Consumer Insights Studies and Industry Reports

It’s been some twelve years since Chipotle first went public and the fast casual revolution got underway. We’ve seen better burger and better pizza concepts proliferate to the point of saturation, ethnic concepts penetrate deeper and deeper into America’s heartland (and hearts), and the occasional misstep and overreach (you know who you are). 

Alcohol is big business—sure, cannabis is starting to encroach on the after work ‘take the edge off’ market, but alcohol remains as American as apple pie (which is also a type of moonshine). Among changing demographics, social attitudes, and relationships to substances, we thought it was a good time to put our finger on the pulse of the drinking nation.

How much and how often are people drinking these days, what are they drinking when they do, and what social situations particularly lend themselves to alcohol consumption in today's shifting social landscape? Also, what further insights can be gleaned from generational, gender, and income segmentations? We were honestly surprised by some of the results.

Our 2018 Cannabis Industry Report isn’t about the industry in isolation, it’s about the way it is already impacting consumers' perceptions of retailers, manufacturers, grocers, and restaurants. To what extent are consumers comfortable with these industries incorporating cannabis into their products and services, what is the best way for these industries to go about it, and how can they do so without alienating a portion of their consumer base? What kind of products do consumers want to see, who do they want to buy them from, and what kind of advertising will be most effective?

TrendSource’s 2018 Retail Industry Report is grounded in an analysis of the omnichannel faultlines across retail, particularly the tensions between in-store and online.