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 SPEC Report, an exclusive weekly report covering relevant social, political, economic, and cultural trends to help brands better understand and communicate with consumers.
1. A majority of air travelers still say they have hesitations about flying.
Spring travel is underway, but a majority of air travelers still say they have hesitations about flying right now. Price is the leading deterrent – 36% of U.S. adults say flights have become too expensive, up from 33% in April of last year. A greater percentage (26%) are also more reluctant to fly this spring due to concern about flight delays and cancellations, compared to last spring (23%) (n=1,559-4,205).
More than half of Americans say price is the leading factor when deciding on an airline, outweighing flight convenience, timeliness, experience, or customer benefits.
In related news, the majority of Americans say they use public USB charging ports, such as those at airports. “Juice jacking,” where personal data is stolen through public ports by hackers, is a growing concern among the public.
2. Consumers are tipping more now compared to this time last year.
Recent technological and cultural shifts — such as the growing usage of delivery apps and the adoption of tablet checkout kiosks at many businesses — have made tipping a topic of debate.
Recent CivicScience data show 40% of consumers say they have been tipping service workers more recently than they were 12 months ago, while just 6% are tipping less (n=2,521). A majority of Americans say they tip at least 20% of their bill on average when they dine out at a restaurant (n=2,470).
Price concern plays significantly into tipping behavior. More than 3-in-4 consumers who have become less price sensitive over the last 12 months have become more generous with their tips during that time.
3. Lack of access to convenient recycling services is the top reason consumers don’t recycle more.
As commemorations for the 53rd Earth Day wrapped up this weekend, a majority of Americans say they’re hampered by barriers limiting their recycling efforts. Nearly 1-in-4 U.S. adults would recycle more often if recycling services were offered more frequently or were easier to access where they live.
Americans also cite a lack of space to accommodate recycling (11%), a forgetfulness to recycle altogether (9%), or confusion about what or how to recycle (7%) as other top roadblocks to more frequent recycling.
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