What: A summary of the most relevant consumer insight research in the US, US Hispanic, and Latin American markets.
Why it matters: If you're trying to keep up with the latest happenings, this is your one-stop shop.
- STR's Consumer Travel Insights 2019 report series revealed 69% of global travelers used online review sites for their most recent trips. Word of mouth was very important for 51% of travelers, who used personal recommendations to help plan their trip. Of those who booked their holiday through an OTA, 55% used the service because it enabled comparison of multiple accommodation options. Only 29% of travelers used the service because it offered the best deal. 41% of travelers have at some point used Airbnb, with 92% being aware of the property sharing service.
- According to new data by Nielsen, frozen, fully cooked chicken wings are still a very popular Super Bowl food. Deli counter wings remain a popular option for fully cooked chicken wings (with sales up 15% to $650 million from $565 million last year). Fresh wings have also skyrocketed, with sales up 31.4% in the past year. Moreover, online wing sales in the seven days leading up to and including the Super Bowl catapulted from $7,984,198 in 2017 to $11,562,723 in 2018, a 45% increase.
- According to the new study conducted by MAGNA, IPG Media Lab and ViralGains, obtaining and responding to consumer sentiment is crucial to optimizing the consumer ad journey. The study tested two video ad journeys among 6,000 consumers in the third quarter of 2018. On average, 59% of ad impressions were wasted with standard video retargeting. Consumers on a sentiment-driven journey were more likely to take action – 7x more likely to search for the brand and 2x more likely to visit the brand’s website.
- Food companies target Hispanic and black youth with advertisements almost exclusively for fast food, candy, sugary drinks, and unhealthy snacks, according to a new report by the University of Connecticut, Drexel University, and the University of Texas Health Science Center. Those unhealthy foods represented 86% of food advertising spent on black-targeted television programming, and 82% of advertising spending on Spanish-language television, in 2017, the study found.
- Seventy-three percent of Republicans in a Pew Research Center study say the media does not understand them. The study found that Republicans surveyed felt misunderstood by the media, regardless of demographic traits and media consumption habits. Across the aisle, 40% of Democrats in the survey felt misunderstood, while 58% felt understood by news organizations.
- Also according to Pew Research Center's data, Hispanics are on track to be the largest racial or ethnic group to be eligible to vote in a presidential election. According to Pew, Hispanics are projected to be about 13.3% of the electorate in 2020, which would make them the largest racial or ethnic minority of the electorate for the first time. In 2016, Hispanics were 11.9% of the electorate; African-Americans were 12.5% and are projected to remain the same in 2020.
Janet Grynberg @grynberg_janet – Hot Topics, Travel Marketing Tags: Consumer Insights, IPG Media Lab, Magna, multicultural, nielsen, Pew Research Center, STR, Super Bowl, travel, University of Connecticut, viralgains 
Janet Grynberg @grynberg_janet
Janet has worked as editor and translator since 2013. After graduating with honors when receiving her Bachelor's Degree in English literature, she began working as a book reviewer for Expansión, the leading business magazine in Mexico. She has also worked as editor of young adult literature for publishing houses like Planeta and Penguin, and she's the author of a book of short stories. She's in the process of getting her MA in English at McGill University. Her interests include arts, good food, and her 8 pets.
