Research

DAC Group and Kantar released the results of their latest consumer search behaviour survey. In its fifth year, the comprehensive study uncovers trends and improves the understanding of consumer media usage throughout the United States and Canada. Results in the categories of general consumer search behaviour, mobile, and social search show steady trending in digital adoption.  Slight variances in findings uncover unique needs highlighted in select sectors. Overall insights gleaned reinforce the need for today’s Digital CMO to take a strategic look at online consumer conversion strategy.

A new Enterprise Holdings survey* of car renter and owner preferences has found that millennials have a strong desire to hit the road in their very own vehicles. Contrary to the growing notion that younger Americans are less interested in car ownership, data from the Enterprise survey found that 79 percent of 25-34 year olds (millennials) consider owning a car “extremely important” to accomplishing daily work/life tasks – a percentage that was very consistent with the older age groups surveyed.

Hispanic young adults have been hit hard by the tough economy. Tr3s’s Millennial study showed that they value frugality and are smart with their money. They love to go out for coffee because it’s an inexpensive way to meet up with friends – but are they going to restaurants, too?

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. But when fruit doesn’t cure what ails you, a solid health and wellness plan might just do the trick. China, which is on pace to produce 37.5 million metric tons of apples in 2013, leads the globe in terms of saving for health-related issues (63%), with the greater Asia-Pacific region close behind (55%), according to findings from the Nielsen Global Survey of Saving and Investment Strategies.

This report on African Americans and technology is the first in a series of demographic snapshots of technology use and adoption among different groups of adults in the United States. Based on a survey of 6,010 American adults, including 664 who identify as African American, it offers a detailed look at a number of key subgroups within the black population such as: men vs. women, old vs. young, low income vs. high income, and parents vs. non-parents.

California’s demographers also project that in mid-2014, the state’s residents will be 38.8% white non-Hispanic, 13% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 5.8% black non-Hispanic, and less than 1% Native American. But the state’s demographics in 2014 are very different from what they had been. In 2000, California’s 33.9 million residents were 46.6% white non-Hispanic, 32.3% Latino, 11.1% Asian American or Pacific Islander, 6.4% black non-Hispanic and about 1% Native American. In 1990, white non-Hispanics made up more than half (57.4%) of the state’s then 29.7 million residents, while 25.4% of Californians were Latino, 9.2% were Asian American or Pacific Islander, 7.1% were black non-Hispanic and about 1% were Native American.

comScore in collaboration with the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM), announced plans to expand its pioneering cross-platform measurement service, the industry’s first to provide continuous unified measurement of media usage on a national scale across TV, radio, desktop, smartphone and tablet.

Statistics released today from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Puerto Rico Community Survey show that the median household income for Puerto Rico and most of its 10 largest municipios held steady after the most recent recession. Puerto Rico’s median household income was $19,518 during the post-recession period of 2010 to 2012, statistically unchanged from 2007 to 2009.

Vision Strategy and Insights (VSI) announced the launch of a full-service research and strategic consulting firm specializing in the development and implementation of actionable research studies among general market, Hispanic, African American and Asian consumers.

Ace Metrix published a second study on the effectiveness of celebrities in video advertisements. The report builds upon a previous study that found, in general, ads with celebrities do not perform as well as ads without celebrities. The study explores the overall effectiveness of more than 1,200 celebrity ads while employing an innovative statistical approach to identify the “pure impact” of over 60 of the most frequently featured celebrities, including a sample of mascots and brand franchise characters.

In the past, Latinos who wanted to participate in some parts of American society felt they had to hide aspects of themselves to fit in. Today, that cultural zero-sum game is long gone – and our differences make us cool. Hispanics make up such a large proportion of young people in America that they’re not just participating in mainstream American culture, they’re increasingly defining it. And that doesn’t make them any less Latino.  

Gen Y consumers are showing a clear interest in vehicle ownership and have specific ideas of what they want in a car, according to Craig Giffi, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP, and automotive practice leader.

That’s underscored by a new major poll of nearly 1,500 Latino Americans by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. The poll, like our previous , covered several aspects of people’s lives — religious beliefs, personal finances, health status, education and more. It featured enough respondents that we could break them out into a few key groups by ethnic ancestry: Cubans, Dominicans, South Americans, Central Americans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. We were also able to contrast responses from folks who were immigrants with those who were born in the United States.

But it turns out my penchant for English isn’t unique for a mainland Puerto Rican, according to a survey of American Latinos by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Given a choice between answering a gamut of questions about their lives in Spanish or in English, 78 percent of the Puerto Rican respondents chose English, significantly more than any other Latino group. According to the poll, only 20 percent of Puerto Ricans speak Spanish at home, less than half the percentage for respondents overall. (The poll didn’t include respondents in Puerto Rico, only Puerto Rican respondents living on the U.S. mainland.)

Since arriving here, as a community, they’ve prospered. Surveys show they graduate from college at greater rates and have higher levels of homeownership than most other Latino groups.

But suggests that, for many Cuban-Americans, the dream is becoming elusive. The poll conducted by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health finds that 45 percent of Cuban-Americans say their finances are not so good or poor. They see themselves as financially troubled at rates higher than other Latinos.

Consumers are becoming increasingly detached from brands and technology is complicating things, reveals a new report from Culture Vulture, Mindshare’s cultural trends program.

The Hispanic American Financial Experience, a new study released by Prudential Financial, found that the Hispanic American community is moderately confident in their future outlook for household finances, the local and national economy, and the attention paid to their needs by the financial industry and government. In addition, the Hispanic American community places a priority on funding near-term goals such as supporting their multigenerational families. These factors, according to the study respondents, make it difficult for the Hispanic American community to prepare for long-term financial security.

For Hispanics, it appears that the definition of The American Dream is based on achieving financial security, so their families can get ahead – with a specific focus on paying off mortgages, getting out of credit card debt, paying for their children’s college educations and financially preparing for retirement. Although Hispanics are experiencing a cautious increase in optimism about the economy, when it comes to financial planning, their intentions and desires aren’t closely aligned with their actions. These are among the key findings of Massachusetts Mutual life Insurance Company’s (MassMutual) third biennial “State of the American Family Study,” which offers a broad snapshot of Americans’ financial views.

As 2014 approaches the end of its first month, many Americans are still sorting out their financial plans for the near future. With the government actually open for business – an improvement over last October – it should be a foregone conclusion that Americans may be facing the future with a bit more spring in their spending plans than in September of 2013, when the much-discussed federal shutdown was looming. But what about year over year? Are Americans loosening their purse strings or doubling down on pinching pennies?

In last week’s blog post, we focused on how US-born Hispanics are driving population growth. This week, we’re going to give some more detail on what their lives look like – and it’s quite different from the Hispanics 18-34 of ten years ago. Not only have those born in the US surpassed immigrants as the dominant group within the Latino young adult demo, the formerly ascendant economy has taken a hit. Because of the tight job market, Hispanic Millennials’ lives have taken some unexpected turns.