Tag Archives: focus groups

Today’s Connected Consumer

connected
That’s her!

I found a stack of mildly interesting graphics on the web, describing various aspects of today’s Connected Consumer.

Today, consumers of all ages and lifestyles are connected to the brands and businesses they love via multiple screens and devices. In fact, 90% of all media interactions today are screen-based. This has many implications, especially for online shopping, customer service, and the nature of communication in general. Survey Analytics

There are a few surprises buried under all the bars and pies and percentages, chiefly that the connected consumer ISN’T a “tweeting twenty-something” (not that this is a bad thing...) Instead, the “average” connected consumer is a 40-year-old woman with a household income of around $60K who owns several devices.

Take a look at some of the numbers…

What are we using?

  • In addition to a PC or laptop, 43% own a smartphone and 16% own a tablet.
  • 81% are on Facebook
  • 60% use digital catalogs
  • 87% interact with retailers via websites or mobile sites, but…
  • only 4% use a retailer’s mobile app.

What are we buying?

  • #1 item purchased on tablet or PC: Electronics (about 55% for both)
  • #1 item purchased on a smartphone: Music (42%)

What do we say about ourselves?

  • Connected Consumer’s top-3 answers: Savvy, Frugal and Spontaneous

Interesting note: the #5 way that CC’s describe themselves is “Addicted.” A little self-awareness is a good thing, I guess! There are a lot more graphics with more numbers, statistics and pretty pretty colors colors HERE, so take a look!

So, do any of these numbers sound like you? The trend running through the whole thing is that this connected consuming is on the rise. Have you caught the bug? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

Extreme Cutting Back is Extreme!

336Caught a 2am rebroadcast of Kathie Lee and Hoda (Link here if you can bear it) interviewing a couple that moved with their two kids into a 336 square foot house they built. Apparently, this is a thing now, so they say. The couple really didn’t seem to be too smug about it (unlike, say, the enviro-hipsters at my old job who ride their single-gear bikes to work every day even though it’s 88 degrees in Charleston by 9am and you smell like a mule the entire day.) Anyhoo, these folks lost everything in the Crash, had to start over, and didn’t want to be in debt ever again.

Yeah, but 336 square feet? “It brought us closer together…” Geez, you think?

How about some more practical tips on cutting back? Try “54 Ways to Save Money” from AmericaSaves.org. Ideas include everything from keep a jar of change to buying the new light bulbs to only using YOUR bank’s ATM, and 51 more!. Some good stuff there.

So, what about you? Could you have a fire sale and move your family into 336 sq ft? What ways have you cut back? Are you saving much? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

March (Retail) Madness!

introEverybody knows that there are certain things you buy  – and certain things you avoid – in certain months. Many people (like ME) have no clue what those things are, though. So here is your buying (and avoiding) guide for March, with a load of links so you know we’re not making it up!

In general, what are the good buys for March? Things like cleaning supplies and home fragrances (for the Spring Cleaners among us!) Frozen food (March is Frozen Food Month, because there is a month for everything!) Anything to do with travel, because we are sick of sitting in the house all winter. Last year’s electronics. Post-Valentines (but pre-Easter!) chocolate, and on and on.

Now for your linking pleasure, here is the rundown from sources across the fruited plain. Enjoy, and have a great weekend (shopping, of course!)

And if you have a favorite March buy, let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

October Surprise (deals!)

ID-100246553Time for a look at your best deals of the month! October is an in-between month, stuck in the dead zone between back-to-school and Black Friday. It can be difficult to spot a bargain – and the right time to snag it – without professional consultation! So, what do the experts say are good buys in October? Hot items include Cars, Costumes, Vacations, Thanksgiving travel, Music, School Supplies (whatever’s left!) Cruises, Camping gear (the warmer-weather stuff,) Jeans, Cookware and Whatever Apple thing that is about to be replaced.

In general, there are many items that you don’t have to wait until Black Friday to buy, but also a bunch of things that you SHOULD wait for. (Helpful!)

Here are some links for ye:

How about you? What savings tricks do you use during October? Let us know over at the MyMindField.info blog!

Super Bowl Economics 2014

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BTW, I love it when companies who haven't paid millions of $$ to the NFL have to call it "The Big Game" in their commercials!
BTW, I love it when companies who haven’t paid millions of $$ to the NFL have to call it “The Big Game” in their commercials!

This Sunday, in bars, basements, living rooms and even churches (like mine – complete with chili contest and a 102” screen!) we will gather. And whether we are interested in X’s and O’s, team rivalries, funny commercials or simply drinking a buttload of beer, we are all a part of something – the biggest night of consumerism in the U S of A!

An now, according to Business Journal and Convenience Store News, here are the stats for Super Bowl 2014!

  • Over 180 million of us will watch the game.
  • 55% will watch at home, 17% at a bar or restaurant or at a party.
  • 60% will watch on TV (as the Lord intended), 15% on a smartphone, 14 on a PC, and 11 on a tablet.
  • 77% will buy food and beverages. Top choices include pizza (3rd fave), wings (4th), veggie trays (9th). Only 8% of us plan to eat healthy.
  • Get yo’ drank on: 53% will drink beer and 51% will drink soda. That’s a switch from last year, when it was 71 soda and 42 beer.
  • Party Planning! 39 million will throw a party, 62 million will attend one. Hosts will spend around $100 on supplies.
  • Why are we watching? 48% say “the Game!” 25% say “the Ads!” 17% said “just hanging with friends!”
  • What ads do we like best? 1. Funny, 2.Sentimental, 3. Product features, 4. Ones we saw last year, 5. Price comparisons. And in a sign of the times, 53% of us will comment on the ads real-time on social media.

Trends this year? If you look at the notes, you see the creeping, insidious rise of healthy snacks and no beer has been halted in the nick of time. Otherwise, slight improvements in consumer confidence (because we are all fooling ourselves) mean that we are spending more on food and fun.

Anyway, it’s time to celebrate, friends. I can’t think of a more American event than Super Bowl Sunday. Whichever team you support, have a blast!

Super Bowl Predix: WHO YA GOT!? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page!

(photo credit: employmentandthelaw.com)

Facebook Fans Speak!

megaphone-kid-croppedIt’s time once again to feature comments from satisfied MindField Online panelists, collected from our over 41,000 Facebook fans (and blog fans, too!)  You will find them at our “Panelist Feedback” page. Here’s a sample from Lois…

If you are interested in helping companies make decisions regarding their products and which areas of sales they want to expand into…if you enjoy helping to shape the future of the companies whose products you purchase, then this is a great company to work with.

I have worked with many different companies doing surveys over the years, and there are really only a handful of them that I would highly recommend to my friends and family. MindField is right at the top of that list. Your earning potential is limitless, all they ask is that you share their sense of integrity.

Their pay rate is fair and I have never, ever had a problem receiving any earnings from them. They also have a terrific support team, and the community of people who work with them is full of people just like you who want to earn some spare cash and help to shape the market. Just be honest, be yourself, and enjoy the job.

Wow, Lois…THANKS! Be sure to check out the rest of the satisfied commentary at the Panelist Feedback page.

(photo: southerncrescentsolutions.com)

Retail of the FUTURE!

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amazon droneYou may have seen the gizmo above in a viral video that went around the web last month. Apparently, when we’re finished blowing up al Qaeda, Amazon wants to employ flying drones to deliver your packages same day – maybe even same hour – depending on where you live. (And, really, shouldn’t we employ veterans?)

The video shows the folks at the Amazon warehouse packing your order in these special tubs. The drone comes by, clamps the tub and takes off. An hour later the tub is dropped at your doorstep. I wonder what we’re supposed to do with the tubs?

Anyway, that’s just one of the retail advancements being speculated in a Business Insider article entitled “10 Predictions For How Shopping Will Completely Change In The Future.”

Here are some highlights (with bonus dumb commentary)! See if any sound good to you…

  • Companies are researching you in unprecedented ways. (No! that’s the government’s job!) Looking at the ways we perceive value, and hoping to manipulate them, I guess.
  • Same-day (or hour) delivery will become common. Either by drone or by some dude in brown shorts.
  • Traditional stores will have the same analytic intelligence as online. “How do we arrive at our buying decisions?” That’s what they’re after.
  • Social feedback will factor into purchases. Retailers are paying attention to platforms like Pinterest, where shoppers post pics of the items they like or have purchased. The retailers then take those items and feature them more prominently.
  • Privacy will become a business. As we have seen recently, maybe Target should get into that business!

Per usual, just the highlights. Lots more at the original piece, so check it out! What do YOU think? Good changes? Do you think retailers are doing these things to make life easier or to make $$$$$? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a great weekend!

Winter Weather Woes, 2014

152997244Here’s another web roundup, this time all about this NUTTY weather. As they said, “first the snow, then the cold.” Even here in Charleston SC, it’s going to down to 21 degrees (but it will feel like 9!)

So here are some links about travel delays, economic impact, lost work, etc. More importantly, how to stay ALIVE in this mess if you find yourself stranded, or if you happen to be unlucky enough to have to work outside (yeah, I would call in sick!)

So there’s your roundup! Two questions: have you ever heard of a Polar Vortex before now? Secondly, who is naming these things? Hercules? Ion? Give me a break!

Also, who has an outdoor NFL playoff game this weekend? Have fun with that!

A Nutty New Year’s Eve

3...2...1...PICKLE!
3…2…1…PICKLE!

Time to check in with New Year’s Eve traditions, some familiar, some downright NUTTY.

Auld Lang Syne: What’s the story behind this classic? Find out HERE.

Kissing at midnight: if you don’t, it’s “a year of loneliness” for you, according to tradition.

Black-eyed peas and collard greens: In the South, they represent pennies and dollars. In other words, prosperity!

Colorful undies: in Latin America, the color of your unmentionables at midnight will affect your fortunes in the coming year.

Ooh, MELTY! Those crazy Germans drop molten metal into a bucket of water, and whatever twisted shape it takes reveals your fortune for the coming year.

Fireworks: The Chinese invented them, and set them off at midnight to ward off evil spirits.

Polka dots: In the Philippines, the circle represents prosperity. So wear those dots!

The night for white: In Brazil, you wear white on New Year’s Eve. Otherwise, bad luck!

Renewal in Japan: New Year’s is super important in Japan. Lots of emphasis on flushing away the troubles of last year, and hoping for better in the new. Temples strike their gongs 108 times, to banish the 108 types of human weakness. Personally, I have 137 kinds of human weakness. So GET ON IT, Japan!

Burn that mother down! In the Netherlands, they build bonfires in the streets using their Christmas trees.

Chew carefully: When eating New Year’s cake in Greece. One lucky person will find a gold coin, bringing good fortune in the new year.

12 grapes: In Spain, you eat one grape for every stroke of the bell. Statistically, it’s the New Year’s tradition with the most Vitamin C.

You dropped something! In Mt. Olive NC (oddly, the home of the Mt. Olive Pickle Co.) they drop a lighted pickle instead of a ball. Meanwhile, in Eastport Maine, it’s a lighted sardine! And Brasstown, NC lowers an opossum in a Plexiglas box (and PETA hates that!)

So, we’re all from somewhere else… do you have any different or oddball NYE traditions to share? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and have a happy, SAFE New Year!

Sources: Here, here, here and here!

TARGET-ed!

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target-credit-card-breach-stolenBeen keeping up with that credit card breach at Target? Here’s the skinny….

Target says 40 million credit and debit cards may have been compromised. If you shopped at a U.S. Target store between November 27 and December 15, you should assume you’re at risk and keep a close watch on your account statements. It’s not clear whether every Target store was affected, but at least one card issuer says it’s seeing signs of fraud all over the United States, according to Krebs on Security. You’re not in any danger if you shopped at Target’s website, or one of the company’s Canada stores. Time Magazine

At my house, we got our notices from Target via email. It answers a lot of questions, offers advice, as well as the opportunity to access free credit reporting from the big agencies.

Some, of course, are saying it’s too little too late. The public relations nightmare – and the lawsuits – have already begun. In my opinion – very much a “seems to me” without any hard evidence – Target was a little late in admitting there had been a breach. When they did, they talked about it happening on Black Friday weekend (let’s say 11/27 to 12/1.) By the time I got my email, that weekend period had stretched to December 15!

On the other hand, let’s not place ALL the blame on (seemingly) inadequate security. Let’s be sure to thank the jerks who stole the credit cards. They KNOW you and I won’t be held accountable for the fraudulent purchases, and they see it as a victimless crime. In my opinion, it’s ECONOMIC TERRORISM pure and simple.

Anyway, here are some (FRESH) links if you need to catch up:

Did you get your notice? Is this an outrage, or more of the same in today’s super-connected, ever-more-vulnerable world? Let us know over at the MindField Online Facebook page, and Merry Christmas Eve!