With the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on consumer shopping behavior (e.g., increased online shopping for delivery or contactless pickup), mass merchant revenues rose dramatically in 2020 and the first part of 2021. For example, Target reported a $15B sales growth in 2020, higher than its total sales growth over the past 11 years. For another example,
The food delivery market has been growing significantly over the past five years. That growth exploded in the United States from $17 billion in 2018 to $26 billion in 2020 (partly due to COVID-19). This market is highly competitive and has ultra-thin profit margins. Technologies such as route optimization enable faster and cheaper delivery, but
Fifteen minutes could save you 15%. Nationwide is on your side. You’re in good hands with Allstate. Auto insurance commercials are ubiquitous. It’s no wonder, considering the market. In 2020, the population of the United States was 331,000,000, and 230,000,000 Americans were licensed drivers. If you drive, you should have auto insurance. Until recently, most
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in how people have vacationed in 2020. To get away from it all without spending time in crowded places, vacationers have turned to vacation rental websites and have planned longer stays. For example, Airbnb recently reported a year-to-year doubling of long-term (>28 days) rentals and a shift
We’ve all spent a lot of time at home this year. The pandemic has made already-popular video streaming services seem essential. The popularity makes sense given the relatively inexpensive subscription fees, the lack of long-term contracts, and the many channels of access (through websites, mobile apps, smart TVs), and there is a LOT of content
We write extensively about standardized UX metrics such as the SUS, PSSUQ, and SUPR-Q. The main benefits of standardization include improved reliability, validity, sensitivity, objectivity, quantification, economy, communication, and norms. Even when standardized UX questionnaires are developed independently, they are influenced by earlier work, just like how UX itself is a new field built upon earlier
Over half of U.S. households have a pet. And for many people, they are more than pets; they are family. But pets are also a big business. It’s estimated that pet related products and services account for $70BB annually in the U.S. alone. And a lot of that spending happens online. To better understand the
There’s a lot to do outside. Biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, and driving an RV all fall under the umbrella of the outdoor recreation industry. Depending on how broadly it’s defined, it can be anywhere from a $10 billion to $800 billion industry. And all the gear needed for these outdoor activities can be bought
Online dating websites are one of the primary ways people find dates and even future spouses. These sites represent the bulk of a 3 billion dollar dating services industry. In fact, around 30% of recent marriages started online, but it’s not like finding a date is as easy as filtering choices on Amazon and having
The hold music. The wait time. The menu that always seems to have just changed. Calling customer service is not usually what people want to do in their spare time. But it’s often necessary and represents an important touchpoint for companies that interact with their customers. Understanding why people call customer support is also a
