Commentary
Consumer Intentions: Turn Down the Heat
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 21, 2005
According to the Consumer Intentions and from BIGresearch, consumers will be keeping a wary eye on their home heating bills this holiday season, and when asked what they would do if their home heating bill increased by 50%, almost 2/3 say "turn down the thermostat" and 62% say "wear heavier clothing."
When it comes to Holiday shopping, only 36.9% said the cost of heating their home would have no effect on their holiday shopping. For the 63% who said the cost of home heating would affect their holiday shopping, the top solutions were:
- Look for more special sale items
- Spend less on gifts
Joe Pilotta, VP of BIGresearch, said "Consumers say they will cope with higher energy bills during the Holiday season by being more price conscious in order to enjoy the holidays..."
Suppose your home heating bill increase by 50%. What would you do? (Check all that apply) | |
Adjust thermostat to reduce consumption | 65.2% |
Spend less on other goods and services | 33.0% |
Use a space heater | 22.9% |
Wear heavier clothing in the house | 32.1% |
Sign up for budget billing | 20.3% |
Install energy efficient lighting | 11.5% |
Increase insulation | 18.2% |
Replace windows | 5.3% |
Install energy management and monitoring controls | 4.7% |
Shop more for necessities at lower priced stores | 27.3% |
Shop more for the things I want at lower priced stores | 21.8% |
Do more comparison shopping | 21.1% |
Don't pay heating and cooling bills | 7.3% |
Other: | 6.1% |
Source: BIGresearch | |
How will the cost of heating your home affect your Holiday Shopping? (Multiple response OK) | |
Spend less on gifts | 31.3% |
Look for more special sale items | 32.7% |
Shop at discount stores more often | 26.1% |
Buy for fewer people | 20.2% |
It will have no effect at all | 36.9% |
Other: | 1.9% |
Source: BIGresearch | |
Complimentary findings are available here.
Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.