Blog

Back-to-school shopping is an exciting activity for both parents and students alike. Our research shows that up to 80% of children help their parents with back-to-school shopping. Younger children have a greater impact, with 2/3 of families reporting having their shopping decisions impacted by children 10 years old or younger.

The generational divides amongst Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials are extreme, including when it comes to home organization habits. Our research finds that while the majority (47%) of Boomers tend to organize only a few times over the year, both Gen X and Millennials clean more frequently, preferring monthly and weekly home organization projects. Overall, however, 3/4 of consumers, regardless of generational status, organize their homes more than just once per year.

Cleaning suppliers frequently provide free product samples to consumers via mailers – and it pays off! Over 60% of consumers, the majority of which are Millennials, often to always purchase a product they’ve received a free sample of. And over half of consumers who try a free sample go on to prefer that particular brand over other cleaning supplies.

Tax code is confusing for most everyone – consumers included! In 2017, over 66% of consumers were unaware of how the new 2018 tax code would impact their take-home pay. Additionally, while over half of high-income consumers understand the new tax code impacts, 66% of lower-income consumers stated otherwise, indicating a socioeconomic gap in consumer knowledge associated with new tax code policies.

Consumers (still) love a good bargain. Our research shows that 90% of consumers have continually to increasingly shopped at dollar stores, with 30% of consumers shopping more frequently at dollar stores over the same time period.

Ordering groceries online is a convenient way to save time and avoid crowded stores, yet many consumers still prefer to grocery shop in-person. Our research found that the 75% of consumers don’t use online grocery shopping due to either online vs. in-store pricing inconsistencies, restrictions of coupon-use, poor item quality, or high shipping costs. Other factors, like shipping speed, online security, and website/app usability, were much less of a concern for online grocery shoppers.

Many ads for beauty products feature a celebrity figure using the product, but to what effect for consumers? Our research shows that personal recommendations of beauty products as offered by friends and family are 4xs more impactful on purchase-intent than celebrity social media posts. Product price, online reviews, and product familiarity also drove consumer purchase-intent.