A recent study on the FGI SmartPanel suggests that using online media and portable devices to listen to music correlates with listening to more music overall. With 43% of respondents saying that they use an iPod or similar mp3 player, that’s a lot of listening. Nevertheless, the same survey indicates that older media, like CDs and radio, retain their edge: 81% of respondents listen to music on the radio, and 61% say they listen to music on CDs. Then again, the data seems to show that those who use portable devices or online media to listen to their music buy more music and consume more hours of audio media per week.

Devices Used to Listen to Music

National Numbers
To establish some context for these discoveries, FGI researchers collected nationally-representative data to show how much time and money consumers spend on music, in general. A third (31%) spends between one and three hours per week listening to music. Slightly less than a quarter (23%) listens to music for four-to-six hours; 13%, for seven-to-nine hours; 15%, for 10-12 hours; and 17%, for over 13 hours per week.

Given that most respondents report listening to fewer hours of music, it makes sense that most (40%) also report spending less money –under $20 on music in the past year, to be precise. 23% report spending between $20 and $49. 18% say they spent between $50 and $100. A fifth of consumers spent over $100 on music this year. Even with the majority of consumers (evidently) saving money for other purchases, this statistic suggests that a good handful of music fans have the disposable income to bulk up their libraries, a surprising revelation in a climate of reserved spending.

In that vein, roughly 18% of consumers say they own a collection of between 2000 and 5000 songs, whether that is stored on a hard drive or in other formats. 27% say they own between 500-2000 songs. But most (43%) report owning fewer than 500, a figure which aligns with the revelation that consumers are spending less on music in general. A remaining handful (12%) reports owning more than 5000 songs.

Radio- and CD-Listeners Spend Less
Those who report listening to music on CDs or the radio, incidentally, report spending less time listening to music. They also spend less money on music and own smaller collections of songs. Over a quarter (28%) of radio listeners spends fewer than three hours a week listening to music, while 24% listen to music for four-to-six hours. Only a few (15%) spend the maximum 16-plus hours. Meanwhile, 44% of radio listeners say they own fewer than 500 songs. The majority (69%) own fewer than 2000. Not surprisingly, they tend to spend less money on music: 37% spent less than $20 this year, and 63% spent less than $50. Still, 20% managed to spend over $100.

Among CD-listeners, the percentages are more balanced. 23% say they listen to music for less than three hours a week; 22%, between four and six. Only 18% listen to more than 16 hours. Over half of listeners have fewer than 2000 songs in their libraries. 36% have fewer than 500, and only 12% have more than 5000. CD-listeners show an even distribution in terms of how much money they spend, too: 28% spent less than $20 on music this year, but 25% spent over $100. 25% spent between $20-50, while 22% spent between $50-100.

However balanced, these numbers indicate that most CD-listeners spent less than $100 on music in the last year, and radio-listeners were even more frugal. These respondents also own smaller collections of music (likely because they buy less) and consume fewer hours of media per week. It may be that those likelier to use older media formats are unlikely to adapt to new formats, such as the mp3, which permit the storage and purchase of a greater volume of music (and hence facilitate more listening). They may also be less interested in music on the whole, or they may be in an economic position that prevents them from taking advantage of the latest and greatest in audio technology –which is hardly inexpensive!

The Internet Changes Everything
As it has the industries of print media, entertainment, and education (among others), the web has transformed the ways that consumers learn about, buy, store and listen to music. FGI drilled down the numbers to find out how using online media, namely free media players, mp3 stores, and subscription services, changes the data for how much consumers spend on music, how long they listen, and how many songs they own.

Those who use online subscription services to listen to music tend to spend the least time listening: 28% report listening less than three hours per week, compared to 20% among those who use iTunes and mp3 stores, and 20% among those who use a free music player. On the other hand, mp3 store customers show considerable variation when it comes to how long they listen. As many respondents report listening to over 16 hours as report listening to fewer than three. As for those who use a free music player, the highest number (25%) actually report listening to more than 16 hours of music per week. It may be that the allure of free media encourages them to indulge more in listening to music than they would, were they required to pay. Even if they listen longer, they don’t spend as much.

Indeed, 72% of those who use a free online media player report having spent less than $100 on music last year. 28% report paying between $20-49. 29% report paying less than $20. With less than a third (28%) of consumers saying they actually use a free media player, there is no telling what the broad implications of a trend like this may be, but there certainly seems to be a correlation between access to or use of free media and using media more heavily.

It may also be that the online format alone, whether free or not, makes it easier to use more media. Shoppers on iTunes and similar mp3 stores report spending less on music (70% spent less than $100; 52%, less than $50), but they also own larger song libraries (33% owned between 2000-4999 songs; over half owned more than 2000). Even if users are not using the media for quite as many hours as those who listen to free media players, they still consume plenty, which leads researchers to speculate that buying music using a virtual form of money (credit) in the intangible format of an mp3 may be “easier” to do in the consumer’s mind than exchanging material assets for a physical object –especially since an album on iTunes costs up to six dollars less than a CD from a store. Since consumers cannot “see” the transaction, it may carry less of a guilt factor, even in a down economy.

Where do you Obtain Your Music?

Music on the Move: How Mobile Devices Change Consumer Habits
Notwithstanding the dominance of Apple’s iPod, it is not the only portable device that consumers use to listen to music. Neither is iTunes the only mp3 store that consumers patronize. Sony, Archos and Creative Labs are some of Apple’s upcoming competitors in the market for portable players, while Amazon is giving iTunes a run for its money in the music download business. Apple may also face competition from an unexpected alternative: as technology advances, smartphones are becoming an increasingly attractive way of listening to music. Although traditional mp3 players have a higher penetration in terms of the music-playing function (43% compared to 10% for smartphones), those who do use smartphones to listen to music tend to be some of the heaviest users of media.

42% of those who use their smartphones to listen to music say that they have between 2000-5000 songs in their library, at least 10 percentage points higher than iPod-users, and even higher than users of other devices. They also listen to more music, with 27% listening to between four and six hours and 23% listening to more than 16. While roughly 25-30% of users of other devices had spent less than $20 on music in the past year, among smartphone users, the number was 15%. Nearly half (46%) report having spent between $20-$49. Although not a gigantic leap, this definitely speaks to a greater tendency among those who use their smartphones to listen to music to spend more money on music overall.

It does bear mentioning that those who can afford to purchase smartphones –and pay for a data plan that makes listening to music feasible –are likely to be in an economic position that enables them to spend more on music and similar little luxuries. They may also be heavier consumers of all forms of media, given the simple access to news, social networking, video, and other content that smartphones facilitate. It makes sense that music would fit into that group.

Actionable Insights
What can we conclude from this study more generally? Notwithstanding the complexity of this body of data, there are a few major points to consider. First, users of online and mobile technology tend to be heavier consumers of media. Second, smartphone users tend to be even heavier media-consumers. Yet in spite of this fact, many consumers still use CDs and radio. In a shifting media climate, different stakeholders will interpret this information differently.

Record labels may take comfort in the comparatively higher percentages of consumers who still use CDs and radio, but they might balk at the data for media-consumption among iPod and smartphone users. Producers of mobile and portable devices will be happy to hear that consumers have found so many ways to use their products and try to gain even more of an edge in the mp3 market. All stakeholders would likely benefit from deeper research into topics that pertain to their interests.

• Free music players could use advanced analytics and user research to create more targeted advertising, making business more lucrative for them and for their sponsors.
• Mobile application developers could research how exactly consumers use their phones to listen to music in order to develop more innovative and user-friendly platforms. They could then use concept testing to refine their ideas.
• Record labels could perform a competitive analysis to understand what gives other players in the market an edge, and they could use the insights from such a study to develop a strategy for evolution and success.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 240
Date of Survey: December 21-28, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

In a survey fielded through SmartPanel™, over half of U.S. consumers said that they had gone online to watch television programming, of one type or another, in the last three months. Over a quarter of these online viewers said that they had watched TV using a web-enabled mobile device. These trends correspond to data that FGI collected on Google Trends, which indicates that the search term “watch tv online,” and related variations, has seen a steady increase in frequency since 2005.

As Internet infrastructure grows and technological capabilities advance, web-users have gained access to an increasing volume and variety of media. This diversified diet of content seems to be breeding a new type of media consumer. However, it bears mentioning that one of the most common reasons why consumers said they watched television content online was because they had missed an episode of a show they usually followed on the TV (70% indicated as much). While more people may be accessing content on the Internet, it seems clear that the Internet has yet to replace TV altogether.

Online Viewers not “Online” All the Time
Of all respondents, 53% said that they had gone online to access television programming in the past three months, compared to 47% who hadn’t. One in ten of those who said they watched streaming content on the Internet reported doing so “most frequently” (that is, compared to watching television on cable, satellite, or another format). Still, 72% of these viewers said that they watched television on cable, digital cable, or satellite most often, notwithstanding the occasional episode they viewed online. In short, “traditional” TV-watching habits prevail, even if a majority of viewers accesses content online some of the time. Given these data, it seems logical that one of the most commonly-reported reasons why viewers accessed streaming content was because they had missed an episode they usually watched on TV.

Reasons for Watching Streaming Content Online

A related reason for watching online content, which 25% of respondents listed, was because viewers didn’t have time to watch their favorite show, or shows, on TV at the scheduled air-time. A quarter of viewers (25%) wanted to avoid ads. A handful (22%) wanted to re-watch an episode that they had watched on the TV originally, while 1 in 5 said they preferred not to pay for cable. Overall, convenience (avoiding ads, fitting TV-watching into a busy schedule) seemed to be a driving factor in consumers’ decision to access online content. The cost of cable and viewers’ dedication to favorite programming played a role, but a small one, in the decision. Overall, viewers have not “transitioned” to watching television online all the time so much as they have appropriated the use of streaming content to add convenience to their daily lives. The Internet, in short, is just another way to watch TV –at least in this context.

Where Does Content Come From?
Viewers who accessed television content online did so most frequently using Hulu (49%) and network websites (49%). YouTube was in a close third, with 41% of viewers having used it to access content. A quarter of viewers used Netflix or a similar paid subscription service to get television content online, while a handful used search engines like Google Video (21%) and Yahoo! Video (13%).

Who’s Watching?
FGI Research asked a few questions to assess online viewer demographics. The numbers of male and female online viewers were fairly even. When it came to age, however, younger consumers were disproportionately represented among online viewers. Viewers between the ages of 25 and 30 were likeliest to have gone online to watch television content; 82% reported having done so in the last three months. Meanwhile, those aged 65 or older were least likely to have watched streaming content on the net. Among all viewers under the age of 55, a majority had accessed online content at some point in the last three months. Income seemed to make a difference, too, with those in higher brackets tending to watch more content online.

Age Breakdown of Online Viewers

These data may, more than anything else, reflect Internet penetration writ large. That is, those who infrequently use the net (those who cannot afford broadband, or older people who have yet to adapt to the technology) are unlikely to use it to watch television. Deeper research might determine whether the idea of accessing content is inherently less attractive to some non-adopters, or whether it’s a matter of having access to the necessary technology.

Income Breakdown

Why Not Watch Online?
The survey did lend insight into why some viewers have not latched onto streaming content. One of the most frequently-cited reasons, which 62% of respondents selected, was that viewers enjoyed the experience of watching on a TV set. A third said that they saw no reason to watch content online, since they rarely missed an episode of a show that they followed when it aired. Some chose not to watch online because their Internet connection was too slow (16%), while others admitted they did not know how to access streaming content (13%). The fact that so many viewers preferred watching television on a TV set, as opposed to a computer, suggests –as has much of the data from this study –that viewers enjoy the convenience of watching online but predominantly continue to watch on the TV set, and may prefer to do so.

Television-Media Consumption Habits
To get a broader sense of consumer television-watching habits, FGI asked all respondents about how much and what kinds of television they consumed. Most respondents (40%) watched between 3 and 4 hours of television a day, while 36% said they watched more than 5, and a quarter said they watched 2 or fewer. Meanwhile, 20% of consumers said they followed more than 7 television programs regularly. A fourth of respondents (24%) said they watched 5 or 6 programs regularly, 31% said they followed 3 or 4, and 19% said they watched only 1 or 2 programs on a regular basis. The remaining 6% said that they didn’t follow any particular program.

Categories of Programming

The most popular types of programming that consumers watched were Primetime Drama (66%), Primetime Comedy (62%), News and Political Commentary (56%), and Reality TV (50%). Slightly less popular were Late-Night, which 37% of viewers watched, Children’s Programming, Daytime Talk, and Soap Operas.

Actionable Insights
Observers may draw several conclusions from this body of data. One is that the number of television viewers who access streaming content online at least some of the time is rising. Second, many of these viewers are young and/or affluent, which may (admittedly) reflect Internet penetration rates more than it does the inherent appeal of streaming content online. Third, while many viewers retrieve their content directly from the host network’s website, many also get their content from less-reputable sources, including file-sharing sites. This particular data point may influence how producers, executives, and decision-makers in the media choose to address the question of whether to publicize content online –and how to respond if content gets posted or shared illegally.

A final trend to keep in mind is that, while usage of streaming content is expanding, many (if not most) viewers still prefer to watch television on a TV set, whether because they enjoy the experience or because that happens to be the most technologically feasible option. When it comes to making choices about how to manage content online, or how to respond to increasing demand for online content, media leaders should attend to these and related questions. Some research initiatives that could further clarify the trends include:

• Surveying known users of online media to determine what types of programming they access most often, and how often they watch online television in general.
• Experimenting with incorporating advertising into content posted online, assessing how it affects the numbers of viewers that access that programming, and evaluating which types of advertising are best suited to that format.
• For networks, surveying consumers about why video-sharing sites like YouTube are popular, and finding ways to adjust content-posting policies to combat illicit usage of these sites.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 301
Date of Survey: October 6-11, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

We have all had the experience of checking out at the grocery store, pharmacy, or bookstore, and having the cashier ask whether we are part of the store’s customer rewards program. If we answer “no,” the next question is, inevitably, whether we want to join. New data from an FGI Research study indicate that over three-quarters of consumers say “yes” to this second question: that’s how many respondents report that they hold some kind of customer loyalty card, whether or not they also use a store-issued credit card.

And it’s no wonder that so many do. More and more companies offer rewards for customer loyalty. Not only retail outlets but hotels, restaurants and airlines use rewards as a way of promoting business and retaining customers. There are even online applications, like SCVNGR, which encourage consumers to build their own rewards programs. The FGI Research study, based on sample from FGI SmartPanel^TM, assesses what it is about customer rewards that attracts consumers. The results illuminate why so many sign up for loyalty cards, notwithstanding concerns about privacy; and why they are nevertheless more reluctant to opt for alternatives, like store-issued (or “private-label”) credit cards.

Shoppers Want to Save
Knowing that 77% of shoppers hold some kind of loyalty card, FGI Research asked why they opted to sign up –and whether they were satisfied with the rewards that they received. Most shoppers (82%) say that rebates, discounts, and overall savings are the foremost advantages of having a loyalty card. The next advantage that users cite is being able to build up bonus points toward some kind of reward or discount, which 41% say is a perk. Meanwhile, 39% of those surveyed say they like being able to get personalized coupons, and 38% enjoy having access to special, members-only sales.

A full third of cardholders say they find no problems whatsoever with their membership, indicating a high level of satisfaction with rewards programs. Among those who have complaints, 64% wish only that they could get more rewards with their cards; the idea of a loyalty card, in itself, still attracts them.

Some aspects of rewards programs don’t register at all with users. Only 7% of respondents indicate that special treatment for members, like waiving the need for a receipt with returns, drew them to get a membership. Donation programs, which, for instance, automatically contribute a fraction of each sale to a charity of the user’s choice, excite a mere 8% of respondents. We can draw a variety of inferences from this body of data, the most important of which is that customers use loyalty cards most often for the savings, sales, and rewards from which they personally benefit. The biggest problem that customers have with loyalty cards is when they feel that these “rewards” are not forthcoming.

“What are the advantages of your customer loyalty card?”

Privacy Concerns a Roadblock
What about shoppers who opt out of customer rewards? Why do 14% of respondents report forgoing the opportunity to save money and enjoy other benefits?  Some say they don’t shop frequently enough at any store to make the card worth having (43%), and others opt out because the programs don’t yield enough rewards to justify signing up (33%).

By far, the most-cited concern is privacy: 9 in 10 non-adopters report reluctance to sign up for the cards due to concerns about information security. Whether they don’t want stores giving out their data to third-parties (39%), don’t like that stores can keep track of their buying habits to create customer profiles (27%), or simply don’t like to issue too much personal information (24%), shoppers who opt out do so in order to protect their privacy.  However, if they had a guarantee of privacy, two-thirds of respondents would be open to the idea of using loyalty cards.

Credit Card?  No Thanks.
While an increasing number of retail outlets are starting to offer store-issued, or private-label, credit cards (like the Target RedCard), consumers avoid them for the most part. Only 40% of those surveyed in the TrendTruth study identify themselves as holders of such cards. As with loyalty cards, security issues deter many customers from using store-issued credit cards. But even were privacy less of an issue, consumers would remain wary: just half of those surveyed said they might be open to using a store-issued credit card under more secure circumstances. That’s because privacy is not the only issue discouraging shoppers from adopting.

ABC News: Risks of Private-Label Credit Cards

Over two-fifths of shoppers say they stay away from store-issued credit cards because the interest rate is too high.  Others say the same about the annual fee (32%) and the financing percentage (31%). In short, many shoppers think the cost of maintaining a private-label credit card outweighs the benefits of having one. Loyalty cards may be more attractive simply because it’s free to sign up –and there are none of the dangers to users’ credit scores that store credit cards pose. In any case, a third of those surveyed say they don’t shop frequently enough at any store offering the service to justify opening a card.

Nevertheless, some shoppers have found the cards useful (as evinced by the forty percent who identify themselves as card-holders). Over half (56%) of these shoppers say they like the cards because of the discounts, savings and rebates that they offer. 46% appreciate having access to special members-only sales and events (46%), and 39% like that the cards have no annual or extra fees (39%). These users clearly think the benefits of having a card outweigh the risks and downsides.

Which Cards, Which Stores?
Private-label credit cards are most popular at department stores. Among those who carry store-issued cards, 62% report having gotten it from a department store. Meanwhile, only 24% got their card from a big-box retailer like Target.  When it comes to non-credit loyalty cards, supermarkets (88%) and pharmacies (59%) rank first and second, while bookstores (31%) come in third.

“For which types of stores do you hold customer loyalty cards?”

How Many Cards?
FGI Research asked how many cards survey respondents held. Almost all (92%) have more than one. Nearly a quarter (22%) have two rewards cards. One fifth (20%) carry three. Slightly fewer (18%) carry four. A handful (17%) report holding over 7 customer loyalty cards. Meanwhile, most (60%) of those who have opened private-label credit cards say they only have one or two such cards.

We identified some possible explanations for the handful of shoppers who hold 7+ rewards cards. It may be that those who enroll in customer loyalty programs fall into one of two groups: either they have cards for the few stores where they shop most often (i.e. their preferred grocer, pharmacy, and bookstore), or they simply have the habit of saying “yes” every time they are asked to join a loyalty program. Those who hold cards to correspond to stores where they shop regularly would not likely carry more than 2-3. Those who say yes to every offer of a rewards card would likely have more than 7. Deeper research could help correlate consumers’ behavior (how many cards they hold) with their motivations (why they sign up for cards in the first place).

Actionable Insights
The results of this study indicate that the vast majority of shoppers use some kind of rewards card, whether that be a free customer loyalty card or a store-issued credit card. Many of those who don’t carry the cards would be more willing to do so if certain conditions, like those surrounding privacy, changed.  Most shoppers remain wary of store-issued credit, largely due to high interest rates and other fees, but also due to dangers that such cards pose to their credit scores. For either type of card, some shoppers don’t adopt simply because they don’t shop frequently enough at any particular store to make signing up worthwhile. Targeted research and analysis could help businesses understand these non-adopters and secure their loyalty.

• Retailers interested in expanding their base of registered cardholders, whether for loyalty or store credit cards, should use an awareness and usage study fielded from their target demographic to understand whether and why their customers are using the cards –and, if they aren’t, why not.
• A survey of customers’ sentiments about each type of card could help retailers, and other businesses, seeking to start up a rewards program pinpoint the type of program that would best serve their objectives.
• Ongoing customer satisfaction tracking is indispensable to ensure that customers feel their rewards cards offer enough rewards and promise enough perceived benefits to warrant the effort it takes to sign up.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 400
Date of Survey: July 19-22, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

As companies worldwide endeavor to rebrand themselves as “environmentally friendly,” and stories about “going green” pervade the news, the cultural emphasis on sustainable living is becoming indisputable. Wal-Mart has announced an initiative to make its outlets “greener” by 2015. Other companies are capitalizing on the green trend by using clean energy sources in their production processes, creating eco-friendly products (like Clorox GreenWorks), or incorporating recycled materials in their designs. In a new study, FGI Research focuses on the question of saving energy from the consumer’s perspective. In it, we find that 9 in 10 respondents think reducing home energy consumption is “somewhat” or “very important.”

“If you take steps to reduce your electricity usage, for what reasons do you do so?”

Using FGI’s online panel, SmartPanel^TM, we asked U.S. consumers whether they took conscious steps to reduce energy consumption and, if so, what their motivations were. The vast majority (93%) of those who responded said they took steps to save energy at home. As their impetus, many cited concerns about the environment and the economy. FGI Research delved deeper, asking about the ways that respondents saved energy and how they felt about technologies like the smart grid, which increase efficiency. Are customers willing to give up control over some aspects of energy consumption to “go green” and “save green”?

Consumers Take Action to Save Energy
One of the most widely-recognized ways of saving energy is by purchasing appliances that bear the EnergyStar label. This label means the product meets EPA efficiency standards. Other ways of saving energy include turning off lights, using appliances at certain times, investing in home improvements, and using energy-conscious climate control. The FGI Research study asked which of these steps respondents took.

The most common way consumers save energy is by turning off lights upon leaving a room (95%), followed by using compact fluorescent bulbs (88%). Consumers also cut energy costs by keeping the thermostat at a reasonable temperature (88%) and wearing seasonable clothing to reduce the need for air conditioning or heating (78%). About three-fourths (74%) of those surveyed unplugged appliances and chargers when not using them. Slightly fewer people reported using appliances during off-peak hours (69%) and investing in home improvements to improve insulation (63%).

Smart Grid: the Provider Steps In
These energy-saving tactics are all consumer-driven. But the advent of smart-grid technology creates the opportunity to reduce energy expenses and consumption even more. Smart grid achieves this through collaboration among manufacturers, consumers and electric utilties. Specifically, energy providers have greater control over how and when power is used. The smart grid relies on two-way digital communication to monitor all electricity-use within a network. It may or may not incorporate smart meters or other devices that let customers see how much energy they use in their own homes.

Customers receive incentives, such as paying lower rates, when they take steps to save energy like operating appliances at “off-peak” (lower-demand) hours –for instance, running the dishwasher late at night. Some smart grids allow a provider to link appliances to a network and turn them on or off remotely to suit these hours. Although this option takes control out of the user’s hands, it reduces the utilities bill at the end of the month and offers benefits to the system overall. These benefits include more accurate and timely monitoring, quicker service response, reduced risk of black- and brownouts, reduced pollution, and reduced need for additional power plants. Boulder, Colorado is an example of a smart-grid-enabled city (the first “Smart City”) already reaping such benefits.

Consumers Attracted to Economic, Environmental Pluses
FGI Research asked residential customers whether they knew what a smart grid was, whether they were attached to one or would be open to trying it. An overwhelming majority (96%) said they were either using one already or would use one, given the option. Nine out of ten respondents said the smart grid would save them money. Eight out of ten said the technology would save electricity.  Roughly two-fifths (43%) said that ceding some control to their utilities provider would actually reduce stress, since it would save them money and energy with minimal effort on their part.

Smart Grids or Not-So-Smart Grids?
Notwithstanding overwhelming support for the smart grid’s benefits, many worry about the disadvantages. 62% of consumers say they hesitate to have someone else decide when they can or cannot run appliances. Two out of five (41%) were particularly worried about having a loud appliance turn on in the middle of the night. About half (48%) expressed anxiety about technical difficulties or glitches in the system. Nevertheless, benefits of the smart grid appeared to outweigh the pitfalls. A mere 4% of respondents indicated they would not be open to trying the technology.

“In your opinion, which of the following are disadvantages of Smart Grid/Smart Meter?”

Actionable Insights
The results of this FGI Research study illuminate several clear insights. First, customers want to save energy for economic as well as environmental reasons. Second, many are already taking individual steps to do so. Finally, most favor the idea of a smart grid, if they are not already attached to one, even if some see downsides to implementing the technology. Energy providers can benefit from this information in several ways, if they have the information and the opportunity to act.

• Providers can field an awareness/usage study to put in perspective their customers’ level of understanding of smart grids and, where necessary, take steps to educate them. Adequate education may lessen customers’ concerns about problems they see with grid updates.
• Providers should undergo research to find out how their customers feel about smart grids and smart meters. Surveys can indicate the overall level of support for network updates, while online focus groups and communities can bring up subjective concerns of individual customers. New concepts and price points can be accurately evaluated.
• As always, providers should engage in ongoing research to monitor customer satisfaction and respond with actions that make sense from a customer-service standpoint.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 131
Date of Survey: May 25-June 1, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.

Most media leaders concur that print media is floundering. Trends in technology, communication and markets reflect that fact (Steve Jobs just ushered in the next wave of online content readers with Apple’s iPad). An entire genre of journalism seems to have emerged just to cover the decline, not only in print but online. According to the New York Times, sixty-two percent of journalists think the Internet has forever altered their profession’s principles, eroding the standards of good journalism and the relevance of print publications alike. Still, new data from FGI Research indicates that print may yet have an audience. While 67% of consumers surveyed say they see a decline in the use of print versus other types of media to stay informed, 74% say they “would not prefer that online publications eventually replace print publications completely.”

Subscriptions to and circulation of print media first began to drop in the 1920’s, when print started competing with radio for audience. The rise of television put a bigger dent in newspaper market share and ad revenue. But high-speed Internet has by far been the biggest threat to traditional print media, since online publishers offer content in a variety of formats that are not only easy to access but, for the most part, free. FGI Research asked consumers to tell us where they get their information, what they think about the decline of print media and whether they would be willing to pay for online subscriptions.

Rupert Murdoch comments on the rapid change in communication technologies.

Where News Comes From
Notwithstanding the rash of stories about how online sources threaten print, FGI’s data show that 1 in 3 (33%) consumers still use print publications “most often” to stay in-the-know, compared to 28% who use online content most often. 39% use both equally often.

“Which of the following sources do you rely on for information?”

Meanwhile, two thirds (69%) of respondents say they “use online publications to supplement print publications,” while 20% say they rely solely on online sources for information. 11% say they never use online sources. These results indicate that, while consumers may turn to online content for some information, they have not abandoned print altogether. Indeed, some do not even use online sources. It follows that traditional media still has a market. In fact, a little over half of consumers (52%) said they purchased print sources from newsstands and stores, compared to 48% who did not.

Consumers Still Read Some Print
This begs the question: what kinds of print media do readers use? In terms of subscribers, local newspapers and national magazines are the most popular, with 52% of consumers saying they subscribe to local newspapers and 46% saying they subscribe to at least one national magazine. Some print sources clearly are not experiencing the same losses as others. However, other print sources are in big trouble.

“What kinds of print media do you subscribe to and pay for?”

National Newspapers, Local Magazines Lag
According to the graph above, only 10% of consumers surveyed subscribe to a national newspaper. 11% say they subscribe to at least one local magazine. Meanwhile, 29% say they neither subscribe to nor pay for any kind of print media, though that does not guarantee that those consumers use online sources instead (they may simply not look at the news at all). Even so, the data suggests that some print sources have been hit harder than others.

Online Subscription Fees Not the Solution
Most readers use both online and print sources for information. Two thirds use online content to supplement print. This is partly the reason why print newspapers are worried about declining readership. Consumer opinion suggests they are becoming less relevant –and that they do not provide everything consumers want to read. Declining ad revenues and profits exacerbate newspapers’ anxiety.

At the same time, subscription fees are not attractive to media consumers. National newspapers like the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times, whose print readership has declined, but whose online content is king, have considered charging an online subscriber fee to stay afloat. But FGI Research’s data show they would have some convincing to do: 70% of consumers say they are unwilling to pay a fee for online content. Indeed, part of the attraction of online content –at least until now –has been the fact that it costs nothing.

The Search for the Perfect Subscriber Fee
Even if they had to pay to read, the vast majority of consumers (87%) say they “should be charged less than what [they] pay for print publications,” because of perceived lower production costs. Since “publishers aren’t spending money on paper/printing,” readers believe they should not have to pay a price reflective of those costs. Only 10% think they should pay “as much as” they pay for print subscriptions because they consider the services “comparable.” The remaining 3% think they should pay “more than what [they] pay for print publications” because of the wider array of information available. For the most part, consumers are opposed to the idea of paying for online content. This puts today’s print media in a bind. How can they satisfy all of their readers while generating enough revenue to turn a profit and satisfy shareholders?

Actionable Insights
Declines in subscription, circulation and other performance measures have given today’s print media plenty of reasons to worry. However, FGI Research’s study indicates that they may still have an audience. As for how to respond to readers who have migrated online, while consumers may balk at the idea of a subscriber fee, some may sign on at the right price (less than what they pay for print). Overall, this data gives the print media industry some hope for the future –if they act now. How should publishers respond?

• Conduct research to find out what demographics use which sources, and organize content accordingly. Target your content and publications for the right audiences.
• Using qualitative as well as quantitative data, find out the ideal price of an online subscriber fee. Begin testing now.
• Use qualitative data to find out what draws readers to one publication over another, and respond to those data to maximize readership no matter where you publish. Use qualitative data to fuel future quantitative studies.

Next Steps You Can Take

• Learn more about the results of this study: complimentary access to the data in this report, including cross-tabulated results, is available upon request from FGI Research.
• Contact FGI Research: click here or call us at (919) 929-7759
• Explore FGI Research’s market research solutions, including custom panels, full service research, and our online sample (SmartPanel).
• Join FGI Research’s online panel to participate in future studies.

Survey Methods
Respondents: 300
Date of Survey: April 7th-14th, 2010
Sample Source: FGI SmartPanel

This nationally-representative sample consists of adults aged 18 and up and is balanced to the US population using recent census data. One can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points.