Products "Made in the USA" Are More Popular Than Ever According To New National Consumer Survey
BOSTON- March 6, 2013- This year’s Most Memorable New Product Launch (MMNPL) survey, conducted by Schneider Associates and Sentient Decision Science, showed product attributes such as “Made in the USA,” Made Locally,” and “Country of Origin” are more influential than ever on consumers’ purchasing decisions. “Made in The USA” was cited by 62% of consumers as influencing their purchasing decision, a five percent increase from two years ago. “Made Locally” experienced a similar boost in influence, with 52% of respondents influenced by it, up from 48% in 2011 and 46% in 2010. MMNPL data from the past decade shows that attributes such as “Made in the USA” spike in influence during presidential election years. This suggests topics such as American manufacturing and outsourcing that are discussed in political debates and messaging influence consumer purchasing behavior. Americans post-election may be voting with their wallets as well as their ballots.
Participants in this year’s MMNPL survey showed a universally low recall rate with 67% unable to recall a single new product launched in 2012. This is the second lowest recall rate of the decade, trumped only by the 69% unable to recall a new product launch in 2008—another election year. Repeated low recall rates during election years suggests that it is harder for brands to break through the proliferation of political ad clutter to gain consumer attention. To support that theory, the MMNPL survey asked participants to report on the content of the last ten advertisements they could recall. Respondents said that four out of the last ten contained political messages. This shows that in an election year, consumers are less likely to recall new product ads, either because there are simply more political ads, or that the political ads make more of a lasting impression.
The main focus of the MMNPL survey is to track the most memorable new product launches of the past year, and in spite of consumers reporting that they were more likely to buy a products “Made in the USA,” some of the products consumers remembered most were not made in the States.
Amazon’s Kindle Fire topped the list with 30% of surveyed consumers remembering the launch. While the tablet boasts a Texas Instruments processor, the device is made in Taiwan. But Amazon is a U.S. based company, with software developers and other centers working across the globe in addition to the US. Other foreign-manufactured products that made the top ten were the Samsung Galaxy Note (#5), the completely redesigned iPod Nano (#6), and the Wii U(#7).
Other products named the top ten most memorable of 2012 were all American-made but were either food or home products. The decidedly all-American Taco Bell had two products on the list with Doritos Locos Taco coming in at number two on the list (19% of consumers recalling the launch), and the new Cantina Bowls coming in at number eight. Tide Pods (#3) is another US based and made product on the list, as well as Pepsi Next (#4), Duncan Hines Frosting Creations (#9) and McDonald’s Chicken McBites (#10).
The online MMNPL survey, conducted by Schneider Associates and Sentient Decision Science during November of 2012, polled a national, census-balanced sample of consumers age 18 and up, and uncovered data related to awareness of new consumer product launches, influential trends, media usage, and purchasing behavior. This is the eleventh consecutive year that the Most Memorable New Product Launch survey has been conducted.
For more information on the survey, or to learn more about the results, visit www.mmnpl.com
About Schneider Associates
Schneider Associates is an integrated marketing communications and public relations agency that launches and sustains products, services, companies and communities. www.schneiderpr.com
Sentient Decision Science, LLC is a full service market research and consulting firm. The firm was founded by Aaron Reid, Ph.D. in 2007 in response to a need for more advanced, practical and precise research methods in the market research industry. www.sentientdecisionscience.com
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