CivicScience continually tracks current and anticipated consumer trends. Here are three key insights marketers should know this week. All insights are derived from the CivicScience Social | Political | Economic | Cultural (SPEC) Report, a weekly report available to clients covering the latest news and insights. Start here to learn more. 

1. As the 2024 presidential primaries begin, fewer Americans follow politics.

Primary season officially begins today with the Republican Caucuses in Iowa. Though there’s no shortage of political headlines heading into the primaries, CivicScience data show fewer Americans report they’re following politics closely. As of mid-January, 30% of U.S. adults said they’re not following politics at all, compared to a low of 11% in 2020. This figure also eclipses the 26% of Americans who follow politics “very closely,” which has been on the decline since 2020.

Want to see many more in-depth consumer political insights as the 2024 presidential election approaches? The CivicScience 2024 Election Mindset Tracker analyzes and predicts how developments in the 2024 presidential race will affect people, markets, and the economy. Click here to learn more.

Join the Discussion: Do you think the political leanings of media outlets impact the way they report on major news stories?

2. Parents of Gen Alpha children are increasingly likely to shop for skincare and beauty products.

Generation Alpha kids – those born between 2010 and 2024 – have developed an interest in skincare and beauty products according to recent consumer research. While CivicScience does not survey children under 13 years old, new data indicate that their parents increased spending on cosmetics for the 2023 holidays. Thirty-six percent of respondents with children between 6 and 11 years old say they purchased beauty products during the 2023 holiday season – an 11 percentage point increase over the year before.

While Gen A’s parents tend to buy beauty products at the same retailers as the general population – especially Walmart, Amazon, and Target – they tend to purchase them more frequently. Learn more about the beauty shopping insights of these shoppers in the SPEC report.

3. A third of Americans with a subscription of some kind say they have ‘too many subscriptions.’

Last week, CivicScience covered some of the top categories consumers have subscriptions for. Follow-up data this week reveal that 1-in-3 Americans say they have ‘too many’ subscriptions, 60% are comfortable with the number they have now, and just 7% report an openness to enroll in new subscriptions.

Subscription fatigue varies among respondents with different subscription types, however; while 26% of those who pay for video streaming services say they have too many subscriptions, subscription fatigue increases to 47% among those with fashion/clothing subscriptions, 50% among those with dating subscriptions, and 53% among those with beauty/hygiene subscriptions.

Take Our Poll: How closely do you track your subscription services?

Want to see more of the in-depth consumer insights found in this report not covered here? Clients receive the SPEC Report in full, plus access to real-time insights driven by our database of over 500K questions. Contact us now to see it in action.