Freedonia & Packaged Facts Complete Q4 2024 National Consumer Survey

Cleveland, OH – December 4, 2024 – The Freedonia Group and Packaged Facts, leading providers of market research and analysis, today announced the completion of the fourth quarter edition of their 2024 National Online Consumer Survey.

Each edition of this survey provides clients with actionable data-driven insights into consumer behavior and attitudes which will appear in a variety of Freedonia Industry Studies, Freedonia Focus Reports, and Packaged Facts Reports. The data is also available for use in custom engagements, whether full projects or tables featuring cross tabs geared toward your particular needs. Data from our National Online Consumer Survey is specifically designed to enable insightful analysis into market trends and directions, leading clients to the best decision making in product development, marketing plans, and other efforts.

Methodology

The Freedonia Group and Packaged Facts National Online Consumer Survey is conducted quarterly. The 2024 editions were conducted in February-March (first quarter), May (second quarter), and July-August (third quarter), and November (fourth quarter). This latest edition of the Freedonia Group and Packaged Facts National Online Consumer Survey was conducted with a panel of 1,500 US adults (aged 18 and older) balanced to the national population on primary demographic measures such as age group, gender, geographic region, marital status, race/ethnicity, presence or absence of children in the household, and household income.

Topics covered in this edition of the survey include:

• Big Picture Issues: concerns about pricing; feelings about sustainable living; mental and emotional wellbeing; holiday spending expectations; and feelings about current and future personal economic wellbeing
• Freedonia Industry Studies: sell-by/use-by dates, packaging sustainability, recycling habits, priorities in packaging features, cook-in packaging, and perceptions on waste, resealable closures, and pouches
• Packaged Facts
  • Food & Beverage: dietary trends & preferences, food influences, shopping habits, food priorities, cooking skills, meal and snack habits, chocolate candy habits and preferences, food gifting, use of and willingness to try nonalcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverage drinking habits
  • Pet: pet population, pet ownership attitudes, pet food and supplements, pet health and wellness, use of and purchase habits of pet medications and prescription food, pet dental care, and attitudes about pet supply pricing
  • Financial: co-branded credit cards usage and attitudes on enticements, and overall credit card usage and shopping habits

Highlight Data Points

Some highlight data points from the fourth quarter edition of the survey include:

• Despite data showing easing inflation trends, 50% of consumer report being very concerned about rising food prices, with another 31% stating that they are somewhat concerned about rising food prices
• A slim majority of all consumers expect to spend about the same as last year on gifts, food, and décor for the 2024 holiday season. However, the likelihood of pulling back rises as household income falls.
• Reliance on sell-by/best-by dates is highest among young consumers. Older consumers are more likely to use taste and smell to evaluate food freshness, regardless of dates on the package.
• Millennial and Gen X consumers were most likely to report paying attention to how processed their food choices are. That awareness rises with income levels and if the household includes children under 18.
• The oldest and youngest adult consumers are most likely to report that they never drink alcohol While 42% of pre-Boomers and 37% of adult Gen Z refer to their drinking habits as “sober/never,” only 28% of Baby Boomers say the same.
• The likelihood of grocery shopping from a list increases with age, from only 39% of adult Gen Z respondents doing so always or usually to 72% of pre-Boomers shopping from a list always or usually.
• Over half of pet owners are willing to cut back on their personal expenses to make sure their pet is healthy.
• Nutrition/diet and exercise/physical activity are the top concerns that pet owners have regarding their pets' health and wellness, with nearly half of pet owners in agreement.

Why Consumer Survey Data is Helpful to Business Leaders

According to Jennifer Mapes-Christ, an author of the survey and manager of Freedonia’s consumer & light commercial research and Packaged Facts’ food & beverage research, “Our quarterly survey helps us track changes in consumer habits and preferences, examining consumer priorities as well as concerns. Recent surveys have been conducted with an eye on impacts of inflation and elevated prices as we all know that consumers have been spooked lately, looking for value in their purchases. Sustainability and waste continue to be core themes as well.”

Mapes-Christ continues, “Ultimately, it’s about more than where are we now at this snapshot in time. It’s a look at where we are going as these surveys help us see emerging trends based on changes in attitudes at a granular level and among certain population groups.”

Data-driven market insights derived from The Freedonia Group and Packaged Facts’ proprietary survey include use patterns, shopping habits, feature priorities, self-images, and others and drilling down into how these vary across demographic characteristics such as gender, age groups, income levels, urbanization, type of housing, presence of children at home, and dietary preferences, as well as attitudes on sustainability and pricing.

Companies can use this analysis to develop custom messages, target key market segments, understand customer needs, and make informed investments in future product development.

Conclusion

The Freedonia Group and Packaged Facts National Online Consumer Survey is an essential tool for businesses that want to understand their customers and make the best decisions possible. Visit http://www.freedoniagroup.com or contact customer service to learn more about reports that include data from our proprietary surveys and the variety of ways to access that data, including custom cross-tabs of survey questions.

About The Freedonia Group

The Freedonia Group is a premier international business research company, providing clients with product analyses, market forecasts, industry trends, and market share information. From one-person consulting firms to global conglomerates, our analysts provide companies with unbiased, reliable industry market research and analysis to help them make important business decisions. The Freedonia Group's subsidiary Packaged Facts is a trusted provider of consumer market research on food & beverage, pet products and services, demographics, and financial services.