July and August 2012

• Almost six in 10 U.S. adults (57%) think violent movies increase violent behavior in society.
• Social networks and blogs reach eight in 10 U.S. Internet users. than one-half (55%) of U.S. married couples have been married for at least 15 years. (US census bureau)
• More than a quarter of dads (26%) say they do all the grocery shopping for their families.
• Nearly a quarter of Americans ages 18-34 (24%) have moved back to their parents’ homes in the past few years after living on their own.
• Six in 10 tablet owners (60%) use their tablets at least weekly to listen to music.
• Some 14% of wedding receptions held in 2011 included interactive food stations, such as wine tastings or sushi chefs.
• By the end of 2012, more email will be read on mobile devices than on computers.
• Consumers consider TV ads that feature a company CEO more likeable than those without CEOs
• Almost half of consumers (47%) say they buy products from brands that support causes at least once a month.
• Some 15% of consumers ages 18-34 use smartphone apps to help them make brand decisions when shopping for consumer packaged goods.

 

Brand Strategy

• Almost seven in 10 smartphone owners ages 18-34 (68%) check their phones at least once an hour.
• One in 10 consumers (10%) say their customer loyalty (or lack thereof) is based on their impressions of the company before they even make a purchase.
• Four in10 Americans (41%)buy clothes only when they’re on sale.
• Americans are expected to spend $15 billion on tea in 2012.
• Almost a fifth of smartphone and/or tablet owners (17%) have purchased a product using an app.

 

Healthcare

• 47% of the time people think about something other than what they are doing.
• The American Red Cross says its national blood supply is at its lowest level in 15 years because of severe weather combined with a markedly slow summer of donations.
• The business of testing for sleep disorders and disturbances, including pediatric sleep issues, is growing rapidly in this country as the importance of getting adequate daily sleep becomes better understood.
• More over-the-counter sleep aids are bought than any other OTC drug, and 25% of us take a sleep med every year.
• Parents are 52% less likely than adults without children to get sick when exposed to the common cold virus.
• More than eight in 10 Americans (88%) say it’s easier to break a bad habit if they can “replace” it with a good one.
• Women unconsciously buy sexier clothes if they shop while they’re ovulating.
• Three in 10 American adults (31%) have chronic neck or back pain.
• Nearly one in 10 grocery shoppers (9%) almost always check the calorie counts of foods before buying.
• Of the 52% of U.S. adults who are currently “watching” their diets, 15% are doing so to monitor their sodium intake.
• Between five and ten percent of the world’s children suffer from dyslexia, yet very little is know about its causes.

Business to Business

• One in 10 employees who are late to work blame the weather.
• More than a third of Americans (37%) and 26% of adults worldwide would be interested in going to another country for a temporary job, while only 17% would like to migrate to another country permanently.
• U.S. companies are expected to spend 152.1 billion on consumer advertising in 2012, up 2.7% from 2011.
• A quarter of all daily deals purchased on Groupon are bought via mobile.
• More than a third of corporate marketing executives (36%) say their companies have “lots of data” on their customers but don’t know what to do with the information.
• Six in 10 consumers (61%) say their primary reason for interacting with brands on social media is to find discounts.

Energy

• U.S. consumers spent 24% more on gas in 2011 than in 2010, but purchased 2% fewer total gallons.
• Almost half of Americans (48%) say they’d be significantly more likely to practice eco-friendly habits if there were fined or penalized for not doing so.
• The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has successfully completed the first full-scale deployment of critical well control equipment to exercise the oil and gas industry’s response to a potential subsea blowout in the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico.
• The EPA’s schedule of minimum targets for ethanol in the nation’s fuel mix, has caused some 40 percent of the nation’s corn harvest to be used for feeding vehicles, not people.
• The wave and tidal resource assessments, combined with preliminary results from ongoing DOE assessments of ocean current, ocean thermal, and hydropower opportunities, indicate that water power can potentially provide 15% of our nation’s electricity by 2030.