Research

In last week’s blog post, we highlighted the importance of music in Latino young adults’ lives. This week, we turn to the listeners themselves. Which artists and genres are their favorites? And what are the demographics of this audience overall?

The line between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is blurring, as many U.S. consumers are going online for holiday deals on the biggest shopping day of the year for brick-and-mortar retailers. While shopping tendencies among all consumers didn’t shift dramatically between 2011 and 2012, there were some significant changes among multicultural consumers.

Harris Interactive Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Nielsen Holdings N.V.

Teens are the gatekeepers of cool, always willing to try new things and setting the standard for what’s hot and what’s not. They are early adopters and an important barometer for brands. Following are a few trends we’re seeing take off with teens, pointing to what will be hot or not on the horizon. While some present challenges for youth marketers, some also offer opportunities for us to better understand and reach today’s teens.

A new study from Expedia Media Solutions, the advertising sales division of global online travel leader Expedia, Inc., provides an in-depth look at the content journey of today’s traveler including platform and device usage patterns, purchase trends, and how content influences the decision-making process.

Music is one of the most important elements of life for Latinos. Along with family and food, it’s part of the cultural trinity of things they say make them feel most “Latino.” Music’s appeal crosses generations, with the ability to touch the hearts of recent immigrants, US-born children of foreign-born parents, as well as those whose grandparents made the original journey here. It also plays a key role in day-to-day life, as something they believe keeps them sane, safe, and happy.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 35.9 million U.S. residents, or 11.7 percent of all Americans, moved between 2012 and 2013.

Latino influence in the US keeps growing one cultural example at a time. The Wall Street Journal published on Friday November 1, 2013 an article entitled “No Bones About It, Day of the Dead Is Finding New Life.” The article talks about a trend among non-Hispanics, particularly in areas of heavy Latino presence like California and Texas, who now set up altars to their dead relatives in different locations. An interesting example is that of a woman in Oceanside, California, who created an altar to her father in the trunk of his car.  By Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D.

Total Remittances Received in Latin America and Mexico, 2000-2013Remittances to Spanish-speaking Latin American countries overall have recovered from a decline during the recent recession, with the notable exception of Mexico, according to World Bank data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.

Evolve Media’s CraveOnline Media announced results from a comScore study titled, “The Male Millennial Influencer Study.” According to the study, one in seven millennial men self-identify as an influencer.

Cinema spending is the latest victim of the ongoing declines in traditional media, according to figures from the Advertising Association and Warc. Cinema spend is expected to reduce by 15% in 2013, on the back of a 9% decline in the first half of the year. TV spend is robust, while all other media show declines, with the exception of direct mail, which is static.

A Broken Bargain for LGBT Workers of Color examines how LGBT workers of color face unique challenges related to their race and ethnicity and their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In particular, LGBT workers of color are hindered by three major barriers: educational barriers; hiring bias and on-the-job discrimination; and unequal pay, benefits, and taxation. As a result, LGBT people of color are some of the most disadvantaged workers in the United States—and face extraordinarily high rates of unemployment and poverty.

Standing out in a world of choice isn’t easy. Earning consumer devotion to a brand or store takes more than just offering a good product. Price, packaging, customer service and reputation are just some of the factors involved in a consumer’s decision-making process. That’s why getting to the heart of what makes a consumer stick or switch can be the difference between flourishing and fading. While Nielsen research shows that bigger rewards generally inspire higher loyalty levels, loyalty programs are no guarantee of loyal behaviors.

Last week, we highlighted some recent shifts in Hispanic Adult Millennial employment that Tr3s has discovered in preliminary work for its 2014 study, which will focus on Hispanics 18-34 and their relationships to work and play. This week, we have some additional work-related trends on how Hispanics are faring in average number of hours worked, individual and household income, and frequency of job changes.

Nearly 60 percent of global respondents said that loyalty programs (marketing programs that reward members with purchase incentives) were available where they shopped, and of those, 84 percent said they were more likely to visit those retailers, according to a new study by Nielsen.

In recent years it’s become clear that the word “family” doesn’t have to mean a mother, father and 2.5 children. Some families are multi-generational where grandparents have a bigger role in raising their grandchildren, or include two same sex parents, and these new families translate to big bucks for retailers and marketers. New research from Mintel finds that multi-generational families are more likely than all parents surveyed to say they have increased spending on their kids in each of the categories considered, but half (50%) wish families like theirs were better represented in TV and print ads.

Our responsibility is to uncover the “truth” of consumer experiences. The kernel of truth that yields insight is what we hang our hats on – and it’s what truly defines client success. And it only comes through meaningful connections with people.

The end-of-year holiday shopping season seems to start earlier and earlier each year, as retailers are already rolling out their holiday promotions. And those efforts appear to be working, as nearly one quarter (22%) of U.S. consumers report that they’ve already started their holiday shopping, according to the Nielsen’s 2013 Holiday Spending Forecast. Holiday shoppers can also be notorious procrastinators, as 60 percent say they will wait a bit before they start their shopping.

Rincon & Associates released a white paper entitled “New Test Reveals Your Latino IQ” – which presents some unexpected findings when comparing Latinos and non-Latinos on their knowledge of general characteristics about U.S. Latinos. 

Increasing smartphone ownership is taking more consumers down the digital shopping route, while many shoppers plan to frequent local small businesses when visiting stores this holiday season, according to Deloitte’s 28th annual survey of holiday spending intentions and trends.