Where Do Consumers Get Their Information? Anywhere.

August 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are more information sources for consumers than ever before. We’ve certainly moved well beyond newspapers, magazine, encyclopedias (encyclo-what’s?) and other traditional information sources in favor of every variety of Internet source – websites, social media, blogs, and of course, Wikipedia (that’s more like it.) But we’ve also completely broken a long-standing variable – where people are when they look for information. Home, office, etc., are practically irrelevant now. More and more so, information is retrieved on the go via smartphone. This according to a recent Pew Research study of 2,277 adults (Americans and Their Cell Phones; Aug 15 2011), which says that more than half of Americans now use their cell phones for realtime information retrieval. Specifically:

Half of all adult cell owners (51%) had used their phone at least once to get information they needed right away. One quarter (27%) said that they experienced a situation in the previous month in which they had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone at hand.

The numbers are even more significant when narrowed down to young Americans (18-29):

  • 70% of 18-29 year old cell owners have used their phone for entertainment when they were bored
  • 64% have used their phone to quickly retrieve information they needed
  • 42% have had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone nearby
  • 30% have used their phone to avoid interacting with the people around them

The mobile platform is on the verge of ubiquity, and presents amazing opportunities from a market research perspective, including mobile data collection, location-aware information, capturing customer interactions (via QR codes, for example) and more.

Have you started leveraging mobile devices in your market research? Are you finding shifts in data based on how consumers now retrieve information on the go? We want to hear your thoughts! Post your comments here, or find us on Twitter (@researchaccess).

Filed Under: Market Research, Mobile Tagged With: , , , ,

ResearchBase: Health Risks of Cell Phones

June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

You may have heard about the recent news concerning cell phone use and the possible associated health risks – namely, an increased risk of cancer. This is according to a recent announcement from the World Health Organization, which now categorizes cell phones in the same “carcinogenic hazard” category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.

A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”

What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers.

In addition to the obvious concern for our own health and well-being, one of the more striking aspects of this story, though, is that prior to this announcement, despite concerns of a number of parties, the WHO had assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established.

Which brings us to the latest addition to ResearchBase: a study conducted by Powerfeedback and SurveyAnalytics to determine the potential impact of this news on cell phone usage.
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Gone the way of the dodo

January 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

The Dodo bird was a flightless bird common to areas around the Indian Ocean. It was once a populous species (no doubt, given it’s relationship to pigeons), but alas, the Dodo has been extinct since the 17th century. Significantly, the extinction of the dodo is directly attributable to human activity, which contributes to the expression that something has “gone the way of the dodo” when it has become obsolete, and therefore ceases to exist.

Some day, in the not too distant future, we’re going to be talking about how landline telephones have gone the way of the dodo.
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Look Who’s Talking

September 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Americans are gabbing away on their cell phones according to this Nielsen report. The particularly interesting part is who’s doing the talking. Women (perhaps unsurprisingly to some) talk 22% more than men, and teens are texting more than anyone else.

Usage also varied by location. The South loves to talk with most of the Southern states using more than 800 voice minutes each month. The highest text messaging states, however, are spread throughout the country in states like Utah, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, which are averaging more than 800 text messages each month. These powerful trends actually vary significantly by who’s doing the talking, which means an additional level of strategy needed for marketers hoping to tap into the mobile channel.

The report also shows how the minutes break down by race: “African-Americans use the most voice minutes – on average more than 1,300 a month. Hispanics are the next most talkative group, chatting an average of 826 minutes a month. Even Asians/Pacific Islanders, with 692 average monthly minutes, talk more than Whites, who use roughly 647 voice minutes a month.”

What does this tell you about your audience? Is a mobile platform now the best route to your customer? Let us know what you think.

Filed Under: Market Research, Marketing, Mobile Tagged With: , , , ,

Long Live the King

September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

For the better part of the 20th century, the television dominated the American home while also commanding the marketing budgets of numerous companies. Now, however, a study released by the Pew Research Center shows that this traditional American centerpiece is losing its standing as a household fixture. According to the study, only 42% of Americans now say they consider the television set to be a “necessity,” down from 52% in 2009 and 64% in 2006. Interesting, then, that flat screen TVs are on the rise as a “necessity.”

Another American standby that has dropped in importance is the landline telephone. The same Pew Research Center study shows that only 74% of American households still have landline service. Cell phones, however, are in their heyday with 82% of adults using a mobile phone. The numbers officially reflect what many have been predicting for some time: there are more cell phones in the U.S. than landline phones.

What does this mean for marketers? Will this shift budgets and strategies? Once users have fully replaced their landlines and their televisions, what does the playing field look like? Obviously, these trends vary by audience, so what do they mean for you?

Filed Under: Budgets, Market Research, Marketing Tagged With: , , , , ,