I’d characterize this week’s submission as “schizophrenic,” as our research was all over the place. I had a chance to do an on-air segment with our new friends at Cheddar, which you might appreciate. Rest assured, it’s stuff I shared with all of you first – you’re special 🙂

Here are some of the wildly diverse things we saw this week…

It’s domestic terrorism season. Did that wake you up? In the midst of broader research into “the Stay-at-Home Economy,” I was looking for factors in our database that correlated with declines in movie attendance, eating out, and other out-of-home behaviors. No surprise, the more someone is concerned about terrorism or national security threats, the less they go out. Then, something caught my eye when looking at this time-graph:Our survey data shows that concern for national security threats is on the rise.

Since we began tracking this question in 2011, “Very concerned” has followed a loose seasonal pattern, traced fairly clearly to major events (Aurora, Charleston, Boston). Why seasonal? Because since 2011, 67% of the terrorist/mass murder incidents on U.S. soil have occurred between April and September. Not one has happened in March. Our next goal is to figure out if this pattern has any effect on markets and industries. I’m also evaluating the theory that the Stay-at-Home Economy can trace its roots to September of 2001 (stay tuned).

Consumer confidence dipped slightly over the past two weeks. As the Trump era reached the 100-day mark, we saw our fourth consecutive oscillating reading (ie. up/down/up/down). Respondents’ satisfaction with their personal finances continued to improve, while confidence in the job market continued its 6-week slide. It’s hard to make sense of it all.

Raising prices won’t hurt Chipotle. Though the company still has its share of challenges, its recently-announced 5% price-hike shouldn’t add to the woes. Chipotle’s loyal consumers aren’t particularly price-conscious. Keeping and winning Chipotle customers is – and always has been – about food quality.

Hulu and YouTube could be heading for a clash. As you probably saw, Hulu announced a new live TV streaming package this week. According to our data, 25% of U.S. adults are intrigued by Hulu’s offering – which is virtually identical to the results we saw when asking about YouTube’s new live package a few weeks ago. They could be vying for exactly the same people.

Most people don’t wish for fame. It’s a running joke in our office that I sometimes use our polling platform to settle arguments with my wife. This week I used it to settle one with my daughter: We recently turned down offers that could have put her on a path toward fame and debated whether that was an unconventional choice. It turns out a clear majority of Americans wouldn’t want fame for their young child. I found the data uplifting – mostly because it’s the first time I ever won an argument with a 13-year-old.

Hoping you’re well.

JD

PS – I’ve been asked to remind you all that I broke free from our company Twitter handle and created one of my own (@johntdickIII). It sucks going from thousands of followers to “tens” but at least now I can yell about Pittsburgh sports in my own voice.