Provoke Insights’ Carly Fink and Jordin DeSenzo co-authored an article in Produce Business diving into research on produce purchases. Interestingly, the article discusses how behaviors are shaping how consumers shop for produce. It sheds light on how inflation and economic pressure are influencing the delicate balance between planned produce purchases and spontaneous impulse buys.

Based on Provoke Insights’ eighth wave of its biannual national study, the research explores how shoppers approach buying produce. While 85% of grocery shoppers have noticed price hikes, only 15% say they purchase produce impulsively. This highlights a key challenge and opportunity for brands and retailers.

Also, the study found that 75% of Americans make produce purchases weekly. Higher-income households and older individuals tend to buy produce more frequently, with supermarkets being the top destination. Meanwhile, Gen Z and Asian shoppers are more likely to shop at wholesale stores.

Most produce purchases are pre-planned—either as regular go-to items or for specific meals. However, impulse buys tend to include items like salad dressing, nuts, or guacamole.

To increase impulse produce purchases, Provoke Insights recommends:

• Improving in-store visibility through signage and tastings

• Placing pre-cut produce near store entrances and checkouts

• Using cross-merchandising to promote snack pairings

• Highlighting nutritional value through educational labels

In addition, frequent produce buyers view TV and social media platforms—especially TikTok—as highly effective channels for brand promotions.

This research on produce purchases helps retailers develop more targeted strategies to engage both planners and impulse buyers, even in an inflation-conscious market.

What to know more about research on produce purchases? Check out our latest grocery and produce deck here. The Summer 2025 Trend research include 15 topical industry reports,

Business Insider explores the frustration caused by dynamic pricing in light of inflation, leaving consumers uneasy about fluctuating costs across different sectors. Provoke Insight’s Carly Fink points out the challenge of introducing new pricing strategies during periods of heightened price sensitivity and other insights. 

• Rising inflation and tech-enabled dynamic pricing make consumers increasingly uneasy about fluctuating costs.
• There is a challenge to introducing new pricing strategies during periods of heightened price sensitivity.
• Americans feel prince fatigue as they navigate unpredictable prices across various sectors like groceries and travel.
• Despite efforts by businesses to optimize pricing, consumers are longing for stability in their purchasing decisions amidst economic uncertainty.

Check out our restaurant trends report that discussing more about dynamic pricing and how consumers feel about it. Click here.

Despite higher menu costs, the Radio Advertising Bureau recently reported a rise in dining out and takeout nationwide. The article cited Provoke Insight’s seventh wave of research, which states that radio listeners are identified as key patrons who contribute significantly to dining expenditures and tend to tip generously across various dining settings. This phenomenon is titled ‘tipflation’.The research evaluates research on restaurant tipping and how radio listeners differ.

• Sales at drinking and dining establishments have surged despite rising menu costs, indicating a strong preference for dining out or taking out food.
• A new trend, ‘tipflation,’ has emerged, where consumers feel increasingly pressured to tip more, influenced by the growing number of tipping prompts at the point of purchase. 
• Radio listeners, a significant portion of dining patrons, tend to spend more on meals, even amidst rising menu prices. They also tip more frequently across various dining establishments compared to non-listeners.
• Radio advertising effectively reaches patrons of all types of dining establishments, from quick-serve to fine dining, driving both foot traffic and online engagement for restaurants.

Check out our latest restaurant research deck for more information.

Fast Company’s interview with President Carly Fink was cited in MSN’s article about digital shelf price labels (DSLs). Walmart plans to introduce digital shelf price labels (DSLs) in 2,300 US stores by 2026 to streamline pricing updates and improve efficiency. Implementing dynamic pricing during the rollout of DSLs has been a controversial topic among marketers. 

• Walmart’s rollout of digital shelf price labels (DSLs) aims to streamline operations and improve customer service. According to a press release, the DSLs will allow price updates with “a few clicks” instead of days of work.
• DSLs introduce features like “Stock to Light” and “Pick to Light,” which enhance efficiency by aiding in accurately restocking and fulfilling online orders.
• Carly Fink from Provoke Insights highlighted the potential benefits of dynamic pricing with DSLs, suggesting it could optimize pricing strategies based on market demand, as reported by Fast Company.
• Despite concerns, Walmart clarified that its DSL system currently does not support dynamic pricing and has no plans to introduce such functionality.

Interested in learning more about digital price labels and dynamic pricing? Check out our restaurant deck in the Summer 2024 consumer trends page. Learn more here.

Fast Company recently interviewed Carly Fink, President of Provoke Insights, to discuss the growing use of digital price tags and the potential impact of dynamic pricing in retail. As more retailers adopt technology-driven pricing tools, the discussion around transparency and consumer trust becomes even more important.

Walmart has begun rolling out digital shelf labels in more than 2,300 stores, allowing price updates for over 100,000 items via mobile app. This move helps improve store efficiency and inventory tracking. While Walmart states that the technology won’t be used for real-time price changes, many shoppers remain concerned.

According to Provoke Insights’ Summer 2024 Trends Report, 63% of U.S. consumers are more budget-conscious than they were six months ago. With that in mind, any mention of dynamic pricing in retail raises red flags, especially among inflation-weary shoppers. People worry it could lead to unpredictable pricing, similar to surge pricing used by airlines and rideshares.

However, there are potential benefits. Proponents argue that dynamic pricing could lower prices during off-peak times. For example, shoppers who visit stores during slower periods may find better deals. Carly Fink emphasizes that while the model has potential, brands must ensure transparency to maintain consumer trust.

Many consumers still don’t fully understand how dynamic pricing works—particularly in a retail or grocery setting. Provoke Insights continues to research the public’s perception of these pricing shifts and how brands can implement them responsibly.

As dynamic pricing in retail becomes more common, retailers must find the right balance between innovation, fairness, and clear communication.

Check out our latest research that explore consumer trends and the impact of AI in our Summer 2025 Trends Research.

Provoke Insights explores customer perceptions and strategizes for effective ways to implement dynamic pricing in restaurants.

Modern Restaurant Management presents the market research findings of an April 2024 trends report by Provoke Insights. The article delves into the concept of dynamic pricing in the restaurant industry, discussing its potential benefits and pitfalls. It highlights the importance of implementing strategies effectively to boost revenue without alienating customers. Initially met with skepticism, this pricing gains favor when framed as discounts through membership programs for off-peak hours, with over half of consumers expressing keen interest in such initiatives.

What is dynamic pricing?

Learn more in the article and if consumers understand what it means.

Some noteworthy insights from the research study include:  

• Dynamic pricing refers to the practice of adjusting menu prices based on various factors such as demand, time of day, or level of patronage.
• Awareness of this pricing model is low among Americans, with urban dwellers and parents more likely to be familiar with the concept.
• Two-thirds of consumers are initially averse to dining at restaurants using flexible pricing, however, interest in it increases significantly when presented as discounts offered through off-peak hour memberships
• Restaurants should emphasize the benefits and discounts of dynamic pricing rather than focusing on peak-hour price increases to improve consumer perception and engagement.

Check out Provoke Insights’ other industry market research trends studies here.

TEGNA and Provoke Insights Millennials research published in TVNewsCheck

In the summer of 2022, TEGNA Partnered with Provoke Insights to delve into the many perspectives among American millennials. The segmentation study revealed six distinct archetypes among the generation.

TVNewsCheck recently published an article summarizing each of the six segments in the first public release of the study’s results

WholesaleCentral, a leading resource for merchandisers, featured Provoke Insights’ in-house research on retail technology.

Provoke Insights’ most recent wave of in-house research was fielded in March 2022, taking a deep dive into over 15 industries, including retail technology. By better understanding how consumers feel about innovative technology, including QR codes, tap-to-pay, mobile apps, and smart vending machines, hospitality/retail brands can better tailor to the customer experience.

The standout findings include:

• Consumers who enjoy retail tech are more likely to be brand loyal
• Retail customers are most aware of QR codes (71%) and tap-to-pay mobile payments (66%)
• These tech-savvy shoppers are impressed with store cleanliness (36%) and customer service (30%)

As the shopping experience continues to become digitized, it’s crucial that brands understand customers’ attitudes and habits when it comes to retail technology.

Provoke Insights’ newest research on the skin care market is featured in a recent article in Happi Magazine.

Provoke Insights most recent wave of in-house survey was fielded in March 2022 to understand the state of 15 categories, including skin care. The study aimed to profile typical skin care consumers, discover what they are looking for, and measure their brand loyalty.

The standout findings include:

• Skincare shoppers are mostly female (70%), Millennials (44%), and have children (41%)
• Less than half (47%) of skincare purchasers are only or mostly loyal to their favorite brands
• Most skincare buyers (63%) consider themselves environmentally conscious, and half would pay more for sustainably sourced items

Brands invest millions and millions of dollars into advertising and media spend each year. However, it is hard to tell which creative will generate the best ROI. Brands should not treat advertising like throwing darts at a dart board in hopes of getting a bullseye. Often, companies may be too close to their advertising and unknowingly offend its potential customer. 

Conducting research before launching campaigns is an important step in assuring your ads are well received by consumers. However, running such research improperly can lead to unreliable results and wasted cash. Here are some Pros and Cons to consider before conducting ad testing research.

The Pros of Ad Testing

Know your Audience’s Preferences

Can’t decide which of your creatives will resonate most with your target consumers? Turn to market research! Conducting an ad testing survey allows a brand to show participants multiple creative concepts. Not only can respondents provide feedback on each asset, but they can also rank the creatives to show which ones they prefer. These surveys are an essential way to help companies narrow down their options based on what their audiences would like best.

Avoid Missteps in Taste

Your spouse and kids may find you hysterical, but does the general public think you are funny? It can be difficult to gauge how consumers will react to certain aspects of an ad, whether it be jokes, emotional tugs, or stances on worldly issues. The last thing a brand wants to face is backlash towards a tasteless advertisement (think: controversial superbowl commercials). Conducting ad testing research before launching a campaign can help weed out these issues before an advertisement goes live, thus preventing such backlash from starting up.

Beat the Norms

Whether it is your company’s personal norm or compared against your industry, you have the ability to determine if the advertising beats your standards. Adding benchmarking questions to an ad testing survey can allow a brand to determine how a creative stands up against others. A company can measure how unique or innovative an ad concept is, or whether it drives a viewer to learn more about the promoted product. When using normative research questions in a survey, it is important to remember that the wording of questions must exactly match the format of previous research.

The Cons of Ad Testing

You Can’t Please Everyone

When conducting an ad testing survey, your brand is bound to come across various preferences and opinions from respondents. Brands can be tempted to adjust creatives to appeal to each of these different groups of people. Trying to make an ad that will appeal to the entire population can result in bland, generic, advertising. It is better to analyze the data carefully and adjust creatives to appeal to the groups most likely to purchase the product. Remember that polarizing ads can be good and make your creative memorable.

Research Takes Time 

Time is money. Ad campaign development is likely to have short timelines and tight deadlines. With such a rush, it can be difficult to find the time to dedicate to research. However, if a company includes research as a consideration when making these timelines, they will be able to reap the benefits of launching more targeted and effective campaigns.

Interested in reading more on market research? Check out our other blogs here. 

• The Pros & Cons of B2B Market Research
• 2022 Marketing Trends
• The Pros & Cons of International Qualitative Research

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