••• health care research
Dollars vs. doctors
Over one-third may switch doctors – if the price is right
While over 40 percent of Americans would be unwilling to change regular doctors for a reduction in health plan costs, another 34 percent would prefer lowering the cost of their health plan instead of keeping their doctor, according to a survey conducted by HealthPocket, a Sunnyvale, Calif., health plan ranking Web site.
Of those willing to make the switch, it wouldn’t take a whole lot of savings to sway them. When asked “If changing from your doctor to another doctor could save you money on your health plan premium costs, how much would you have to save annually to make the switch?”, over half of the 34 percent who would switch would do so for the lowest savings amount presented by the survey: $500-$1,000 annually. Eight percent said they would switch for $1,000-$2,000 and 7.5 percent for $3,000+.
While the plurality would stay loyal to their regular doctor, the 34 percent willing to walk away contradicts other research that has shown that many patients are highly satisfied with the care provided by their personal physician, such as a survey from The Physicians Foundation that found that nearly 80 percent of patients were very satisfied or extremely satisfied with the visit(s) with their family physician or primary care doctor in the past year.
Other than cost, one of the key factors in consumers’ selection process for health insurance is whether their doctor participates in a plan’s network of providers. For insurers, cost pressures are moving them to limit the size of their provider networks to negotiate lower rates to health care providers in exchange for a larger volume of patients.
www.healthpocket.com
••• television research
Taking control
Americans meticulously manage time-shifted TV-viewing on their own schedules
Americans’ TV-viewing habits were once at the mercy of network schedules but technology has come a long way from VCRs and VHS tapes. Now there are more ways than ever to watch shows on one’s own schedule and Americans are taking advantage – and taking control of their TV time.
Video on demand. DVRs. Streaming content. Entire seasons of television shows collected in DVD box sets. Seventy-eight percent of Americans have utilized the varied content-delivery methods, according to a poll conducted by Rochester, N.Y., research company Harris Interactive. The top methods include on-demand services (41 percent total, 34 percent cable, 9 percent satellite); TiVo, DVRs or other recording devices (37 percent); Netflix streaming services (30 percent); purchasing, renting or borrowing episodes or seasons on DVD (29 percent); and Hulu or Hulu Plus (22 percent). And of those who do so, 62 percent confirm that they watch multiple episodes of a single TV show at a time, sometimes called binge-viewing.
Not surprisingly, age plays a major role in having taken advantage of such viewing opportunities, with Americans ages 18-to-39 (89 percent ages 18-to-29 and 90 percent ages 30-to-39) significantly more likely to have done so than those ages 40-to-54 (78 percent). And 40-to-54-year-olds are, in turn, more likely to have done so than the 55+ age group (67 percent).
Perhaps more notably, Americans with children under 18 in the household are more likely than those without to have done so (84 percent with, 76 percent without), with the difference driven largely by Netflix streaming content (40 percent with, 27 percent without) and Amazon online and streaming content (15 percent with, 9 percent without).
Among those who ever watch TV shows on their own schedule, 43 percent confirm having certain shows they make a priority to watch before anything else, as soon as they are available. The top factor in what they prioritize isn’t complicated – it’s simply those seen as the favorite/most enjoyable (81 percent). Other factors include “I can’t wait to find out what happens next” (53 percent) and “It depends on how much time I have to watch” (42 percent), followed by “I don’t want to get behind and risk plot points being spoiled” (37 percent) and “It depends on my mood” (34 percent).
Women are more likely to be motivated by a desire to find out what happens next (60 percent women, 46 percent men), while for men the decision is more dependent on their mood (40 percent men, 29 percent women). Only 18 percent identified a desire to discuss the show with friends, family and/or coworkers as a factor influencing their viewing priorities.
Among those watching TV shows on their own schedules, 62 percent binge-view. Both new and old shows contribute to this, with half bingeing on older shows or past seasons of current shows and 40 percent bingeing on current seasons of shows.
The choices between which shows to binge-view is driven most by the type of show, with the majority of binge-viewers (56 percent) saying this influences their likelihood to binge-view a particular program. Other strong factors are a desire to catch up to the live broadcast (44 percent) and the genre of the show (43 percent). Few (13 percent) indicate that their choices are driven by the social aspect, such as watching marathons with friends and participating in watercooler conversations.
Among those who ever binge-view, 28 percent indicate that they are doing so more now than a year ago; just over half are doing so the same amount as a year ago; and 20 percent are doing so less. Looking forward, the binge-viewing trend shows signs of leveling off, as only 9 percent indicate that they expect to be binge-viewing more a year from now and two-thirds expect to be doing so the same amount at that time as they are now. One-fourth expect to be doing so less in a year.
www.harrisinteractive.com
••• mobile research
Disconnect? Dream on!
Consumers growing more dependent on smartphones
It’s been a hotly-debated topic in recent years whether constant connectivity via mobile devices is hurting or harming our way of life. While no clear answer has emerged, it’s obvious that, whether beneficial or not, smartphones are becoming more entwined in daily life than ever – even to the point that unplugging during a vacation has become unlikely for most, according to Prosper Insights and Analytics, a Worthington, Ohio, research company.
Sixty-one percent of mobile users say that they use their smartphones for all functions of their daily life, up 34 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, the percentage of users who say they use their smartphone only for basic functions is down a whopping 85 percent.
Further, it appears that mobile users can’t even disconnect when on vacation. Over 82 percent say they take their smartphone/tablet with them and use it all the time, up from 71 percent last year. Usage is up across a variety of activities, such as checking e-mail and entertainment. Checking in for a flight is up 52 percent year-over-year and making reservations for restaurants or attractions is up 35 percent.
“The inability to disconnect while on vacation appears to be the byproduct of our digital society and in some cases can relieve the stress caused by being away from work or home,” says Pam Goodfellow, analyst for Prosper Insights and Analytics. “However, constant connectivity is a double-edged sword because you’re seemingly sacrificing the true meaning of vacation – to relax and disconnect. Perhaps the question we should be asking ourselves is ‘Where do we draw the line?’”
www.prospermobile.com
••• brand research
A two-way street
U.S. consumers love the brands that love them
It should come as no surprise that a brand’s path to great customer loyalty cannot be paved passively. In fact, consumers have come to expect brands to put in some effort to please them – and their loyalty depends on it. According to a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, Princeton, N.J., on behalf of New York marketing consultancy Analytic Partners, nearly half of 18-to-44-year-olds feel that any loyalty they feel toward brands in the future will have to stem from the types of experiences brands create for them. This includes interaction in the form of video/online gaming, social media and third-party expert information through blogs and articles.
“The general conclusion we can make from these findings is that people want to be loved by the brands that love them – loyalty has become a two way street,” says Nancy Smith, founder and CEO of Analytic Partners. “No longer are the days when brands can advocate solely for themselves. In fact, the way brands spend their marketing dollars to interact with their consumers can ultimately have a real impact on profitability.”
Consumers feel empowered to make purchases when they have the knowledge to make proper decisions. Two-thirds of consumers are shopping online using mass-market sites like Amazon and Walmart.com and despite the ease of comparison price-shopping, they feel loyal to the brands they buy on these sites. Consequently, the determining factor for this lies within the reviews, as 75 percent feel that the reviews they read online play a major role in the purchases they make.
Gender and location do play a role in brand loyalty. Female consumers are generally more loyal to brands than males (68 percent vs. 55 percent). Results also indicated that consumers living in the South are the most loyal to the brands they buy (67 percent) and those living on the West Coast are the least loyal (56 percent).
www.analyticpartners.com
••• parents research
Funding family fun
Young parents – especially dads – spend more on family entertainment
Millennial parents (18-to-35 years old in 2012) just want to have fun and research shows they’re willing to pay for it, as Millennial moms and dads have family entertainment spending habits that contrast with their older counterparts. While some 42 percent of parents are spending less on family entertainment now than they were a year ago, more than one-third of Millennials are spending more – compared to just 17 percent of non-Millennial parents, according to a study from Chicago research company Mintel.
Moreover, younger dads’ spending habits show a disparity with older fathers and all mothers. Seventy-nine percent of younger dads spend less than $300 per month on family entertainment. However, 21 percent spend more than $300 a month, versus only 11 percent of men over 35 and 7 percent of females ages 18-to-34.
“Dads’ spending habits reflect their tendency to take a more relaxed approach to family activities, compared to moms, who are typically the budget makers and enforcers,” says Gretchen Grabowski, travel and leisure analyst at Mintel. “Many dads see their role as one of choosing fun activities that instantly gratify their kids. The likelihood that dads are the primary spenders in this sector, both in money and time, opens the door for marketers to target this group for family entertainment promotions.”
Meanwhile, 29 percent say budget restrictions prevent their families from participating in their entertainment activities of choice and one-quarter say that kids’ extracurricular obligations lessen their available time. Work obligations are also a primary barrier for young parents. One-quarter of Millennials say their spouse or partner doesn’t have time for family activities due to time spent working – a larger share than any older age group surveyed.
www.mintel.com