Consumer Experience and Research: March 2018

Wednesday 28 March 2018

Facebook Users & Privacy Settings

💥Survey reveals that 55% of Facebook Users in Ireland think there should be more restrictions and policies put in place on social media platforms. 👎📢🔒

iReach Insights Press Release

66% of adults in Ireland are Facebook Users.

13% of Facebook Users in Ireland have their privacy settings on “Public”.

55% of Facebook Users in Ireland think there should be more restrictions and policies put in place on social media platforms.

63% of Facebook Users think that the responsibility for content posted on social media platforms lies with the individuals who post it.

The Cambridge Analytica and Facebook controversy has had an enormous negative impact on Facebook and has contributed to the losing €48.65 billion in market value. iReach Insights recently conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,000 adults to investigate privacy settings of Ireland’s Facebook users and who they think the responsibility lies with when it comes to posting online. With 66% of people in Ireland signed up to Facebook, it is an extremely powerful tool and huge bank of data. Although social media platforms are free to join and use, they have data and information and have the power to use personal information and analyse user’s social interactions to target their users with personalised ads.

80% of Facebook Users in Ireland think that people in Ireland are not fully aware of the extent of damage that posting online can have. 55% of Facebook Users in Ireland think there should be more restrictions and policies put in place on social media platforms. Again, more females (61%) than males (48%) are concerned about this issue. 1 in 4 (24%) are unsure of what policies are in place now. Privacy settings on Facebook are becoming easier to manages nowadays so people can control exactly who can have access to what on Facebook. On Facebook you can alter privacy settings depending on what you are posting / sharing online e.g. you can select share specific App data with “Only Me” but share some photos with “Only Friends” and some photo as “Public”.

16% of Facebook Users in Ireland have their settings set to completely private, 66% have them set to private, 13% have them set to public and 5% don’t know. More female Facebook Users than male Facebook users are concerned about their privacy setting being private. 89% of female Facebook Users have their settings on completely private or private, compared with 72% of male Facebook Users.

When it comes to the content of what is posted on these social media platforms, who does the responsibility lie with? Although 63% of Facebook Users think that the responsibility lies with the individuals who post on the social media platform, 61% also think that is the social media platforms responsibility for the content that is posted.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to info@ireachconversations.com

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Tuesday 27 March 2018

Happy Easter! 🌼

🐇 72% of adults in Ireland are planning to celebrate Easter this year, up from 67% celebrating it last year. 🐣🍭

iReach Insights Press Release

Top activities to do over Easter are 1. Spend time with family,
2. Eat chocolate Easter Eggs & 3. Eat an Easter Feast / dinner.
The average spend per person in Ireland on Easter Eggs is €19.
10% would be open to buying Easter Eggs for their pets.
19% gave up something for Lent, with 70% sticking to it.

Easter is coming early for us this year and we all have a long weekend to look forward. A nationally representative survey of 1,000 adults was conducted by iReach last week and looked into people’s celebrations and plans for Easter. 72% of adults in Ireland are planning to celebrate Easter this year, up from 67% celebrating it last year.

Top activities to do over Easter are 1. Spend time with family (62%), 2. Eat chocolate Easter Eggs (53%) and 3. Eat an Easter Feast / dinner (39%). Lucky for some, 1 in 9 adults (11%) are going on holidays and 1 in 20 adults (5%) will go away for a hotel break.

The average people are going to spend on Easter eggs this year is €19, up from the average of €17 being spent per person last year. Just over one third (35%) of people won’t buy themselves Easter eggs or receive any this year! 54% plan on buying/ receiving between one and three Easter Eggs. A small percentage of 3% plan on receiving/buying 10 or more chocolate Easter eggs.

Some supermarkets are offering a range of different flavoured Easter eggs which steer away from the more traditional plain – milk, dark or white chocolate eggs. 25% said they would try a strawberry and prosecco flavoured chocolate Easter egg, 16% would try a gin and tonic flavoured Easter egg and 10% of adults in Ireland would by Easter Eggs for their pets. Interestingly a lot more females (10%) than males (4%) would try a Vegan Easter Egg.

The exact same number of people (19%) who gave up something for Lent last year, did again this year and again this year more females (23%) than males (15%) gave up something. Those who gave up have good will power as 70% were able to stick to it this year.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to info@ireachconversations.com

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Tuesday 20 March 2018

69% think that Ireland needs to be better prepared for storms! 🌂⛅⛄

iReach Insights Press Release

90% of people living in Ireland agree that the red weather alert was justified during Storm Emma

74% couldn’t reach work because of the weather conditions.

The majority (73%) think Ireland dealt with this exceptional weather in the most responsible way.

82% followed the advice to stay indoors during storm Emma.

69% also think that Ireland needs to be better prepared for blizzards and snow storms.

Everyone in Ireland was just getting over snowy storm Emma and the snow graced us with its presence again this St. Patrick’s Weekend. Unfortunately, some events such as Ireland's Rugby Homecoming in the Aviva and St Patrick's Day Festivals had to be cancelled due to the weather conditions. iReach Insights conducted a nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about their opinion about the Beast from the East and whether or not Ireland is able to deal with extreme weather conditions.

90% of adults in Ireland think that the red weather alert was justified during the snow blizzard two weeks ago. Furthermore, 82% followed the advice to stay indoors [especially between Thursday (01.03.18) 4pm and Friday (02.03.18) 5pm]. Interestingly, more women (86%) than men (77%) followed this advice. Also, 22% of men, but only 12% of women state that they drove during the storm.

The bad weather affected the jobs from three out of four people (77%). The Friday was the day which affected most jobs (97%), followed by Thursday (91%), Wednesday (51%) and Saturday (17%).
Of the people whose jobs were affected, 74% couldn’t reach work because of the weather conditions. In more detail: over the half (54%) couldn’t go into work and couldn’t work from home either. One quarter (27%) worked at home, and 14% couldn’t reach their work, even though they had to work. Some people used the chance of a few days off, like the 6% who couldn’t go to work and although it was possible to work from home but choose not to. Only 6% still worked from the office and 1% just called in sick.
The majority (62%) think that everyone should have had work off during these days of severe snow.

Fortunately, only 12% state that the weather caused any damage to them or their belongings or had any financial implications. Here are the TOP 5 damages caused by Emma: 1. Property and Garden (41%), 2. Loss of earnings (26%), 3. No food (24%), 4. Power cut (16%) and 5. Car (15%).
42% state they had damage costs between €100 to €500, 34% up to €100 and luckily only 7% over €500.

The majority (73%) of people living in Ireland think that Ireland dealt with this exceptional weather in the most responsible way and even more (82%) think Ireland’s emergency response team reacted well to storm Emma. Nonetheless, 69% state that Ireland needs to be better prepared for blizzards and snow storms. Especially, over the half (57%) think that supermarkets should have been better prepared in terms of having enough stock.
Above all, 78% believe that due to global climate changes, adverse weather conditions will become more likely in the future.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to info@ireachconversations.com

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Thursday 15 March 2018

Brexit: Only a third (37%) of Irish People think the EU will become weaker after Brexit! 💪

iReach Insights Press Release

40% think that the Irish government is not doing enough to protect Ireland from the potential future impact of Brexit.

59% think that the ROI will have a competitive advantage in luring more multinational giants from UK.

37% think that the EU will become weaker without the UK as a member.

Also, 38% think the UK is strong enough to remain economically competitive and successful without the rest of Europe.

Only 20% of people in Ireland agree with Theresa May’s plan for an "immediate break with the EU after Brexit”.

The TOP 3 biggest problems the EU should solve in the years ahead are: 1. Refugee Crisis (67%), 2. Poverty (55%) and 3. Unemployment (47%).

Brexit is coming closer and still a lot of questions remain unanswered. People are insecure not only about their own future but also the economic future of Ireland. iReach Insights conducted a nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about their opinion about the Brexit, it’s potential impact and what Irish people would do, if they had a say in the referendum.

35% of adults in Ireland think there will be a significant downturn in the Irish economy after Brexit. Interestingly, more men (40%) than women (30%) share this opinion. In total, another 35% think it is too early to say at this stage.

Furthermore, 37% of people in Ireland think that the EU will become weaker without the United Kingdom as a member.
Besides the Brexit topic, the TOP 3 biggest problems the EU should solve in the years ahead are: 1. Refugee Crisis (67%), 2. Poverty (55%) and 3. Unemployment (47%).
Surprisingly, although Ireland is probably the country most affected by Brexit, the majority (58%) of people living in Ireland think the ROI shouldn’t have had the opportunity to vote in the Brexit referendum. 25% state yes and 17% are unsure about it.
Above all, 37% hope that a united Ireland is one of the positives of the Brexit [37% neither agree/disagree; 26% disagree]. If that wouldn’t be a wonderful result out of all this chaos.

38% think that the UK is strong enough to remain economically competitive and successful without the rest of Europe. Nonetheless, 3 out of 4 (75%) believe if a referendum were to be held in the UK again about Britain leaving the EU, they would vote to stay this time. Only 13% think they would vote to leave again.

When it comes to Britain’s Exit, almost the half (48%) of people in Ireland do not agree with Theresa May’s plan for an "immediate break with the EU after Brexit” [= the plan to diverge from EU regulation immediately after Brexit]. Although one in five (20%) does agree with this plan.

48% of adults in Ireland think that the Brexit will have more negative than positive or equivalent negative and positive impact on the economy in the ROI. In addition, a third (34%) think the Brexit won’t result in creating more jobs for the ROI. Most importantly, 40% state that they do not feel that the Irish government is doing enough to protect Ireland from the potential future impact of the Brexit. Almost the same amount of people (39%) are unsure and only 21% feel the Irish government is doing enough.

Brexit and it’s impact on Ireland and the EU will probably remain in a state of uncertainty for the near future, so Ireland should try to make the best out of this situation and focus on positive possibilities. On the positive side of things, the majority (59%) think that the ROI will have a competitive advantage in luring more multinational giants from UK because of it’s low tax rates and well-educated, English speaking workforce.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to info@ireachconversations.com

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Tuesday 13 March 2018

The majority (76%) of adults in Ireland likes St.Patrick’s Day! 🎉💚🍀🍺

iReach Insights Press Release

The majority (61%) of people in Ireland think the St. Patrick’s Day parades in other countries are better than the ones in Ireland.

Even though, 82% are proud that St. Patrick's Day is celebrated all around the world.

58% of people think that the level of alcohol consumption is far too much.

More than the half (55%) think that St. Patrick’s Day is too commercialised nowadays.

79% of adults in Ireland think that St. Patrick’s Day feeds into the Irish stereotypes of drinking, while in reality just half (52%) will drink alcohol on this day.

While everyone is preparing for the up coming St. Patrick’s Day, the weather forecast is shadowing Irelands anticipation of its biggest national holiday. Let’s hope Ireland won’t get another visit from the Beast from the East this weekend and with a Grand slam on the cards – I don’t think any type of weather will dampen our spirits. People throughout Ireland go to parades and festivals to celebrate Irish culture in an atmosphere very friendly and welcoming. iReach Insights conducted nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about their opinion about the St. Patrick’s Day.

Does everybody in Ireland like St. Patrick’s Day? No, but a significant majority does with 76% of adults in Ireland stating they do like St. Patrick’s Day. Especially the younger age group (16-34) (85%) like this festival.

There are a lot of activities to do on St. Patrick’s Day, but everyone has their own plans and traditions. The majority (53%) of people will go to or watch the parade on TV, 44% will spend time at home with their family/friends, and 24% will go out for drinks [younger age group more likely (35%) than the over 55+ (13%)]. Interestingly, no more than the half (49%) of people in Ireland will be wearing green on the St. Patrick’s Day.

Surprisingly, more than the half of people in Ireland (61%) are convinced that the St. Patrick's Day parades abroad are better than the parades here in Ireland! Even though, 82% are proud that the St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated all around the world. Furthermore, 67% of people believe that St. Patrick’s Day portrays Ireland in a positive way.

58% of people think that the level of alcohol consumption is far too much and almost every third person (29%) thinks that a lot of alcohol is consumed. Only 8% think that a reasonable amount of alcohol is consumed and anyhow 5% think that not that much is consumed.

Some people (79%) think that the St. Patrick’s Day feeds into Irish stereotypes of drinking. This makes the fact, that only half of people in Ireland (52%) will drink alcohol on this day even more sursprisingly. Women are more likely to think it with 84% than men with 72%. To remain to the alcohol topic, just 12% will drink a green beer.

Furthermore, over the half (55%) think that St. Patrick’s Day is too commercialised.

When we think about the St. Patrick’s Day we obviously think about green costumes, leprechauns, fun… and alcohol! However, in reality only 52% of people will drink alcohol on this day. At first, the St. Patrick’s Day is a national celebration, but it is also a way for Ireland to bring a part of Irish culture into the world and to get people into the mood for a visit to our beautiful country.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to info@ireachconversations.com

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Friday 9 March 2018

71% of people in Ireland celebrate Mother’s Day 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 🎁 💞

iReach Insights Press Release

More females (81%) than males (60%) celebrate Mother’s Day in Ireland.
74% of adults in Ireland think it is still very difficult for women to have children and to do well in their career.
On average, people think 31 is the ideal age for a woman to become a mother and succeed in her career.

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and with that in mind iReach Insights conducted nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about them about Mother’s Day and opinions about being a mother Ireland.

The majority (71%) of people in Ireland celebrate Mother’s Day and 83% will even get a present for their mother. Looking at male vs. females, more females (81%) celebrate this Mother’s Day more so than men (60%).

The TOP 5 presents for Mother’s Day are: 1. Card (68%), 2. Flowers (58%), 3. Voucher (30%), 4. Taking her out (28%) and 5. Chocolates/Sweets (25%). Of those who are giving a present to their mothers on Mother’s Day (83%), the average spend per person is €41 for a Mother’s Day present.

What age would be an ideal age to become a mother and succeed in a career nowadays? If a woman wants to succeed in her career, 35% think the ideal age to become a mother is between 25-30 years, 35% think the ideal age is 30-35 years. The average ideal age to become a mother in Ireland: 31 years old (30.5 years). Males think the ideal is slightly younger than females on average: Males 30 years. Females 31 years.

Furthermore, 74% think it is still very difficult for women to have children and to do well in their career. Not surprising, the majority of women (85%) agree to that, but only 63% of men in Ireland. Considering these results, it is not surprising that the majority (76%) state the Irish government should do more to support mothers.

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Monday 5 March 2018

Women and Sport: 43% still think there are prejudices surrounding which sports are for males and which are for females. 😟🏃🏆

iReach Insights Press Release

43% still think prejudices about the various kinds of sports which are specifically for women and specifically for men still exist.

64% think there should be more female sports reported in the news and media.

60% stated that women in sport are not taken as seriously as men in sport in Ireland

Do people in Ireland take females as seriously as men when it comes to sport? Unfortunately not, according to iReach’s recent study with only one in five adults thinking that women in sport are taken as seriously as men in sport in Ireland. iReach Insights recently conducted a nationally representative survey and 1,000 adults were asked about exercise, prejudices surrounding women and sports & reasons for quitting sports at different ages. In light of the fact that international women’s day is coming up later in the week, we wanted to explore what gender disparity still exists between the sexes when it comes to sport in Ireland.

Despite 37% of people thinking that Females are encouraged by Irish society to play sport, how are th

ey encouraged isn’t clear from this research conducted but this is a positive result of the research findings?

43% still think prejudices about the various kinds of sports which are specifically for women and specifically for men still exist nowadays. Without realizing it, we are constantly watching male dominated sports on the TV which are usually shown at prime-time TV time slots.

Unsurprisingly, 64% think there should be more female sports reported in the news and media. Is it any wonder then that 60% stated that women in sport are not taken as seriously as men in sport in Ireland? This isn’t to say the other 40% think they are; 20% are unsure and the other 20% think women are taken as seriously as men.

Surprisingly there are more males that have given up a sport than females. However, females tend to give up sport/exercise at a younger age than males do. 26% of males quit between the age of 10-16 years compared with 40% of females quit between the ages of 10-16 years.

57% of respondents feel there is more importance put on sport in an all-boys school rather than an all-girls school. This may be a factor with regards to girls dropping out of sport at a younger age – they might not be pushed and encourage by their school to stay in the sport.

Reasons as to why they gave up the sport/exercise are vast – the Top 5 are 1. Time Constraints, 2. Studies, 3. Injury, 4. Laziness and 5. They didn’t enjoy it anymore.

12% more males (48%) than females (36%) stopped playing due to having no time. Double the number of females (33%) than males (17%) quit as their school or studies got in the way.

For more information on these research findings please feel free to call iReach on 01-2143740 or email to oisin.byrne@ireachhq.com

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