KEY FINDINGS NEWSLETTER
Fall 2002

Direct Mail Response
Fewer than three quarters (73%) of people take time to read the direct mail they receive. This is down from 80% in 2000. Some entities’ mail receives more attention than others’ do. For example, 70% of consumers open direct mail from retailers. This is followed by charities (55%), entertainment companies (46%), book or music clubs (43%), publishers (38%), automotive companies (36%), financial services companies (34%), and websites or internet service providers (23%). The chart below shows the main reasons consumers decide to open direct mail.

World Class Brands
The Discovery Channel leads the top 10 world class brands in America based on quality. The chart below lists other brands making this list.

The chart below shows how Americans feel about some of the other rights they hold.

Holiday Shopping Stress
Men and women both find holiday shopping stressful. However, as the chart below shows, they cite different aspects of the buying process as being more or less personally stressful to them.

Industrial Marketing Activities
A 2002 Thomas Register survey shows direct sales provide the highest return on investment (ROI) from worldwide marketing activities, while direct mail yields the lowest return.

Healthcare Spending
During 2001, outpatient hospital care spending jumped 16.3% becoming the fastest growing component of overall healthcare spending. According to the Center for Studying Health System Change, this was the first time since 1995 that prescription drugs did not represent the largest part of the increase. Overall healthcare spending rose 10% — the first double-digit increase in more than a decade — with outpatient spending accounting for 37% of that growth.

Paying for Online Content
U.S. consumers spent $675 million on online content in 2001, up 92% from the prior year. Paid content includes subscriptions (85%) and single item purchases (15%). The average price for an annual subscription was $49.69, the average price for a monthly subscription ran $8.46, and a single content item cost $17.89 on average.

There are an estimated 1,700 sites charging for online content. However, most (85%) of the money spent by U.S. consumers goes to just 50 sites; almost all (97%) goes to 100 sites.

The chart below shows the online content spending for 2001 and the growth when comparing spending in the first quarters of 2001 and 2002.

Telecommuting
Over one-half (54%) of Americans think telecommuting would improve the quality of their lives. However, workers still have some concerns about this type of work arrangement. See the chart below for details.

Healthcare Problems
Almost one-half (44%) of American families said they had encountered at least one problem with access to healthcare, paying medical bills or perceived quality of care during the past year. The chart below shows the prevalence of these problems.

Bullets

• African American women (62%) in corporate management jobs are more likely than their Latina (52%) or Asian (51%) counterparts to have mentors.

   

• Almost one-half (47%) of Americans believe the high prices of prescription drugs are justified by research and development expenses. Those age 18-34 are most likely (57%) to agree and those age 55+ are least likely (41%) to agree.

   

• Almost two-thirds (65%) of Americans say they would not change their opinion about a favorite professional athlete who came out about being gay or lesbian. However, 78% believe that other people would have less favorable opinions.

   

• The hot color for cars continues to be silver, while blue hues and shades of orange are expected to gain favor during 2003.

   

• Americans age 50+ own two-thirds (66%) of U.S. household wealth, up from 56% in 1983. They also control $800 billion of $1.5 trillion in discretionary income. This age group makes up two-thirds of stockholders and 80% of the luxury travel market.

   

• The average age for becoming a first-time grandparent is 47 years.

   

• One in three dogs in the U.S. is overweight.

   

• More than one-fifth (22%) of seniors have failed to fill a prescription due to cost or have skipped doses to make medicine last longer. About as many (23%) spend over $100 per month on prescription drugs.

   

• Over one-third (35%) of sports cars are sold to people age 45-54 and another 19% to those age 55+.

   

• Fewer Americans (20%) than Europeans (40%) sleep nude in their hotel rooms.

   

• As of September 2002, 3% of Americans had discontinued their landline telephone service and now use only a mobile phone.

   

• Almost one-half (47%) of Americans think people should have to pass a test before being allowed to vote; 37% say a test should be required before letting someone become a parent

   

• Americans spent $34.4 billion on sports apparel in 2001, up 3% from the prior year. Sports apparel accounts for almost 21% of all apparel sales.

   

• In the last five years, the imported beer market jumped from 7% to 11% of all U.S. beer consumption to reach 666 million gallons.

   

• Americans spent $7.76 billion on specialty coffees in 2000, two-thirds of this was for brewed beverages and the rest for beans to brew at home.

   

• More than one-half (52%) of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) adults are in a committed relationship. Of these, 82.5% live together.

   

• When given a choice between two products or services of equal quality, 86% of consumers say they would pay more for the one offered by a company with “an excellent reputation for being honest with customers, employees and shareholders.”

   

• Road and street mileage increased only 2.4% since 1980, but the number of vehicles using those roads and streets grew 39.8% and vehicle miles of travel jumped 81.2%.

   

• Three-quarters (76.3%) of Americans drove to work alone in 2000, while 11.2% carpooled, 3.2% worked at home, 3.1% biked or walked, 2.8% used buses or trolleys, 1.6% traveled by subway, 0.5% by train, and 1.3% used other means.

   

• From 1980 to 2000, the number of drivers over age 70 holding a valid license rose 111% to reach 18.9 million.

   

• In 2000, two out of every three men age 65+ had served in the armed forces.

   

• Over one-third (37%) of Americans say they lived with their spouse before marriage, compared to 19% in 1988.

   

  Americans gave 0.5% more dollars to charity in 2001 than 2000, but the value decline was 2.3% after adjusting for inflation. Total giving in 2001 was $212 billion, 75.8% of which came from individuals. Individual giving increased 1.1%, but was down 1.7% after adjusting for inflation.

   

• One-half of women think it is acceptable for newspapers to print civil unions of gay and lesbian couples in the same way traditional wedding announcements are printed. Only 42% of men approve.

   

• More than one-half (57%) of U.S. Muslims have experienced bias or discrimination since September 11^th and 87% know a fellow Muslim who has had such experiences. On the other hand, 79% have experienced kindness or support from friends or colleagues of other faiths.

   

• Most (75%) of urban Hispanics say they think it is important for them to have access to Spanish-language television channels, even though 40% prefer to watch English-language shows.

   

• Most U.S. consumers (62.3%) plan to spend the same amount of money during the 2002 holiday season than last year; only 8.3% plan to spend more.

   

• Consumers own 3.1 e-mail addresses, up from 2.6 in 2000. Almost one-third (31%) of e-mail addresses change each year due to switching internet service providers, job changes, and efforts to avoid spam e-mail.

   

• Over one-half (53%) of internet users say they usually read the privacy policy on a web site they are visiting for the first time. People are most likely to read it when buying something online (78%) or when asked for personal information (73%).

   

• One-third (32%) of Americans watch one of the nightly network news broadcasts, up from 30% in 2000. This number had been plunging steadily from 60% in 1993.

   

• Most college students (92%) own a computer. Over two-thirds (69%) have cell phones and 80% have a vehicle for their personal use.

   

• Three in five (60%) of children under age 18, including 78% of these age 12-17, rely on the internet to help them with their schoolwork.

   

• Four in ten teachers (42%) have web sites and 71% believe most teachers will have one to help with their teaching within the next five years.

   

• American workers spend 8.3 hours per week accessing the internet for non-work related reasons.

   

• About 45 million U.S. internet users have their internet-enabled computer and television in the same room. One-half (47%) “frequently” tune in to both at the same time, while only 5% say they never do so. Only 15% of those who are online and watching television simultaneously are visiting a web site related to the television program.

   

• Almost two-thirds (64%) of internet users are more likely to shop online than they were in 2000, and 71% plan to purchase a gift through the internet this holiday season.

   

• Twenty-eight percent of Americans say that drinking has been a cause of trouble in their family. This is down from 36% reported in each of the past three years.

   

• The proportion of family physicians that refuse to accept new Medicare patients grew from 17% in 2001 to 21.7% in 2002.

   

• Less than two-thirds (62%) of Americans drink alcoholic beverages, compared to 90% of the British, 88% of the French, and 75% of the Spaniards.

   

• People age 65+ who live alone visit the doctor 55% more than those in this same age group who live with others.

   

• Forty-two percent of mainstream grocery stores now carry organic produce.

   

• Organic food sales in the U.S. reached $6 billion during 2001. By 2005, this is projected to reach $20 billion.

   

• Errors are made in one out of every five (20%) medication doses given in hospitals and nursing facilities. The mistakes include giving the wrong dose, delivering it at the wrong time, giving an unauthorized drug, or forgetting to give the drug to the patient. About 7% of these errors have the potential to cause serious medical consequences.

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