Consumer Trends

For this miniproject, I used the people that I work with as a focus group, since I was not in class when the discussions took place. To better understand the answers, I wanted to paint a more descriptive picture of my focus group:

Gender                                      Age                                        Ethnicity

For the first question “What products do you buy that you discuss with others from time to time?” there were a variety of answers. Below are their responses with a few comments and examples (in no particular order):

-Makeup/Beauty Products- all of the females agree on this answer.

-Subscription Services- This is a caveat of off the beauty product answer. These services are hot right now (think Birchbox, Stitch Fix, etc). Birchbox sends subscribers beauty products based on their survey responses pertaining to what products they are interested in and what beauty needs they have. Stitch Fix acts as a personalized stylist and sends the customer an outfit every month based on their style and sizes. These monthly clubs are very popular and are gaining more exposure due to word of mouth by their customers.

Alcohol- Whether it be discussing good wines, or bringing one over to a friends house, or talking about your favorite drink, most young people agree that they discuss alcohol.

Prescription Medications- I noticed this answer was mostly among the older people, but people love to give recommendation on medication if their friends are in need. Whether it be “I’m having trouble sleeping lately” and a friend tells you they are on Ambien and you should talk to your doctor, I have been the witness to many of these conversations.