Marketing research and insights news and information. This issue's keywords: social media; Internet advertising; video streaming; customer service; retail technology.
More Americans are turning to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as a source of news, according to a study by Pew Research Center, which shows that with 63 percent of users getting their news from each site. That's an increase from 2013, where only 52 percent of Twitter users and 47 percent of Facebook users said they received their news from those sites. The study also shows that nearly twice as many people (59 percent) follow breaking news on Twitter, compared to the 31 percent who say they get breaking news from Facebook. However, news and information about government and politics is more likely to be posted and responded to on Facebook, with 32 percent of Facebook users saying they post about government and politics on Facebook and 28 percent commenting on those types of posts, compared to 25 percent of Twitter users who tweet about it and 13 percent who reply to tweets on the topic.
Internet advertising spend is poised to overtake television ad spend as the No. 1 advertising category worldwide as early as 2017, shows a report by FIPP, a magazine media association. The change is predicted to be driven by growth in PC-based Internet advertising and especially growth in advertising accessed via mobile platforms. The report shows mobile Internet advertising is projected to grow by an average of 39.8 percent a year between 2014 and 2017, driven by the spread of devices, connectivity and mobile content and desktop Internet advertising is projected to grow an average of 4.6 percent per year. Estimated global expenditure on mobile advertising in 2014 was $27.4 billion and is predicted to reach $75 billion by 2017. Mobile is estimated to contribute $47.5 billion in ad spend between 2014 and 2017, while television will be the second largest contributor with $17.6 billion. Internet accessed via laptop and desktop will follow with $14.1 billion.
Hispanics are more likely to make streaming an integral part of their video viewing lifestyle, shows a report by Horowitz Research, New Rochelle, N.Y. The study reports that 51 percent of Hispanic TV viewers spending 20 percent or more of their time watching over-the-top (OTT) content, compared to 43 percent of total urban TV content viewers. Fifty-four percent of bilingual and 56 percent of English-oriented Hispanics report spending more than 20 percent of their viewing time streaming, compared to 35 percent of Spanish-dominated Hispanics. The report also shows OTT capabilities (the ability to stream to a TV, computer or handheld device) is present among 92 percent of bilingual and 95 percent of English-oriented Hispanics but only 74 percent among Spanish-dominant Hispanics. The research suggests lack of access is the reason Spanish-dominant Hispanics are less likely to be OTT users. When the barrier is removed, Spanish-dominant Hispanics' OTT habits are similar to that of bilingual and English-oriented Hispanics, showing that Spanish-dominant Hispanics spend 49 percent of their viewing time streaming content, compared to 51 percent of bilingual and 45 percent of English-oriented Hispanics.
Consumers rated live chat highest among customer service touchpoints, compared to using a phone or social media, according to a survey from U.K. researcher eDigitalResearch. Thirty-one percent of consumers are currently using live chat, 73 percent of which rated their satisfaction as high, while 67 percent said it was easy to use. Thirty-seven percent said they now expect to be able to contact a brand via live chat, up 30 percent from last year. The research also found the touchpoints that rated low in satisfaction also scored low in ease of use. Forty-five percent of consumers said they were satisfied with using a phone as a touchpoint, 26 percent of which found it easy to use. Over half (53 percent) of social media users are satisfied with using social media as a touchpoint but only 54 percent found it easy to use.
A new study by Warrendale, Pa., product testing solution First Insight shows many consumers are not familiar with retail technology. When asked whether they preferred a virtual dressing room or a traditional dressing room to try on clothes nearly 60 percent said they prefer to use a traditional dressing room. Beacon technology is becoming a popular innovation in retail but 70 percent of respondents said they don't know what a beacon is. When asked which in-store technology was most helpful, nearly half of respondents said the price barcode scanner. Additionally, more than 75 percent of respondents said they would not shop at a store if it had facial recognition technology. However, that number dropped to 55 percent when respondents knew there would be a benefit associated with it.
These reports were compiled from recent issues of the Daily News Queue, a free e-newsletter digest of marketing research and insights news and information delivered each business morning. Not already in the Queue? Sign up here!