Unpopular Opinions in Consumer Behavior – The Fourth of July Edition

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Unpopular Opinions in Consumer Behavior – The Fourth of July Edition

The Fourth of July is just around the corner, conjuring images of cookouts, campfires, fireworks, and more. In our latest round of research-on-research, we asked respondents about some potentially unpopular opinions that correspond to activities that take place during the holiday!

Overall, we found that of the unpopular opinions we asked about, the one that most people agree with is that ketchup is better than mustard on hot dogs. The least popular opinion is that burnt marshmallows are better than golden brown.

Gender

When analyzing response by gender, we see that females are 2% more likely than males to think ketchup is better than mustard on hot dogs and 7% more likely to prefer burnt marshmallows. Males are 2% more likely to think fireworks are overrated.

Age

When it comes to age, we find that those aged 63+ are 16% less likely to say ketchup is better than those aged 18-29. The 63+ age group also has the highest agreement that fireworks are overrated. Those aged 63+ are 4% less likely than those aged 18-29 to say burnt marshmallows are better than golden brown.

When cross referencing age with gender, we see up to 17% differences in females who prefer ketchup on their hot dogs by age. We also see that females of any age are more likely than males to prefer burnt marshmallows over golden brown. Females see up to a 6% difference by age group in those who think fireworks are overrated.

Ethnicity

When it comes to ethnicity, we see that Asians or South Asians are the most likely to think ketchup is better than mustard and the least likely to enjoy burnt marshmallows. African Americans and Hispanic/Latino respondents are the least likely to think fireworks are overrated.

Income

When looking at response by income, we see that regardless of income, people feel the same about preferring ketchup to mustard on hot dogs. People with incomes under $20,000 are the least likely to prefer burnt marshmallows. People with incomes of $40,000 to $59,999 and $100,000+ are 6% more likely to think fireworks are overrated, compared to those with incomes under $20,000.

Panel

Finally, we looked at responses by panel. We see up to 9% differences by panel depending on the opinion. Panel E is 8% more likely than Panel B to prefer ketchup over mustard on hot dogs. Panel A is 8% more likely than Panel B to prefer burnt marshmallows. Panel D is 9% more likely than Panel E to think fireworks are overrated. In fact, Panel D consistently is one of top 2 panels for these unpopular opinions. This means that if a person only used Panel D, they might think more people agree with these opinions than actually do.

As we see in this blog, consumer attitudes and behaviors vary greatly by both demographic and panel. These differences can be due to a variety of reasons such as incentive, panel management, and more. This can have a significant impact on your data. This is why strategic sample blending is the best practice to ensure any changes in your data are due to shifts in the market, not inconsistencies in your data.

Enjoy the holiday!

To learn more about our research-on-research, check out The Sample Landscape: 2023 Edition!