Provoke Insights’ Carly Fink and Matt Silverman featured in Happi Magazine, the industry’s leader in personal care, household, and industrial and institutional cleaning market.

The article discusses the market opportunity for CBD-infused skincare products, including:

• Reasons for purchasing
• Barriers for buying
• Long-term buying behavior
• Product category expansion opportunities
• Key ways to better market and advertise 

The piece utilizes survey data from Provoke Insights’ Winter 2023 Trends report. The research reached out to 1,500 Americans. Highlights include:

• CBD purchasers seek sustainably-sourced items, making transparency in ingredients key for appealing to buyers.
• Over a fifth of consumers that have yet to try CBD skincare products are planning to buy them in the future. 
• CBD buyers prefer buying at local retailers. Those who have not yet bought the product tend to prefer larger retailers. Expanding to larger retailers can assist brands in reaching these new audiences, as current buyers prefer buying from small businesses.
• Repeat purchases are low among those who have trialed CBD skincare products. Among previous buyers, only a quarter would buy these items again. Though cost is the largest barrier to repurchasing, many no longer see a need for the products.

To further grow the industry, CBD skincare brands must address consumers’ perception that these products are ailment-based solutions. By educating buyers on the multiple using CBD in their skincare regimen, brands can transform these products into a regular household need.

Provoke insights trends research featured in an article from Happi Magazine.

Tom Branna, the editor of Happi Magazine, delves into new trends and shifts in consumer behavior when purchasing skincare products; this includes the introduction of unusual ingredients incorporated into products from coffee to snail mucin.

 The article includes information from Provoke Insight’s Spring 2022 trends research. Highlights include:

• Dryness and anti-aging are the top skin care concerns among American consumers. 
• Over half of consumers (53%) look for specific ingredients when purchasing skin care products. This is especially true among those looking for sustainably sourced Items.
• Moisturizers and cleansers are the leading skincare products. Cleansers are especially popular among younger consumers.

Dermatologist Dr. Hope Mitchell notes how various trends have led to increases in the usage of skincare products. As more consumers are spending more time on web-conferring calls, they are more concerned about how their faces look up close on a screen. 

Additionally, Dr. Mitchell mentions that consumers are now more interested in the ingredients in their skin regimen. With more time on their hands due to working from home, Americans are researching ingredients more often than they did in the past.

The article expands on this information and provides brands with strategies to stay on top of consumers’ interests in the category.

Provoke Insights’ freshly published research on regional produce trends is featured in Produce Business’s November 2022 issue. Head to page 14 to view the article.

In Fall 2022, Provoke Insights launched a survey among 1,500 Americans. The study aimed to identify key trends in several different industries, including fresh produce, and break out said trends by regional discrepancies.

The standout findings include:

• Consumers fear the country’s financial future, as inflation (65%) and the economy (63%) are major concerns.
• The majority (82%) of those buying produce say the price increases of vegetables and fruit are an issue.
• Consumers also notice other issues while shopping like a limited selection of fresh fruits and vegetables available at the grocery store (51%), as well as a lack of fresh produce (41%).
• Supermarket packaging is not considered sustainable by nearly two-thirds (62%) of grocery shoppers, who agree that the packaging could be more eco-friendly.

As economic concerns effect buying preferences, produce brands need to stay top of mind with consumers. They must make consumers feel comfortable buying produce instead of compromising their healthy eating habits to save money.

COVID-19 forced consumers indoors and ultimately shook-up everyday habits like getting dressed for work and makeup routines. However, many different categories benefited from this shift, like skincare for example, as consumers experimented with new brands as they navigated through their “new normal”. Two years later, our research is tracking these trends to understand who is purchasing beauty and skincare products? What are their similarities, habits, and opinions? How do the various generations from Gen Z to Baby Boomers differ in their trends? At Provoke Insights, the purpose of our fourth wave of in-house research was to understand consumer mindsets, purchasing trends, and brand loyalty in several industries, including beauty and skincare.

Beauty Shopper Profile

Over one-third of Americans (36%) are purchasing beauty products. These shoppers tend to be younger and female. They are also more likely to be mixed ethnicity or Hispanic. Beauty products are preferred to be purchased in in-store by two-thirds of consumers (66%), however one-third (34%) are shopping online for these items.

Beauty purchasers enjoy experimenting with many brands and are not loyal to specific labels. Over half (56%) purchase multiple beauty brands.

Skin Care Shopper Profile

More Americans are purchasing skin care products than beauty products with over two-fifths (44%) buying skin care products. Since the start of COVID, skin care purchasing habits have increased. Almost one-quarter of consumers (24%) agree they are purchasing more, while only one-tenth (10%) say they are purchasing less. While skincare shoppers have similar demographics to beauty purchasers, these consumers especially stand out for their willingness to pay more for sustainably sourced products and consider themselves to be environmentally conscious. Additionally, these buyers are more likely to be optimistic about the future. 

Skincare shoppers are more loyal to their tried-and-true brands. Almost half (47%) only or mostly purchase one brand. The most popular skincare product overall is moisturizer (84%), which reflects consumers’ main skincare concerns of dryness (44%), anti-aging (37%), and fine lines/wrinkles (31%). 

There are distinct generational differences when it comes to skincare concerns;  younger generations are looking to tackle acne and look at the ingredients used in their products, while older generations are more focus on anti-aging products. The type of products differ as well with younger consumers purchasing a wide variety of products including cleansers, lip balms, face masks, sunscreen, and serums. Older generations are more inclined to purchase moisturizers.  While in-person sales still lead for skin care (61%), online shopping is gaining traction (37%). 

Download the full report for free here.

Methodology

Provoke Insights conducted a 15-minute survey in the spring of 2022 among 1,500 Americans between the ages of 21 and 65. A random stratified sample methodology was used to ensure a high degree of representation of the U.S. population (household income, age, gender, geography, ethnicity, and children in the household). Statistical differences between subgroups were tested at a 95% confidence level. The margin of error is +/-2.5%.

Provoke Insights’ freshly published research on regional produce trends is featured in Produce Business’s July 2022 issue. Head to page 10 to view the article.

In March 2022, Provoke Insights launched a survey among 1,500 Americans. The study aimed to identify key trends in several different industries, including fresh produce, and break out said trends by regional discrepancies.

The standout findings include:

• Pre-cut produce is popular, with 81% of shoppers putting them in their shopping carts each week.
• Grocery shoppers from the Northeast are more focused on sustainable grocery shoppers. This region is the most likely to buy loose produce (60%) without plastic packaging.
• Purchasers from the South are the least likely to be aware of grocery brands (62%) compared to any other region.
• Urban shoppers are the most brand loyal (62%) compared to suburban and rural.

As shopper profiles in the United States continue to diversify, it’s crucial that produce brands remain aware of preferences by region and area.

Onit, a leading legal software company, commissioned Provoke Insights to research and compile the second chapter of its Enterprise Legal Reputation report.

The research shows that there are problems that legal departments may be unaware of. A majority of corporate legal respondents believe that they have “exemplary interactions” (91%) and “positive relationships” (73%) with internal clients. However, less than half of U.S. respondents thought of legal as a trusted business advisor.

Legal is somewhat aware of why they’re being bypassed. They believe it’s because they’re perceived as slow, bureaucratic, lacking in business understanding, or non-responsive. Most of these problems stem from the same issue of bad processes, but only 54% of legal professionals said their CLM is automated.

Overall, there are many problems to be addressed.

Provoke Insights’ newest research on radio and business is featured in a recent article on the Association of National Advertisers. 

Provoke Insights’ most recent wave of in-house research was fielded in March 2022, taking a deep dive into over 15 industries. The study focused on how radio can be used to drive business and brand growth across all of these industries.

The standout findings include:

• 71% enjoy the browsing experience while shopping
• 56% are not concerned with price and are willing to splurge on items
• Almost half would pay more for items that are sustainably sourced

Overall, the research highlighted radio listeners as the ideal retail shoppers. Radio is an important tool that retailers and brands can use to help drive retail traffic, boost sales, and grow their business.

Provoke Insights’ 2018 research for Markets Insider on advertisers vs. client-side marketers was featured in a recent article in Adweek. 

The research shows that pitching is an integral part of closing for most agency marketers. 81% of advertising professionals are involved in pitching. These professionals believe that pitching increases their stress by 28%. Meanwhile, half of all client-side marketers strongly value creativity, followed by a true understanding of the company’s goals (47%). 

Provoke Insights’ study further shows that pitching is common practice in advertising agencies. 11% of professionals pitch every week, while more than half pitch at least 10 times per year. 

As COVID has massively changed the way marketers, advertisers, and researchers work, with the introduction of remote/hybrid work, fresh, stress-less ways of pitching are more forefront in the industry. As new business tends to be driven by pitches, marketers should continue to meet and exceed clients’ expectations by demonstrating ROI and high levels of trust. Provoke Insights’ research on this global issue can be found in full on Markets Insider. Special thanks to Adweek and authors Rebecca Stewart and Stephen Lepitak.