Generation Gap: Webaholics Anonymous

Hi. My name is Randi and I am a Webaholic (along with nearly half of the American population!). According to the American Pulse™ Survey from March, 47.5% of Adults 18+ admit that they are addicted to the Internet. The World Wide Web is also the top tech addiction among all generations:

While TV is the #2 digital drug of choice among all Americans, members of Gen Y and Gen X seem more hooked on Facebook. Perhaps keeping up with friends and bartering farm animals is more addicting than tuning in to the boob tube for younger Americans.

Like many of my Gen Yers (although I hate to admit it) I am also addicted to Facebook and my smartphone. However, I can’t whole-heartedly agree with the 33.0% addicted to TV (unless you count reruns of Law & Order SVU on Netflix!). I actually cancelled my cable service a year ago and now rely on Wii streaming and DVDs via snail mail.

Similarly, if they had to choose, the vast majority of Americans (83.0%) would cut the cable and fasten to Wi-Fi. This intention spans across all generations; however, a few more members of the Silent Generation would opt to keep their cable:

Regardless of age, Internet appears to be a necessity. It’s also the more practical option—you can always watch TV episodes online!

Source: American Pulse™ Survey, MAR-12 #1, N = 3892

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development.

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Is Pinterest Your New Obsession?

About two months ago my friend asked me why I wasn’t on Pinterest.  Honestly…I had heard of it but didn’t really know what it was, and I didn’t have the time or desire to figure it out.  I’ve always been the last of my friends to IM, text, join Facebook, get a Smartphone, etc.  Why would Pinterest be any different?!  It just so happened to be a dreary Sunday that I received an invite to join Pinterest.  Other than the typical day of cleaning, laundry, trip to the grocery store and family time, I had nothing else to do…why not check it out!  Needless to say, my household chores got put on hold!  That trip to the grocery store had to wait until Monday because I had to start the shopping list OVER with all the new recipes I found!

According to the November 2011 BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey, 19.9% of Females 25-34 said Pinterest was a “HOT” trend.  [Yes, I happen to fall into this age break.]  Females 18-24 follow close behind at 17% and 13.6% of Moms find Pinterest to be “HOT”.

Did I mention that Pinterest turned that dreary Sunday into a Glorious Sunny Day?!  [In my head that is!]  Once I figured out how to create “Boards” and “Pin” what I liked…I was off and pinning (LOL!)  I have found new ways to organize, creative/easy dinner recipes, Peanut Butter Brownies that are to die for, wedding gift ideas, cleaning home remedies, holiday DIY decorations, fashion tips, parenting ideas…I can go on and on and on!  As you can see below in a few of my favorite boards…

Typically, I log on to my account 2-3 times a week, and have to limit how much time I spend on there.  Time gets away from me too easily and I tend to get consumed by the endless amount of pinning!  According to a recent American Pulse™ Survey, 8.3% of Females 24-35 say they log in to Pinterest 2-3 times a week.  10.2% of Females 18-24 frequent the site more than once a day–they must be more “pinterested” than I am!

 

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: BIGinsight™ Monthly Consumer Survey – NOV-11 (N = 8502, 11/1 – 11/8/11)

Source:  American Pulse™ Survey – February 2012 (N=3349, 2/13 – 2/20/12)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development.

Yep, There’s an App for That Too

Smartphones are big, and tablets are even bigger, primarily due to the countless number of handy dandy apps available for download. From games, planning dinner, tracking the calories in that dinner, to connecting with friends, or even learning How to Drink Your Coffee, there’s bound to be an app for that.

But what apps do consumers really care about when it comes down to it? What about consumers in China, where the mobile market is soaring? Developers take note…it’s all about games and entertainment. For the purposes of this analysis we looked at the types of apps mobile-savvy American and Chinese Consumers ages 18-54 use most often. Despite cultural differences, games, entertainment, and social networking apps are most popular:

With gaming and general entertainment the top two types of apps in both countries, it’s clear that those little Angry Birds have global appeal. Social networking apps are also popular in both countries, with approximately 6 in 10 Chinese and American consumers connecting with friends and family via their mobile devices.

The cultural divide is apparent though once we look past gaming, entertainment, and social media. American consumers are far more likely to download apps related to weather (54.4%), radio (41.7%), and sports (31.0%) than their Chinese counterparts.  Mobile-savvy Chinese Consumers, on the other hand, are much more likely to use work-related apps focused on finance (49.4%), news (52.8%), and general business (51.2%).

Like Apps? We’ve got ‘em too. Visit www.BIGinsight.com/decisions

For more information on this data contact BIGinsight™ or ProsperChina™

Sources: BIGinsight™ Media Behaviors & Influence™ Study – DEC-11 (N=24,578); ProsperChina™ Quarterly Survey – Q4 2011 (N, 16,175)

© 2012, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ ProsperChina™ and Media Behaviors & Influence™ are trademarks of Prosper Business Development Corp.

Generation Gap: Tracking Holiday Sales & Promotions

In case you missed it, the National Retail Federation recently released inaugural data on how shoppers plan to track holiday sales and promotions this season; BIG collected this data as part of our November Consumer Intentions & Actions® survey. Among holiday shoppers in general, it’s traditional forms of media (print ads, TV, even email) that grab the most attention:

Top 5 Media for Tracking Retailers’ Holiday Ads & Promotions (Adults 18+)
1. Advertising Circulars (50.5%)
2. Emails from Retailers (32.3%)
3. TV Advertising (31.7%)
4. Retailers’ Websites (23.7%)
5. Coupon Websites (i.e. RetailMeNot.com, FatWallet.com, etc.) (23.1%)

This data becomes really interesting, though, when we break it out by generation:

Silent (born 1945 or earlier)
Boomers (born 1946 – 1964)
Gen X (born 1965 – 1982)
Gen Y (born 1983 – 1993)

Ad Circulars are relatively less important to Gen Y-ers. (click to enlarge)

Advertising Circulars are the top media among all generations, except for those Gen Y-ers. Among these youngsters, Coupon Websites (35.0%) are the most sought-out, followed by Ad Circulars (33.5%), TV Advertising (33.1%), Facebook (32.3%), and Emails from Retailers (31.4%).

As you may expect, Ad Circulars are the most popular among the Silent generation (56.8%) as well as Boomers (58.1%). These two generations also place Direct Mail in the their top five lists.

The importance of social media grows as generations decrease in age. As previously mentioned, Facebook (32.3%) is a top five ad source among Gen Y; additionally, about one in four (24.7%) Gen X-ers socially engage this site for holiday promotions. Far fewer Silents (3.4%) or Boomers (8.9%) are doing the same.

Gen X and Y are more likely to gravitate to Facebook than their older counterparts. (click to enlarge)

Among the younger generations, blogs are more popular as well. About one in ten of those in Gen X (10.6%) and Gen Y (12.1%) admits to scanning blogs for access to holiday deals, while this method is much less likely to be employed by Boomers or Silents.

It doesn’t appear that holiday shoppers are giving too much attention to Twitter this year. While many may be tweeting about the purchases they make or the deals that they scored, this was among the least popular venues for consumers to find holiday sales and promotions. Just 6.0% of Gen Y-ers rely on Twitter, and this percentage drops precipitously with age.

Blogs prove more popular with younger generations. (click to enlarge)

One of the media newcomers, Group Buying Websites (i.e. Groupon, LivingSocial), is gaining fans with the younger generations. Among both Gen X and Gen Y, about 15% are intrigued by the mega deals offered through these venues. About one in ten Boomers are buying in, while just 5.3% of the Silents are tempted.

Besides the fact that younger generations prove to be more receptive to newer forms of media, this data really tells us that retailers need to know who their customers are in order to reach them in the most effective manner this holiday season…BIGinsight consumer data, anyone?

Couponing Websites - Favored by Gen Y (click to enlarge)

For more information on this data, please contact BIGinsight™.

Source: Consumer Intentions & Actions® Survey – NOV-11 (N = 8502, 11/1 – 11/8/11)

© 2011, Prosper®

BIGinsight™ is a trademark of Prosper Business Development Corp.