press, mentions & announcements

The growing diversity among U.S. consumers is increasing demand for global foods, with ethnic aisle sales totaling $8.27 billion in the 52 weeks ending June 18, a 13.1% rise from the previous year. This surge is driven by multicultural shoppers’ desire to connect with and preserve their cultures and an expectation for supermarkets to carry their preferred selections. Kathleen Blum, vice president of shopper insights for C + R Research, stressed the importance of supermarkets ensuring consumers know and can locate global food selections, leveraging digital tools such as shopping apps and retail websites. However, she also noted that merchandising a wide array of global foods can be challenging due to limited shelf space, emphasizing the need for careful category management and e-commerce strategies.

In response to the escalating issue of package theft, intensified by the rise of online shopping, The Ascent: Motley Fool offers five practical strategies. These include managing package deliveries efficiently, utilizing alternative delivery addresses, insisting on signatures for deliveries, installing doorbell cameras, and providing specific delivery instructions. Citing a study by C+R Research, the article highlights that 14% of Americans were victims of package theft in 2022, with stolen packages averaging a value of $112.30. The Ascent: Motley Fool’s entire piece provides an insightful discussion of this issue, relying on data provided by C+R Research.

There’s a decent chance you don’t have a good handle on how much your subscriptions are really costing you. Consumers’ offhand guess of how much they spend monthly on subscriptions averaged $86, according to a survey commissioned by market research firm C+R Research. Yet when asked about subscriptions in specific categories, the actual amount was $219 on average — $133 more than estimated.

Learn more in this interesting article from CNBC that mentions a study by C+R Research.

Here, at C+R, we strive to establish partnerships that have a positive and lasting social impact.  We are pleased to support the ARF’s WIDE scholarship and diversity program. 

 “Buy now, pay later,” or BNPL programs are having a resurgence in popularity. In recent months, major retailers have announced new partnerships with trendy BNPL startups, giving shoppers the point-of-sale option of splitting the cost of purchases into equal installment payments spaced out over a predetermined period of time. BNPL platforms are now marketing their services for younger consumers who don’t have a lot of cash flow to keep up with the latest fashion, beauty, or tech trends without having to shell out the entire cost at once and being subject to high credit card interest rates. Learn more in this insightful article by TIME that cites a recent study by C+R Research.

When shopping online or in stores these days, consumers increasingly have a new way to pay. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) allows them to split their purchases into four to six installment payments, often with no interest charges. An estimated 60% of Americans have used a BNPL service at least once, according to a survey by C+R Research. Which raises an important question: Is buy now, pay later a replacement for traditional layaway? While these point-of-sale installment loans share some things in common with layaway, they also differ in important ways. Learn more in this insightful article by Investopedia that cites a recent study by C+R Research.

Read how C+R Research partnered with the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) to help understand consumers’ perceptions of Surimi Seafood. This research identified several areas of opportunity, including that education, activation, and in-store promotion are necessary to raise consumer awareness of imitation crab (surimi) products and the ways to use them.

At the start of the pandemic, some believed remote work could increase diversity for tech companies. But while working from home has increased the radius to find talent and brought tech companies to workers instead of the other way around, representation data and experts suggest remote work may not move the needle on racial representation. “This is why it’s imperative to have internal diversity and inclusion, from the beginning,” Ashleigh Williams, C+R Research’s senior research director, told The Plug.“[As] human beings, we have biases. “Because we have biases, we have written those into law in our systems such as healthcare and education. There’s bias in the AI and the tech that we create,” Williams said. Read more about this topic and what Ashleigh Williams had to say in this insightful article. 

Watch YouthBeat’s Mary McIlrath as she presented to a recent Digital Kids Meetup Group and delved into the methodologies for conducting playtests virtually in the new reality post-covid. 

Once again this year, Crain’s partnered with Best Companies Group to survey employees and identify the 100 Best Places to Work, a list that gets more competitive each year. C+R Research was selected as Crain’s Chicago Business “Best Places to Work” for 2021, listed at #10 Among Midsize Companies. 

Age plays a factor in consumer perception of clean label, according to a study from C+R Research that Lesaffre Corp commissioned. “Most consumers do not use the term clean label, nor do they have a definition for it,” said Nancy Baum, senior research director for Chicago-based C+R Research.“They don’t necessarily consider themselves to be clean label shoppers,” she said in a webinar organized by Baking & Snack, a sister publication to Milling & Baking News. “Instead, they feel that they identify more with broader values around a healthy lifestyle.” Learn more in this insightful article from Supermarket Perimeter.

Have you ever gotten a package stolen from your porch?  If so, you are not alone.  It is a huge problem nationwide.  Read more about this in this article by The New York Times which references stats from C+R Research. “Forty-three percent of Americans shopping online experienced package theft last year, up from 36 percent in 2019, according to a recent market research study. Of that 43 percent, almost two-thirds reported packages having been stolen more than once.”

Making sense of the home security options on the market can be overwhelming. CNET has got you covered. Read more about this in this article by CNET which references stats from C+R Research’s 2020 Package Theft Report.

Super Bowl ads have, once again, provoked commentary from industry experts in marketing to Multicultural markets. Multicultural Marketing Resources (MMR) asked thought leaders from C+R Research to provide their analysis of the Super Bowl ads from a multicultural perspective.  Read what Anna Rossi, Ashleigh Williams, and Jorge Martinez from our CultureBeat team had to say about diversity and LGBTQ appeal in the 2021 Super Bowl commercials. 

Read about how 50 million Americans are struggling with food insecurity and learn about how many shoppers reported paying more for food items as USA TODAY shares stats from C+R’s report: Changes in Grocery Shopping Habits During COVID-19.

Consumers long thought to have been put off by terminology used by surimi seafood products in the U.S. market may be able to put those fears to rest after research indicated that consumers are not put off by ‘imitation’ labels and see information about surimi seafood’s origin—Wild Alaska Pollock—as a huge bonus, the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) announced.  Learn how this organization leveraged C+R’s multicultural division CultureBeat, who conducted a qualitative study with a diverse group of U.S. consumers to explore their perceptions of surimi as part of an on-going effort by GAPP to better understand the global demand for surimi seafood and help members better market their products.

Grocery shopping is one of the many everyday activities that 2020 has made more difficult, and although most stores are well-stocked these days, you may notice your bill creeping up due to a lack of in-store promotions. Learn about this trend in this article by Readers Digest, which uses data from C+R’s research report, “COVID-19 The Impact on Consumers’ Wallets.”

One of the more obvious trends playing out in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic was consumers eating more at home than usual. And this made perfect sense, as restaurants were mostly limited to take-out, delivery or drive-thru — or closed altogether.  Read more in this article and as they provided data from Terrie Wendricks: “Data from the U.S. The Department of Agriculture showed that consumers spent around 51% of their food and drink budget away-from-home in 2019, Terrie Wendricks, vice president of consumer and shopper insights at C+R Research, told Benzinga in an email. The firm’s estimates show a dramatic shift, as 70% of consumers are spending their food and drink dollars in the grocery category.”

The advertising industry has struggled with diversity for a long time. When Americans called for change after more instances of police brutality this summer, the industry was one of many announcing its commitment to improve. Learn more about this topic and gain insights from information shared in this article from Ashleigh Williams, Senior Research Director at C+R Research. 

Read about how black-owned businesses have been getting more publicity and customers since our recent civil unrest following the George Floyd protests. Ashleigh Williams, Qualitative Research Director at C+R Research, told Fortune. “Brands are finally starting to realize the importance of investing in understanding Black people and other minorities with them.” 

Terrie Wendricks, Vice President of C+R’s shopper insights division, ShopperEyes, was featured on Foodable, where she discussed the grocery and retail food industry – specifically about strategies brands should adopt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch it now!

Item shortages, delivery wait times and social distancing guidelines have all forced shoppers to change their grocery shopping habits and beliefs. A new survey conducted by C+R Research, found that 89 percent of American shoppers believe limits should be placed on grocery store items. Read more now!

The Ad Council released new research regarding Americans’ varied responses to the coronavirus pandemic. The “Coping with COVID-19” study, conducted pro bono by C+R Research, highlights how brands, foundations, media and other mission-driven organizations can help address the needs of citizens during the pandemic.

The Ad Council will release report briefs that highlight the top conversations/ findings as they evolve during the COVID-19 pandemic. C+R was approached by The Ad Council to launch an on-going quantitative exploration of what Americans truly need during these unprecedented times. We felt it was critical for C+R to donate our professional services to this important research. Learn more about how, with this research, foundations, brands, the media, and causes can make informed decisions about how they can best address the impact of COVID-19 on Americans.

Learn more about C+R’s partnership with The Ad Council in our blog Coping With COVID-19: C+R Partners With The Ad Council For Ongoing Coronavirus Research.  

What has made phone calls so unfavorable and how is this trend impacting qualitative research? QRCA Views’ article by Shaili Bhatt, Senior Research Director, C+R Research, sheds some light on the case for texting. Read it now!

Experiential stores of the future are here, generating buzz with exciting and noteworthy components; it’s a welcome contrast from the ongoing losses of physical retail in news headlines.

Learn about trends in Experiential Retail from C+R’s Shaili Bhatt, Senior Research Director, Qualitative Research, in QRCA Views Magazine article “The Wonderment of Experiential Retail.”  
 

National Pork Board Report Calls for Pork Industry to Better Meet the Needs of Hispanic Consumers. New Research Identifies Steps for Retailers and Packers to Seize Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity.

About the Research   
The National Pork Board commissioned custom research with C+R Research and Datassential. The multi-phased custom studies included a variety of qualitative methodologies including focus groups, in-depth interviews, shop-alongs and dine-alongs, as well as surveyed 11,000+ consumers, including more than 2,000 Hispanic consumers, and paired foodservice operator interviews, volumetric data, and syndicated foodservice data to gain a comprehensive, in-depth look at the needs, offerings, considerations and motivations that impact Hispanic dining decisions.  

Full-service marketing insights agency, C+R Research, has partnered with neuro-testing agency, CloudArmy, to include neuro insights into C+R Research’s rich toolbox of methods and services. With this partnership, C+R can design custom research across the spectrum of System 1 (implicit) and System 2 (explicit) thinking; resulting in deeper insights that marry consumers’ conscious and subconscious reactions. C+R’s president, Robbin Jaklin, says, “since pioneering focus groups nearly 60 years ago, today C+R is well known for designing innovative custom quantitative, qualitative and hybrid research methodologies, resulting in high-quality analytical insights, and superior customer service. Over the years, our clients have come to expect us to evolve, adapt, and be innovative with new offerings to help them achieve their business objectives. Our clients are interested in System 1 learning, and our partnership with CloudArmy enables us to provide them with insights that not only incorporate the best of explicit testing, but now implicit testing. We’re excited to add CloudArmy as a partner and their neuro-testing expertise.” 

“It’s a pleasure to partner with curious-minded people who want to test the potential of multiple online neuro methods to discover consumer insights through a new lens,” says Kent Alstad, CEO of CloudArmy.