care, both younger and older adults are worried not only about current costs but also the threat of expenses in the future. New survey data from the Nationwide Retirement Institute reveals that 63% of younger adults believe their health today will impact how much they need to save for retirement. Further, 69% of older adults note that one of their top fears in retirement is their health care costs getting out of control.
More than half of older adults (58%) report being terrified of what health care costs may do to their retirement plans and 67% say that they are most stressed about an unanticipated decline in health. Many older adults also have regrets about their actions over the years, with almost half of those who are retired (46%) reporting they would save more in their retirement accounts if they could plan for retirement over again.
Health care is a worry across generations. In fact, three in four younger adults report having had negative experiences resulting from financial stress. These respondents shared that financial stress had a negative impact on their overall health (39%); harmed their relationship with their spouse or significant other (35%); hurt their relationships with friends (26%); hurt their performance at work (26%); and hurt their attendance at work (21%).
Health care expenses can impact people so greatly that they avoid getting care, accumulate debt and restrict themselves from saving. In fact, almost three in four younger adults have taken “risk” actions to save money on medical related expenses, including: delayed seeking medical help with the hopes the condition would subside (33%); considered not seeking care to avoid high deductibles (22%); took less than the recommended dosage to extend the length of a prescription (22%); stopped taking a prescription because it cost too much (21%); and did not follow the treatment plan recommended by their doctor (20%).
Additionally, one in five (20%) younger adults report health care expenses have had an extreme impact on their well-being, causing them to skip getting care (48%), go into debt (38%), stop saving money for discretionary purchases (43%), kept them from getting needed medicine (33%), made it harder to contribute as much as they would like to a 401(k) (31%) or caused them to file for bankruptcy (13%).
Given these circumstances, it’s not surprising that younger adults are eager to do more to prioritize their health and be financially prepared for health care costs. In fact, 69% agree that prioritizing self-care and mental health will help them save on health care expenses in the distant future and would like to do more to prioritize their health. However, one in three younger adults admit health and wellness are not top priorities for them and 40% admit they do not get preventative care.
Younger adults do realize the importance of prioritizing health, though, yet are unable to or choose not to act: 50% say that 10-15 years from now they will wish they had taken better care of their health. Only half of younger adults have had a physical or wellness check (50%) and fewer than that (45%) have had a preventive screening relating to blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., in the past year. In addition, nearly two in three have not had a flu shot or other immunization in the past year. Many younger adults can’t provide a good reason why they don’t get preventative care (31%), while others indicate cost (22%) and time (18%) remain as barriers.
Although the No. 1 financial concern of younger adults is not having the money to cover unplanned medical expenses, fewer than half of them have started saving through a 401(k) or IRA (44%) and the majority of those saving for retirement contribute 10% or less (57%). In addition, while 29% of younger adults say they have access to wellness programs from their employer, only 17% of those participate in those programs.
The Edelman Intelligence survey was conducted online on behalf of the Nationwide Retirement Institute among 1,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 25 and 45 years old. The Harris Poll was also conducted online on behalf of the Nationwide Retirement Institute among 1,462 U.S. adults age 50 or older with investable assets of $50K or more.
••• shopper insights
Christmas shopping in July?
Study outlines the seasons of holiday gift-buying
As the holiday shopping season continues to evolve with the prominence of online shopping, the emergence of new shopping events and shifting consumer preferences and behaviors, brands and retailers have the unique opportunity to connect with shoppers by prioritizing convenience in-store and online. A recent study by product review site Bazaarvoice Inc. explores the holiday shopping habits of consumers in the United States and Europe during the busiest retail season of the year.
Holiday shopping is now a six-month season – nearly 20% of consumers reported having started their shopping as early as midsummer during “Black Friday in July” sales, while 29% said they planned to get a head start in early fall. Black Friday still dominates the shopping season, with the majority of consumers (37%) saying they will complete the bulk of their holiday shopping that day, followed by Cyber Monday (19%). And the hype around Black Friday only seems to grow: On Black Friday 2018, Bazaarvoice’s network of brand and retailer websites saw a 317% increase in order volume, while Cyber Monday saw a 314% increase.
Online shopping still reigns supreme but in-store experiences are still important. Almost two-thirds of consumers say they will complete the majority of their holiday shopping online and 37% of respondents stated that they will complete the bulk of their purchases in-store, with another 36% saying they plan to complete the majority or entirety of their shopping at a mall.
Regardless of how consumers decide to shop, they look for convenience. Consumers’ biggest complaints with online holiday shopping are lengthy shipping times and slow order fulfillment (43%), followed by difficulty deciding between brand and product options (39%). In-store, shoppers are overwhelmingly burdened by long checkout lines (75%) and messy and overcrowded stores (61%). Consumers believe brands can improve the holiday shopping experience by improving convenience with experiences like self-checkout or in-store pick-up options (60%) and implementing faster, more cost-efficient shipping solutions (57%).
Shoppers look to reviews and other user-generated content (UGC) to make the right purchase. Forty-nine percent of consumers have returned a holiday gift in the past in order to exchange it for a different option, such as size or color. To make sure they get the right gift, shoppers look to UGC, such as ratings and reviews and question and answer tools, to learn more about products. Last year, UGC interaction rates on brand and retailer websites in Bazaarvoice’s network increased ahead of major sales days, showing shoppers like to do their research early. During the holiday season, questions submitted increased by 26%; this spiked to 98% on Black Friday and to 110% on Cyber Monday.
While Black Friday is still a major shopping event, the holiday shopping season continues to extend earlier into the summer and fall. It must be easy and quick for consumers to find, compare and purchase gifts by leveraging authentic reviews and UGC; brands and retailers that maximize convenience in all aspects of the shopping journey will ensure the holiday season goes smoothly both for themselves and their customers.
The research is based on a survey conducted by Bazaarvoice and included responses from 2,500 consumers from the U.S., U.K., France and Germany and draws from Bazaarvoice’s network of brand and retailer websites.
••• millennials research
We are what we eat
Food and food choices are central for Millennials
Quality drives Millennial food shopping and, according to a new Whole Foods Market survey, they’re willing to pay for it. Eighty percent of Millennials value quality when it comes to food shopping and nearly 70% are willing to spend more money on high-quality foods.
Millennials also aim to be more informed consumers. A majority want to know where their food comes from and how it is sourced and this transparency is important to more than 65% of Millennials, particularly for fresh meat and seafood. More than half say they will pay more for products that have adopted animal welfare standards and prefer to buy those responsibly sourced.
Food labeling and ingredient transparency are also key factors in Millennials’ choices. Compared to five years ago, nearly 70% read labels more closely. Over 60% are more concerned about additives and growth hormones and half of Millennials buy more organic products than they did five years ago.
High-quality food is a priority for Millennials – nearly seven in 10 spent more on food than on travel in the past year. And they value expanding their culinary boundaries as well; a majority of Millennials surveyed considered themselves to be “adventurous” eaters when it comes to food and more than 60% make an effort to cook new dishes.
More than six out of 10 Millennials try to eat healthy daily. Plant-based and unprocessed foods are gaining popularity, with 63% trying to incorporate them into their diets.
Over the past year, nearly half of Millennials have tried a special diet, such as Keto and dairy-free, and 52% restrict ingredients due to health reasons. More than half of Millennials found that maintaining an alternative diet is often inconvenient and they are willing to pay more for convenient meals that are healthy and high-quality.
They try to keep their environmental impact low, too, with 60% reporting that they are aware of the implications their food choices have on the environment and about half are actively seeking out food and beverages made with less packaging and plastic.
The study was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Whole Foods Market and sampled 1,006 adults between the ages of 22 and 37 in the U.S.
••• restaurant research
Cockroaches, chicken heads and condoms, oh my!
Respondents share dining horror stories
According to a survey by business supply company Zoro, dining out can be a more frightening experience than you might expect. The study polled participants on their most unappetizing restaurant experiences and the results ranged from commonplace to bizarre. Most participants have experienced poor service (82.8%), dirty bathrooms (81.8%) and long waits for food (80.2%) but many have also experienced the hard-passes of the food service industry such as workers handling food without gloves (31.1%), food poisoning (28%) and visible rodents or insects (21.2%). And if you think that’s bad, then consider the other diners who discovered cigarette filters, cockroaches, chicken heads and, yes, condoms in their food.
Interestingly, younger generations seem to have a higher tolerance for culinary offenses, with 78.1% of Millennials responding that they would not return to a restaurant if there were visible rodents or insects, compared to 86.2% of Gen Xers and 97% of Boomers. That’s a nearly 20 percentage-point difference between Millennials and Boomers, who share the same discrepancy for cases of food poisoning and dirty surroundings. The trend continues for instances of hair in food, with 68.3% of Boomers dropping service, followed by 52.2% of Gen Xers and 51.7% of Millennials. The majority of Boomers (63.4%) were turned off by poor service and Gen Xers and Millennials were about half-and-half (51.4% and 47.3%, respectively).
When it came to confronting restaurant wrongdoings, the most popular option across all generations was to simply never return. Boomers took the lead in vocalizing the problem to restaurant staff, followed by Gen Xers and then Millennials. Men were consistently more likely than women to speak up. Millennials were the least confrontational of the bunch, with 22.9% responding that they would do nothing. Boomers were the least likely to post an online review, with only 17.8% of respondents taking this route, as opposed to 29.3% of Gen Xers and 25.9% of Millennials; however, nearly 10% of Boomers have reported a restaurant to the health department. Then there were those who were either very lucky or very easygoing, who reported that they had never eaten at a restaurant with unhygienic conditions (Boomers had the highest response in this category at just 2%).
When it came to waiter behavior, respondents agreed across the board that the worst thing a server can do is be rude. One in four (24.8%) of Boomers rated a dirty or unkempt appearance as the worst waiter faux pas, followed by 16.3% of Gen Xers and 12.5% of Millennials. About one in 10 respondents cited inattentiveness as the worst server behavior, followed by asking for a bigger tip. Women were more offended than men when it came to a server having a dirty or unkempt appearance and men were more offended than women when their servers were inattentive or asked for a bigger tip.
The survey was conducted by Amazon Mechanical Turk on behalf of Zoro and surveyed 994 people who eat at restaurants at least once per month, with an age range of 18 to 81. The list of restaurant scenarios was generated by research internet articles, online forums and personal experiences.