Thanks for all of your awesome feedback on the entrepreneurship study we shared with you a couple weeks ago. It was published more broadly this week and became the most “proliferated” thing I’ve ever penned, by a mile. I was surprised to hear how much it applies to people in all kinds of leadership positions, whether you started a company of your own or not. We’ll keep building on that work. I really had fun with it.

We are so consumed by client work this time of year (and we haven’t even started thinking about Black Friday yet), that it’s hard to extricate myself from it long enough to take a bird’s eye view of the world. But here are a couple interesting things we are seeing:

Consumer sentiment is holding remarkably steady. I tend to get myopic every time we look at these numbers, highlighting a shift of note every couple weeks. But the real news is how little economic sentiment has changed going all the way back to April. Think of all that has happened since then – Charlottesville, hurricanes, you name it. Our topline number hasn’t moved a full point, in either direction, during that time. I don’t know much, but I know that’s temporary.

CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index showing that Economic Sentiment is remaining steady, despite national events.

Add coupons to the list of things the internet is killing. This is a pretty dramatic trend line below. As Amazon, Walmart, and others wage price wars online, coupon usage for non-grocery items is plummeting. The remaining coupon users over-index toward the older end of the age spectrum.

Recent CivicScience data show that people are using coupons less.

But, groceries aren’t driving coupon usage like they used to either. This trend started too early to blame Amazon. Blame Walmart, maybe, but not the internet. Consumers just don’t shop the way they used to – which is about the most obvious thing I’ve ever said.

Recent survey data show that consumers who use coupons have drastically decreased.

The Millennial SUV surge is here. As more and more of America’s largest generation enters a life-stage of parenthood, carpools, and Griswold family vacations, their car preferences are changing in a predictable but important way. They’re swapping out their sedans for SUVs. It appears that previous stories of Millennials’ disinterest in cars may have been greatly exaggerated – or at least fleeting. Uber and Lyft are great when you’re single, without kids. They’re not so great for hauling a bunch of kids, strollers, and coolers to the park.

Why does local TV news viewership always top out during the first calendar quarter? Check it out below. Each of the peaks you see in the blue line happen in Q1, going back four straight years. This appears to be driven by higher female viewership during those times. Who knows why, before I spend a bunch of sleepless nights trying to figure it out on my own? Help a brother out.

CivicScience data show a peak every First Quarter among people who watch local television where they live.

Trends in snacking are pretty crazy. Check out this little discovery below. The percentage of U.S. adults who say they most often snack in the evenings has been in a freefall since January of 2016, dipping below “between lunch and dinner” for the first time ever this month. People who snack between breakfast and lunch and those who don’t snack at all are climbing steadily. You can probably figure out who the winners and losers will be if this trend continues.

People like to snack less than they used to, according to this graph.

Your Random (Pet) Stats of the Week: 

• Cat people are 38% more likely than dog people to watch streaming television
• Cat people are also more likely to use ad blockers when they browse the web
• Dog people are more likely than cat people to subscribe to Verizon Wireless
• People who regularly drink clear spirits (Vodka and Gin) prefer dogs
• 64% of pet owners allow their pet to sleep in their bed
• 21% of people say German Shepherds are their favorite breed of dog
• Golden Retrievers (19%), Black Labs (18%), and Beagles (8%) come in 2nd-4th

There you have it.

Hoping you’re well,

JD