Success with Opt-In Email

When most consumers (56%) get emails from a list they opted into, they’re more likely to buy from that retailer. Some 52% say they have a more positive opinion of the business because of the emails they get, and 48% are more loyal as a result.

Almost nine in 10 (87%) say that email is a good way to learn about new products from a retailer. Most (63%) say they would like retailers to customize messages based on prior purchases and their activity on the retailer’s website.

Financially Independent Women

Almost two-thirds of American women (64%) say they are financially independent. Most (47%) define financial independence as not depending on their husbands or partners for money. For 23%, it’s about living debt free, for 17% it’s being able to afford whatever they want without having to worry about the cost, and for 13% it’s being able to stay at home and not work if they choose.

More than one-half of women (54%) say their credit card bills stand in the way of their financial independence, followed by 45% who blame their housing loan or mortgage. Thirty-five percent point the finger at their car loan, 28% their education loans, 27% their medical and life insurance premiums, and 20% blame their husbands.

Women say they improve their financial independence by creating a financial plan or budget (56%), by setting their personal financial goals (47%), by taking courses or attending lectures (9%) and by consulting with financial advisers (8%).

Multicultural Youth Online

Some 66% of American 15-34-year-olds use social and professional networking sites, with 38% visiting blogs and chatrooms, and 39% uploading user-generated content. As the chart below shows, young emerging majorities in this age group are more likely than Whites to use such sites.  

They are also more likely to use mobile devices to access the Internet: 32% of Blacks, 31% of Hispanics and 19% of Asians, compared to 13% of Whites.

Some 57% of Asians, 52% of Blacks and 46% of Hispanics visit sites specifically targeted to them.

Green Consumer Attitudes

Almost three-quarters of Americans (72%) report knowing at least a fair amount about environmental issues, up from 65% in 2007. Even more (78%) say there needs to be a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment. Of those individuals, only 55% believe the environment is more important than the economy, down from 69% in 2007.

Despite today’s economic situation, consumers are still willing to spend more for green features including paper products from recycled paper (72%), green household cleaning products (64%), and environmentally safe laundry detergent (57%).

Only 32% feel they are doing enough for the environment. In addition, 70% say companies are not being responsible with the environment.

Preferred News Media

Today, almost three in 10 Americans aged 12 to 75 (29%) claim that websites devoted to news reporting are the most important news sources, with 9% naming news aggregators such as Google News.

Running a distant second, 18% say print newspapers are indispensable, and 16% cite online newspapers.

It’s interesting that, despite not using them much, 83% of this age group says newspapers are still relevant and 46% think they’ll still be around 10 years from now.

Teens’ Media Habits

American teens spend seven hours per day with one or more media, which amounts to approximately 64% of the time they are not in school. Most of this media time is spent with televisions, computers or cell phones.

Forty-five percent of those aged 13-19 say that cell phones are the key to their social lives. Cell phone activities include taking photos or videos (69%), making a purchase (34%), and visiting store websites (27%). Teens send about 15 text messages per day, with 53% of girls and 38% of boys preferring texting over talking because it allows them to multitask.

This age group spends more time online for entertainment (7.1 hours a week) and social networking (6.2 hours) than they do for schoolwork (4.5 hours).

Americans Seek Drug Coupons Online

Americans prefer to learn about new drugs by talking with their doctors (72%), while 54% look to websites such as WebMD, and 38% contact pharmaceutical companies directly to sign up for their email lists. The main reasons consumers sign up for drug company email lists are to receive coupons (68%) and learn about new products (56%). A smaller number (47%) wants to learn about existing products, 39% to learn how to manage a condition, 16% to motivate them to follow their prescription instructions, and 13% to interact with others who have similar health issues.

Sleep Disturbed by Economic Worries

One-third of Americans say they worry so much that they are up at least a few nights a week. The chart below shows their most common concerns.

More than one-half of those frequently kept awake by economic worries say they have been too sleepy to engage in activities such as exercise, eating healthily, or having sex. And, one-quarter (24%) have missed family events, leisure activities or work functions.

Telecommuting

Not having to deal with bad weather is the number one reason (72%) employees who work from home prefer this type of work arrangement. Most (60%) prefer to work from home in the winter months, but those in the West and South areas of the country prefer to work from home in the summer – to avoid the heat. Some 77% of workers say that high gas prices make working from home even more appealing. About 39% of employers have formal policies on working from a remote location. Overall, employees rate their employers 5.5 on a 10-point scale, with 10 being fully supportive of employees working from home. Employees also say their manager supports their working from home (67%) more than their co-workers do (61%).

Job Shadowing on the Rise

Job shadowing is when an employee or prospective hire watches an experienced worker as she or he performs a specific job. A 2009 study by i4cp shows that 31% of respondents said their firms use job shadowing, and another 14% have plans to implement one during the next two years.

Of the companies using job shadowing, 35% said individual business units are responsible for the programs, 28% said the learning function is, another 28% said their Human Resources department is, and 1% said their corporate headquarters handles the arrangements.

Location-Based Services Technology

Location-based services (LBS) is a technological feature that allows mobile devices to disclose a user’s physical location. Some marketers are concerned about criticism that the tools are an invasion of privacy, while others see LBS as a new revolution in transforming how Americans communicate and stay connected. ABI Research predicts that LBS will generate revenue of more than $14 billion in 2014, up from about $2.6 billion this year.

LBS can track location patterns, personal tastes in food, fashion, and music so users can receive alerts and location-based notifications from advertisers. The device constantly looks for people the user knows who may be nearby.

The main challenges for this technology are protecting users' privacy and finding ways to make marketing pitches relevant.

Bullets

• More than six in 10 female high school seniors (63%) think they will marry one person for life, compared to 57% of male seniors.
• There were 7.9 million Vietnam-era veterans in 2007. They account for the largest proportion of all living veterans (33%).
• Some 42% of homeowners did their own home improvement projects in 2008, up from 37% in 2006.
• More than one-third of travelers (36%) plan to stay at an eco-friendly hotel while on vacation, up from 30% in 2008. More travelers in 2009 (32%) than in 2008 (26%) claim to be more environmentally conscious in their trip decisions now than they were in the past.
• Some 20% of travelers admit they have stolen items from a hotel such as towels, flatware or decorative items.
• Eighty percent of online Americans are concerned about the privacy of their personal information (age, gender, income, surfing habits, etc.).
• Oklahoma has the highest percentage of wireless-only households (26.2%) while Vermont has the fewest at 5.1%.
• Eighty-five percent of affluent consumers (those with annual household incomes of $150,000 or more) say that craftsmanship is on the decline (58%). One-third also believes that salespeople aren’t as knowledgeable, polite or honest as they were in the past.
• Some 88% of students who dropped out of high school (88%) had passing grades when they quit.
• The proportion of Americans who order takeout from their cell phones while on the go jumped to 29% in 2009, up from 16% in 2007.
• Some 35% of women wouldn’t give up their morning coffee in order to have extra money for luxury purchases.
• While 91% of shoppers have cell phones, only 29% use them during shopping. Shoppers use them to call someone to ask about a product they might purchase (72%), send someone a photo of a product they might purchase (40%), go online to compare prices (24%), and go online to read product reviews (15%).
• Some 23% of web surfers wouldn’t mind if a website they visit uses non-personally identifying information (such as cookies) to include ads more relevant to their interests on its pages. Men (27%) are more likely to not mind than women (20%).
• According to SheSpeaks, shopping is the number one online activity for 40-something aged women. Women in this age group are more likely than younger women to post online reviews (62% vs. 53%) and buy products based on an email they received from the company (50% vs. 45%).
• One-half of Americans (51%) say they conduct searches about brands they read about in online articles. Those aged 18-24 (69%) and those with annual household incomes of $75,000 or more (57%) are more likely than average to do so.
• Only 9% of comments on blogs about wholesale and club stores were negative, compared to 34% for traditional department stores and 32% for mass merchandisers.
• Baby Boomers (93%) say that marketing messages about a product are more important to their buying decisions than messages about price (86%).
• More than 40 million Americans aged 12 and older (17% of the population) tune in to online radio each week. This is up 27% in from 2008. About one-half of Americans have listened to online radio.
• Almost one-half of workers (45%) frequently go to work when they are sick, compared to 8% who never do so.
• One in five dentists use social networking sites. The most popular site for 15% of these dentists is Facebook.
• Almost one-half of people who would like to wear contacts (45%) have astigmatism; 40% of those falsely believe the condition prevents them from wearing contacts.
• Sales of gluten-free food and beverages have grown 28%, compounded annually between 2004 and 2008, to reach $1.6 billion.
• Some 74% of large corporations reward their employees for healthy behavior (such as not smoking and maintaining a healthy weight) with lower insurance premiums and other benefits.
• Almost six in 10 patients (59%) are satisfied with the care they receive for back pain from their chiropractor, compared to 34% who are satisfied with care from their primary care physician.
• One-quarter of women say they or their households regularly eat organic foods. Some 28% are doing so more than they did two years ago.
• More than one-quarter of Americans (26%) say that a household member had problems paying a medical bill during the past year.
• Almost one-half of adults caring for their aging parents (45%) also provide them with financial assistance, at an average of $5,534 per year.
• More than one-half of Americans (54%) know someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Most commonly it is a relative (47%) or a friend (21%).
• Sales of organic foods grew 15.8% in 2008 to reach $22.9 billion in the U.S.  Sales of non-food organics (such as clothing and cleaning products) grew 39.4% in 2008 to $1.6 billion.
• Two-thirds of Americans online (67%) say they prefer email over other online forms of business and personal communication. Almost as many (65%) think it will be the case for at least the next five years.
• Less than one-third of Americans (31%) think that corporate executives have the public good in mind when they make business decisions; 32% of executives agree.
• Most executives (83%) think it will take their out-of-work peers more than three months to find a new job. Fifty-five percent of these unemployed are spending most of their time looking for a new job and 23% are focusing on professional development.
• Eight in 10 women in leadership and executive roles in businesses (80%) and 70% of women in Congress are former Girl Scouts.
• Three in 10 Americans (30%) have started at least one small business, and another 31% have considered doing so at some point in their lives.
• Well over one-half (55%) of executives consider themselves technologically savvy at home and work. One in five (20%) don’t like technology but use it because their work demands it, and 15% say they are avid and skilled tech users.
• One in eight email marketing messages (13%) were opened in 2008. Open rates for messages with subject lines containing fewer than 35 characters (19%) were higher than average. About 30% of messages are opened within the first two hours of delivery.