Tag Archives: consumer panels

A New Wrinkle in Personal Finance

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In our youth-and-beauty-obsessed culture, we don’t even want to THINK about being old, gray and wrinkled. That avoidance has another big consequence: we neglect to plan for our financial futures.

But a researcher has forced his test subjects to imagine themselves in their old age and found:

The more connected we feel to our future selves, the more likely we are to save. In one study, participants looked at digitally-altered (aged) photos of themselves and then answered questions about how they would allocate $1,000 if they were to suddenly receive it. They allocated twice as much to a long-term savings account if they saw an older version of themselves versus just seeing themselves now. USNews.com

Basically, we see our future selves as strangers. But seeing ourselves bald, with wrinkles and liver spots, is apparently a big reality check!

There are apps that allow you to perform this exercise, including AgingBooth.com. But the article also suggests you get in touch with the concept of aging by visiting MeMaw and PapPap, and also asking yourself what the older you would say about the various big-ticket purchases you make – will the old you regret buying a jet-ski versus a municipal bond?

Anyway, it’s pretty interesting. Check it out here!

Twilight of the Mall?

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Malls, over the last 50 years, have gone from the community center in some cities to a relic of the way people once wanted to shop. While malls have faced problems in the past, the Internet is now pulling even more sales away from them. And as retailers crawl out of the worst recession since the advent of malls, many are realizing they are overbuilt and are closing locations at a fast clip. New York Times

Check out these grim statistics:

  • Sears is closing up to 120 stores,
  • Gap is closing 200 stores and
  • Talbots is closing 110.
  • Abercrombie & Fitch closed 50 stores last year,
  • Hot Topic, almost the same number.
  • Chains that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years, like Blockbuster, Anchor Blue, Circuit City and Borders, have left hundreds of stores lying vacant in malls across the country.

What’s going into these empty spaces? Anything and everything! Schools, medical clinics, call centers, government offices, churches, aquariums and auto showrooms. In one one glass-enclosed mall in Cleveland, they’re even planting a vegetable garden!

How about you? Is it the twilight of the mall era? Have your retail habits changed? Let us know!

Mobile Facebook Growing Pains

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Just how big is Facebook? As a private company it hasn’t been easy to pin that down. Now that Facebook is going public, they have released some statistics like this:

In December 2011, Facebook had more than 425m monthly active mobile users – people logging in from the company’s apps and mobile website. That is just over half of its 845m monthly active users overall.  UK Guardian

So, half of their usage comes from mobile devices. Personally, I am not the biggest fan of using Facebook on my iPhone. Everything is so shrunken down, and my big stupid fingers can’t handle it!

What I DO like about mobile Facebook is that it’s free from clutter, very simplified, and NO ADS. Well, guess what?

“Growth in use of Facebook through our mobile products, where we do not currently display ads, as a substitute for use on personal computers may negatively affect our revenue and financial results,” explains the filing. UK Guardian

85% of their revenue comes from ads on the desktop site, but only half of their users are tuning in? This will not stand!  So get ready for “Sponsored Stories” in your mobile Facebook feed. The global ad market is expected to grow from $1.5 billion in 2010 to $17.6 billion in 2015, and Facebook wants its slice of the pie!

The problem? We have grown used to mobile Facebook WITHOUT ads! Oh well, the only thing more popular than Facebook is complaining about Facebook!

What do you think? Read the article here.

Blockbuster Bummer!

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Prefer to rent your DVD’s from Blockbuster Express vs. Redbox? So sorry! I just received a notice from Blockbuster Video that states, in short:

NCR, which operates your Blockbuster Express kiosks, has entered into an agreement to sell its kiosks and other assets to Redbox. Until the transaction is completed (3rd quarter 2012), you will continue to enjoy the convenience, choice, and value you’re used to from BLOCKBUSTER Express.

They had not much to say about how things will be run afterwards. Is BB going away? I don’t know, but not having machines SEEMS like sort of a handicap!

Now, I have no particular love or hatred for Blockbuster. But never having to go in their store again was a nice feature of the kiosk! However, there were definitely fewer Blockbuster than Redbox kiosks. BB managed to get some advantage with certain exclusive deals where they would have a film 2 or 3 weeks  before Redbox got it. So, for a while it was something of a 50/50 advantage between the two rivals.

Then BB screwed it up with tiered pricing. Redbox was 99 cents across the board (now 1.29.) BB was .99 to 2.99, based on newness and popularity. Basically, you never knew what you were going to pay. But the more you wanted to see it, the higher the price. That irked me.

So, now what? BB’s kiosk machines are being sold to their rival. I have to say my preference in this battle goes to Redbox. Flat pricing, with BB’s exclusives removed? Nearly perfect. But who knows how long that warm feeling will last when they have ZERO competition?

So, how about you? Red or Blue? Do you prefer one over the other? Why?

20K Facebook Fans!

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The fireworks are cool, but how do they make those big words in the sky?

Late in 2010, MindField Online decided to jump into the social media pond with a new blog, Twitter feed and Facebook page. And today, we have a fun milestone to celebrate!

The whole idea was to open up the lines of communication and enhance your experience in a positive, fun way. We wanted to shed some light, help everyone better understand the whole survey process, and hear your ideas for improvement. It’s the oldest cliché in social media, but we wanted to “build community.” Based on the number of comments posted to the Facebook page, combined with messages received at our main support line and the scuttlebutt we read on other survey industry related boards, we feel like it’s been a big win for you and for MindField.

Today’s big milestone? 20,000 Facebook fans! It happened on January 30, 2012.

To celebrate, we tracked down number 20K and attempted to contact her. When we hear from her and verify her info, she will receive a $50.00 Amazon.com gift card! No contest, no sweepstakes, just a fun little celebration of our milestone. You may recall we did this when we had our 1 millionth survey response back in November.

We will update this post soon. Until then, congrats to our 20K and thanks to our other 19,999* fans for your continued support!

(*actually, since Monday we have already grown to 20,278 Facebook fans!)

Saving Enough for Retirement?

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Actually, financial planners prefer stocks and mutuals over gold eggs in a nest of twigs.

People aren’t saving enough. They are going to find out that they have totally inadequate amounts once they stop working. People need to change how much they are saving, when they start saving, and when then retire. If they don’t change, people will not be able to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.   USNews.com

Yeah, so, Happy Friday everybody… The nonprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute says only about 25% of us are confident we have enough money for retirement (or are on the right path to saving it.)

We will need something like 80% of our salary after we retire, and most of us aren’t going to get there just with the 5 to 7% we are putting in our 401k’s.

This article has some interesting things to say about how much to save, when to start, when to retire and everything in between. Check it out!

Sorry to be brief. Flu season!  Have a good weekend!

No Time for Lunch?

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The statistics are as depressing as this picture!

Here’s one to ponder over your lunch break…assuming you still TAKE a lunch!

Maybe it’s the pressure to look busy. Maybe there are three of you in the place doing the work that FIVE used to do. But fewer and fewer of us are taking lunch breaks. And those breaks are often shorter, and we tend to work while we eat! Here, according to an article on msnbc.com, are some not-very-appetizing statistics…

  • In a 2011 study, only 35% of US say they almost always take a lunch break. A previous study in 2010 had it at 50%.
  • 65% either eat at their desk or don’t take lunch breaks at all.
  • 40% of corporate executives brownbag their lunches. 19% eat at a sit-down restaurant.  17% get fast food.
  • Among female executives, 57% said they brought their lunch from home, compared to 36% of males.

The article points out a bit of irony – we think we are being more productive this way, when actualy pushing away from the desk would improve our mood, clear our heads and boost energy! How about you? Still doing lunch? Same as always? Shorter? Eating at the computer?  Read the rest of the article here.

Customer Service Online

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We saw an interesting article about major banks, and the growing tendency for their customers to use social media, like Facebook and Twitter, to lodge complaints. The question is: is that effective?

(Strategy & Research firm) Javelin analyzed more than 5,000 Tweets between customers and financial institutions to explore just how helpful (or not) the conversations proved to be. It found that only a minority of the conversations successfully resolved customer problems (36 percent for Citigroup, 11 percent for Wells Fargo, and 3 percent for Bank of America.)

So, in other words, your answer is likely to be, “please contact customer service.”

Don’t get us wrong…your issues don’t bug us here at Mindfield Online! If you are not having an efficient, enjoyable experience, we want to know about it! But, here at the blog or the Facebook page, all we can do is to pass along to the helpdesk all the bits of anecdotal details that we can. We can’t actually dig into your account and fix things. So it is much more quick and efficient for you to contact the helpdesk during regular business hours at [email protected] or 800.969.9235

So that’s the scoop. It is an interesting article, and we encourage you to check it out. And have a great weekend!

The Need for Speed!

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Take it from Speed Racer, Racer X, Chim-Chim and the gurus at MindField Online – faster is better!

On that note, we have just finalized a major upgrade that increases our bandwith by 15 times our previous speed. (15Mbps down/ 43Mbps up, to be precise.) The major benefit is that we can serve content faster to more people at the same time.

Previously, if we had a large number of respondents taking a media-heavy survey all at once, things could slow down a bit. You may or may not have noticed, but WE did! So it was time to upgrade.

You may not be “the fastest man alive in your powerful Mach 5” but, ideally, this upgrade means we are providing the best services available for our members to ensure an enjoyable experience.

Meanwhile, we think we have the Facebook/MindField link-up procedure licked… for now. This has been frustrating – for you and for us! We had a nice protocol going, and then Facebook made changes. They do that a LOT. It affects everything from their apps to the game interactions and more. And they provide no ongoing support.

So, for now, we believe we have done all we can to fix all of the noticeable problems related to the automated Facebook login…but the next set of changes are always around the corner! We’ll stay on top of it, and your help would be appreciated. When something doesn’t work correctly, drop us a line at [email protected] and give us the details!

Smart Shopping Habits for the New Year

January rolls around and we think about all the ways we can get our acts together when it comes to money. Speaking for myself, I tend to think big, about saving more or paying down debts, and I sometimes neglect the little things like my daily shopping habits.

On that note, here are some smart new shopping habits we can nurture in 2012, courtesy of the money page at US News.com:

Comparison Shopping Apps: Comparison shopping has never been easier with your smartphone. Comparison apps can help you choose which store to buy from or, in the case of Amazon, you may find a better deal online.

Facebook Deals: Every retailer and manufacturer these days tells you to “Like us on Facebook!” When you do, you often find Friends-only deals. Yes, it’s all a plot to get demographic info about you, but you might save a few bucks!

Local Daily Deal Sites: We are all familiar with the big deal sites like Groupon. Now, smaller local deal sites are becoming popular. Instead of a fancy meal or spa treatments, you might find deals more specific to your needs.

Become a Hoarder! Not really, but when you find a coupon for toilet paper or toothpaste or ketchup – stuff you use every day – max that sucker out and buy in bulk. You could save a bunch!

Read the Reviews: I don’t buy anything I tend to have for a while, like a camera or vacuum cleaner, without doing a bunch of research online.  Amazon is a good place to find reviews.

Be a receipt hawk: Usually, I can’t get out of Wal-Mart quickly enough. But if you have the patience, take a moment to check your receipt for mistakes or missed discounts before you leave. Sure beats having to make a return trip into the madness!

There are more details in the article, so check it out!

How about you? Any wise shopping habits you care to share?