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CONSUMER
PROBLEM SURVEY
REPORT
Christopher Hydock, Ph.D. & Kurt
A. Carlson, Ph.D.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On a monthly basis the Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research (GICR) asks consumers
what problems they plan to solve by going to the market. The findings from this survey are
released monthly via press releases and quarterly via the Consumer Problem Survey Report (CPS
Report).
The CPS is the only survey of its kind, focusing not on consumer behavior or sentiment, but on
the problems that consumers plan to solve via the marketplace. The CPS tracks 267 common
consumer problems, each of which belongs to one of nine categories (i.e., Attire,
Communication, Finance, Home-Housing, Health, Personal Care, Social, Transportation, and
Work-Life).
By measuring and tracking the problems that cause consumers to enter the marketplace in
search of solutions, the CPS provides entirely new insights into when and how consumers are
likely to enter the market.
Some of the key findings from the CPS:

The CPS finds consumers’ reports of transportation problems predicted increase in car
sales.

Only 43% of the problems consumers experience are solved within 6 months.

Of those who do solve their problem with a purchase, most do so within a month.

Of those who experience a problem that does unsolved, 14% report the problem went
away on its own, BUT, the main reasons problems go unsolved are time and monetary
constraints (68%).

Reviews from web sites are used to identify the right solution, but most solutions are
bought in person at a store.

Men are more likely than women to use online purchases to solve their problems, and
they spend significantly more money than women when purchasing online.

CPS problem data correlates with business revenues and Google Trends data, suggesting
that consumer behavior mirrors what is captured in the survey.
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
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CONTENTS
OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................ 1
SURVEY RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 4
Problems Consumers Will Solve At Market ....................................................................... 4
Do Consumers Actually Solve the Problems They Plan to Solve at Market? .................... 5
Why Do Some Consumers Not Purchase a Solution as Planned? ..................................... 6
Where are Waldo’s Unsolved Problems? ........................................................................... 7
The Information that Leads to a Purchase.......................................................................... 8
Window Shopping ................................................................................................................ 9
Women are from Nordstrom Men are from Amazon ...................................................... 10
Matching CPS Data to Expenditure Data .......................................................................... 11
Breaking Down a Problem Category ................................................................................. 13
Validating the CPS .............................................................................................................. 15
CPS Methodology ............................................................................................................... 16
ABOUT THE GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH ................................. 18
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
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OVERVIEW
Unlike most consumer surveys, which tend to focus on buying habits, sentiment, or purchase
intentions, the CPS focuses on the problems consumers plan to solve with market solutions. The
survey focuses on consumer problems because of the critical role that problem recognition plays
in determining when and how consumers enter the market to purchase solutions. Specifically,
there are four stages in typical consumer choice: Problem Recognition, Information Search,
Evaluation of the Alternatives, and Decision. At the point of Problem Recognition the consumer
realizes that something needs to be done to resolve an issue. In effect, a switch is flipped that
initiates the process for searching, evaluating, and eventual decision making in the marketplace.
The CPS captures this first step in a way that has never been done before. The survey documents
the problems consumers intend to solve, the sources in which they search for information, and
initial purchases being considered. As a results, the CPS provides a wealth of insights about when
and how consumers enter the market to solve their problems.
The Problems Consumers Intend to Solve in the Market
Certainly, consumers experience many problems in their lives that they do not plan to solve by
going to the market. There are two main reasons for this. First, the problem cannot be solved by
the market solutions (e.g., the problem of a void in one’s heart due to a lost family member).
Second, they lack the resources (time, expertise, money) to use the market to solve the problem.
While we acknowledge some problems fit this mold, we believe that for most problems at least a
partial solution can be found in the market. As such, the survey on which this report is based is
focused on the problems consumers plan to solve by going to the market. This qualifying
condition ensures that our results will predict consumers’ actual purchase behaviors.
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SURVEY RESULTS
Problems Consumers Will Solve At Market
15%
14%
13%
12%
11%
10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
Car Sales and Transportation Problems
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0
New Car Sales (millions)
Percentage of GUPI Caused by
Transportation Problems
One of the primary
Proportion of Most Pressing Problems that
components of the CPS is the
Consumers Plan to Solve in the Market
most pressing problem each
Attire
Finance 4%
consumer in our survey plans
5%
to solve. When we ask people
Work and Life
this question, we find that
21%
Home and Housing as well as
Home/Housing
Work and Life problems
22%
(followed by Personal Care and
Personal
Communication) are reported
Care
most frequently as the pressing
15%
Transportation
problems they plan to solve via
8%
Health
the market. Decomposing
Communication Social 7%
these categories reveals that
14%
4%
the top specific problems are:
home cleaning, auto repair,
time management, storage/organization, and groceries. Further, we can see that transportation
problems are inversely related to new car sales (http://www.edmunds.com/-industrycenter/data), suggesting that consumers who had pressing transportation problems in the fall of
2013 used new car purchases (in the spring of 2014) to solve these problems.
4
Do Consumers Actually Solve the Problems They Plan to Solve at Market?
Follow-up Survey. After 6 months we followed up with CPS respondents and asked them about
their attempts to solve their previously reported most pressing problem. Three quarters (75%) of
the original sample provided contact information and one-third (33%) of these participants
responded to the follow-up survey. Participants reported whether or not they had solved their
problem. When consumers said they did not solve their problem, they reported why and
updated information about their search efforts. In the event that participants had solved their
problem, consumers indicated what they purchased, how much they spent, what information
sources led them to their purchase, and the extent to which the purchase solved their problem.
Forty two percent of consumers reported they
50%
had solved their most pressing problem.
Importantly, consumers who reported their
40%
problem 6 months back were only slightly more
30%
likely to have solved their problem than those
20%
who had reported their problem the month
10%
before. For example, of those who had
0%
reported their problem 6 months ago, 43% had
1-2 Months
3-4 Months
5-6 Months
found a solution. Of those who had reported
their problem 1 month ago, 37% had found a solution.
Solution Windows
Key Finding: After recognition of a problem, the majority of solutions are purchased
within a month. Approximately 38% of most pressing problems are solved within a
month, but only 5% are solved within the next 1-5 months.
Implication: It is critical that brands reach consumers shortly after problem
recognition as the majority of consumers that purchase a solution do so relatively
quickly.
The Solution Window in which brands will have the most success introducing their
product is relatively short. While limited, this point in a consumers’ dynamic life
provides incredible opportunity.
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Why Do Some Consumers Not Purchase a Solution as Planned?
Why did some consumers fail to solve their most-pressing problems? The most common reason
was a lack of ability (i.e., insufficient time or money). Interestingly, consumers responses suggest
that time is just as big of a factor as money in their inability to solve some problems. Those that
lacked the time to look for a solution and those that lacked the time to buy a solution made up
nearly a third of respondents that had not purchased a solution.
Cannot Find
Solution
18%
Lack Time
to Look
18%
Not Yet
Purchased
Purchased
42%
58%
Lack time to
Buy
13%
Problem
Went Away
14%
Money /
Price
37%
Key Finding: While 14% of problems are reported to go away on their own and 43%
are solved, another 43% go unsolved due time and monetary constraints.
Implication: While marketers may be restrained in reducing price so as to reduce
barriers to consumers solving a problem, they can focus on making sure the right
consumers are aware of their solution and that it is convenient to purchase.
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Where are Waldo’s Unsolved Problems?
Of those problems consumers are planning to solve, which are most and least solvable? Analysis
depicts a large range in the solvability of problems, for example, nearly 80% of problems in some
sub-categories are solved, while only 10% of problems in others are solved.
Most and Least Market Solvable Problems by Category
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
The data provide some very important insights into the market and consumers. First, the
hygiene solution space is seemingly the most saturated with solutions (no pun intended). This
makes sense as it is difficult to think of a hygiene problem for which it is difficult to conjure a
market solution. On the other end of the spectrum, safety emerges as one of the least solvable
problems, corroborating what many already know – it is very hard to eliminate feelings of
insecurity. The single most unsolvable problem is reported as Local Public Transport. While not
public in the traditional sense, Uber has recently made tremendous strides in this area. The CPS
would suggest that this success is tied to the inability of consumers to solve local transport
problems to date.
In this vein, marketers Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne described red ocean market space, areas
where solutions are saturated, and blue ocean market space, areas without market competition.
In red ocean space, competition is fierce and consumers have many options for solutions that
will solve their problems. In blue ocean space there is little competition, consumers have
difficulty solving their problems, even though they are willing to spend money to do so, perhaps
because few options are offered. The chart above provides a list of the top red and blue ocean
markets, based on the data collected in the CPS.
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Implication: While difficult, every unsolved problem is an opportunity for those
offering solutions; accordingly, this list points to the categories where consumers are
willing to spend money but are unable to do so.
The Information that Leads to a Purchase
What information actually leads consumers to their purchase? The two charts below juxtapose
consumers’ originally reported sources of information for their solution search and the sources
of information that ultimately led to purchase. While there is a great deal of overlap, reliance on
review web sites is greatly under-anticipated. Further, consumers’ responses indicated that
reviews are relied on more heavily than any other source of information when purchasing a
solution. It is especially notable that any source was more widely utilized than general web
searches given its ubiquitous nature.
Expected Information Source
Advertising
9%
Brick and
Mortar
14%
Word of
Mouth
15% Social
Media
5%
Review
Web Site
11%
Advertising
8%
Brick and
Mortar
10%
General
Web
Search
23%
Brand
Web Site
8%
Actual Information Search
Web
Market
Place
15%
General
Web
Search
21%
Word of
Mouth
13%
Web Market
Place
12%
Social
Media
5%
Brand
Web Site
5%
Review
Web Site
26%
Key Finding: Reviews from web sites are most cited as the information that
eventually leads to the purchase of a solution.
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Implication: Maintaining a brands’ online reputation is critical. Although marketers
cannot directly alter reviews, some strategies may optimize their content. This
includes making realistic claims in product promotions and enhancing consumers’
user experience by providing an enriched post purchase environment.
Window Shopping
A recent concern of many marketers and retailers is the trend for consumers to view products in
store, but then go and purchase their product online to take advantage of lower prices. While
this surely happens with some products and businesses, the survey responses collected here
suggest that consumers conduct a disproportionate portion of their search online, only to
purchase the majority of their goods in store. While this does not negate the overarching trend
of more consumption moving online, it does suggest retail locations still hold some advantages
over online outlets. Marketers and firms must leverage this information by appropriately
advertising their products online and managing the online reputation of their brand, as well as
their products. Further, they must develop a shopping experience that makes consumers want to
shop around and explore the full-range of products rather than simply use retail locations as
pick-up locations for products already vetted online. This may be accomplished through a
number of approaches, including in-store offers and enhancing the in-store experience.
Problem Search
General Search
Purchases
Off Line
14%
Off Line
45%
Online
55%
Online
86%
Instore
66%
Online
34%
Key Finding: Online shopping may be on the rise, but currently consumers may
conduct a significant amount of search online, only to ultimately make a purchase in
store.
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Implication: While online shopping may be growing in popularity, these results
suggest that in store shopping has significant advantages that will provide long lasting
staying power.
Women are from Nordstrom Men are from Amazon
There has been significant consideration of the
differing shopping habits of men and women.
Traditionally women conduct the majority of
100
consumer shopping. Data from Nielsen (2010)
90
indicates women are responsible to the majority 80
70
of consumer shopping trips to all types of
60
50
retailers except convenience stores.
Share of Shopping Trips
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2011/in-u-s-men-are-shopping-morethan-ever-while-women-are-watching-more-tv.htm
40
30
20
10
0
Qualitative data collected has revealed that
women are more into the shopping experience
and men are concerned with the utility. Given
this differentiation, it is intuitive that men are
more likely to shop online, as has been revealed
by a number of recent surveys. Corroborating
this finding, CPS follow up data indicates that
men do in fact have a tendency toward online
Female
Male
shopping. Analysis of responses from consumers
who ultimately made a purchase to solve their problem suggests that while both genders were
equally likely to purchase a solution, (~40%) men were significantly more likely to do so online.
Females
Males
Online
34%
Instore
66%
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
Instore
55%
Online
45%
10
Further, while men spent
about 20% more on their instore purchases, they spent
100% more on their online
purchases.
Spending Online and In Store by Gender
$1,200
$1,000
$800
$600
$400
$200
$0
Online
In Store
Female
Male
Key Finding: Men and Women differ significantly in how they approach finding
solutions for their problems. Men are more likely to shop online, and spend
significantly more than women when doing so.
Implication: These findings are critical because the reveal that gender differences in
shopping preferences. Men want ease and utility while women are focused on the
experience of shopping. Retail locations aimed toward men should attempt to provide
utility to win back Male shoppers, while online retailers geared toward women must
enhance the online shopping experience.
Implication: The fact that women are more experienced focused and presumably for
this reason prefer in store shopping bodes well to retailers – they provide something
that is likely a long ways away for online shopping. Retailers must play to this strength.
Matching CPS Data to Expenditure Data
How well does CPS data match up to actual spending? Using data collected by the United States
Census Bureau, we compare month to month revenue at Hardware Store, Building Material
Distributors, and Paint supply stores to consumers’ likelihood of reporting a Home Maintenance
problem. The data are highly statistically correlated (see the chart below). Further, we have
compared the likelihood of reporting a Home Maintenance problem with Google Trends Search
index for the term “Home Repair.” Again, we see a significant correlation.
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
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Proportion of Home Maintenance Problems Consumers
Plan to Solve at Market
Home Maintenance Problems, Revenue, and Search Behavior
40
http://www.census.gov/retail/Retail and Food Services Sales: Excel (1992-present)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
$ (Revenue) Building Materials
(Billions)
Google Trend Search Index
(Home Repair)
$ (Revenue) Hardware Stores
(Hundreds of Millions)
$ (Revenue) Paint
Stores(Hundreds of Millions)
Home Maintenance Problems
(% of all Problems)
0
Key Finding: CPS problem data correlates with revenues in the businesses which
should profit from the occurrence of given problems and Google Trends data,
indicating consumers’ behaviors does in fact mirror what is recorded in the survey.
Implication: Over time, CPS data will be able to predict spending and revenues in a
number of specific industries and sectors. Consumer problems are opportunities
for the firms that understand them best.
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A Deep Dive into the Housing Category
In this section of the Consumer
Problem Survey Report, the
data from one sub-category is
dissected to demonstrate the
depth of analysis that is
possible.
2523 Respondents have
reported a Home and Housing
Problem as their Most Pressing
Problem Severity
38
37
36
35
34
33
32
31
30
941
Changing Home Repair / Housing Needs
Home
Home Security
Homes /
Modification -- -- Comfort, Maintenance -- -- Alarms,
Moving -Roof,
Appliances,
Cleaning,
Locks,
Location, Size, Plumbing, Storage, Misc. Pests, Trash, Neighborhood
Price
Decoration
Gardening
Safety
Recalled Problem.
of
them specified the sub-category
“Home Maintenance”. The sub-category, “Home Maintenance” was rated as the second least
severe type of Home and Housing sub-category problem.
There are 7 types of home maintenance problems that consumers report experiencing. Interior
cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, moping, etc.) problems constituted the vast majority of these
problems. There were also a significant number of gardening, pest and extraneous chores
reported as problems.
Types of Maintenance Problems
100%
90%
Chores
80%
70%
60%
Interior
Cleaning
Junk (Old
Stuff)
Removal
Exterior
Cleaning
50%
40%
Pest
Problems
30%
20%
10%
Gardening…
0%
Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research
Gardening
Work
The average age of a person with a
home maintenance problem in our
sample was 35.06 (sample mean 31.5),
females were slightly more likely to
report a home maintenance problem
57% than males 42% (49% - 51%).
Home maintenance problems
composed 8% of all problems.
Caucasians reported 81% of
maintenance problems while only
making up 76% of the sample. The
educations statistics of those reporting
a maintenance problem matched those
of the sample.
13
How do consumers plan to
solve their home
maintenance problems? 9
different types of solution
were reported as proposed
purchases.
Solutions of Home Maintenance Problems
Tools, Kitchen
Supplies, or
Organization
Tool
26%
Consumers typically plan to
spend about $60 (median
predicted purchase) to
solve their fitness problem.
The mean predicated
purchase amount ($231)
indicates that some
consumers plan to spend
much more.
Cleaning
Service
49%
Repairs or
Renovations
Purchase New
16%
Home
Purchase
3%
Appliance
2%
Pet Supplies
1%
Home
Supplies
1%
Rent New
Home
1%
Purchase
Safety
Equipment
1%
Key Finding: Cleaning service purchases are the most common fitness problem
solution to be reported, but they only make up 50% of purchases. The other 50% of
purchases come from a variety of product categories.
Implication: Consumers are seemingly more interested in paying someone to take care
of their maintenance problem than purchasing the supplies and tools to do it
themselves. Firms should be prepared to take advantage of this desire by offering
solutions to consumers before the problem starts.
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Where do consumers search for information regarding
their Home Maintenance problem? Compared to their
expected search for other types of problems,
consumers report relying heavily on reviews (~11%
across all problem categories). Providers must be
aware of this and manage their reputation
accordingly. Top notch customer service may be the
most powerful marketing tool.
Advertising
9%
Brick and
Mortar
7%
Word
of
Mouth
14%
Social
Media
Review
4%
Web
Site
23%
General
Web
Search
25%
Web
Market
Place
Brand 13%
Web
Site
5%
Validation of the CPS
Importantly, review of follow up data also
Predicted vs Actual Spending
indicates that consumers’ original
responses were predictive of their
Attire
likelihood of making a purchase. Those
Finance
Home/Housing
who eventually purchased a solution rated
Transportation
their problem as being more significant
Communication
and more urgent. Further, they were
Social
more likely to state they had the
Health
resources to solve the problem, and the
Personal Care
Work and Life
resources to generally solve problems.
Finally, consumers who ultimately
$0
$100 $200 $300 $400 $500
purchased a solution originally stated they
Predicted
Actual
were more likely to do so (compared to
those who did not eventually purchase a solution), and these consumers anticipated that they
would make a purchase sooner than those who did not end up making a purchase. Consumers
were also remarkably accurate in their predictions of how much they would spend.
Key Finding: Comparison of original data and follow up data suggests consumers are
predictive of their future purchase behavior, validating the CPS and implications
derived from the CPS.
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CPS Methodology
The CPS begins by having respondents focus on the types of problems that they intend to solve.
Consumers are asked to reflect on problems they are experiencing in their lives and identify their
most pressing problem via a cascading drop-down menu. The drop-down menu has a structure
that was developed over 12 months on the basis of thousands of consumers’ responses to openended questions about their problems.
Table 1. Major Categories and Subcategories for the CPS Problem Set
Attire --- (Clothing, Accessories, Shopping, Alteration/Cleaning)
Clothing / Accessories
Shopping and Selection
Laundry, Cleaning, Alteration, Repair
Communication --- (Internet, Technology, Computers, Phone, Tablets, Service Providers)
Phone, Smart Phone
Computer, Laptop, Tablet
Software / Data / Cloud Storage
Router / Modem / Other Connection Device
Service Provider
Online Security
Finance --- (Insurance, Banking, Money Management, Taxes)
Insurance -- Car, Home, Auto, Other insurance Problems
Banking -- Savings, Loans, ATMs, Checking
Money Management -- Credit Cards, Credit Score, Advising, Budgeting
Taxes -- Software, Advising
Health --- (Physical/Mental: Allergy, Flu, Injury, Cholesterol, Insomnia, Cancer)
Acute Physical Problem -- Cuts, Broken Bones, Stings, Flu
Chronic Physical Problem -- Blood Pressure, Asthma, Diabetes
Mental -- Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, PTSD
Home/Housing --- (Changing Home, Repair/Renovation, Home Needs)
Changing Homes / Moving -- Location, Size, Price
Home Repair / Modification -- Roof, Plumbing, Decoration
Housing Needs -- Comfort, Appliances, Storage, Misc.
Home Maintenance -- Cleaning, Pests, Trash, Gardening
Home Security -- Alarms, Locks, Neighborhood Safety
Personal Care --- (Diet, Groceries / Food, Fitness, Hygiene, Dental/Vision)
Fitness -- Weight, Cardio, Muscles
Diet - Groceries, Supplements, Diets, Food Delivery
Skin -- Aging, Acne, Dry
Hair
Eye Care
Dental Care
Social --- (Children, Pets, Parents, Friends, Celebrations, and Dating)
Current Relationships
Child Care -- Education, Diet, Safety, Discipline
Desired Relationships
Pet, Pet Supplies
Social Interaction Problem
Transportation --- (Auto, Alt. Transport, Public Transport, Distance Transport)
Personal Auto and Commute
Personal Alternative Transportation (Bike or Other)
Local Public Transportation
Long Distance Transportation
Work and Life --- (Time, Entertainment, Training, Work Place, Safety)
Time / Sleep
Boredom / Entertainment
Personal Progress
Professional / Work Problems
Safety
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The structure is built around nine major categories, thirty eight subcategories, and two hundred
and sixty seven specific problems. Respondents who have a problem that does not appear in the
structure are encouraged to describe it via open-ended response. Greater than 95% of our
respondents find their problem on our list. That said, we update the problem list when new
problems are discovered.
After respondents identify their top-of-mind problem in Stage 1 of the survey, they answer a
series of questions about this problem, including: how severe it is (severity), how urgent it is
(urgency), and how long they have had it (duration). Respondents then answer a series of
questions regarding the solutions they are considering, such as when they expect to solve the
problem, where they have searched for solutions, whether the solution is replacing a previous
solution, and what solution they are considering.
In the second stage of the survey, consumers are shown 20 problems drawn randomly from the
full set of 267. Each respondent is asked to indicate which problems (if any) on the list they are
experiencing. In summary, the CPS collects problems in two ways. During Stage 1, the CPS
determines which single problem is most top of mind. For this problem, the CPS gathers
extensive data on severity, duration, urgency, and how and when the respondent expects to
solve the problem. In Stage 2, the CPS asks respondents to identify all the problems they have
from a random subset of the full list of 267 problems. By combining response during Stage 2
across respondents, the CPS yields a comprehensive picture of the problems consumers need to
solve.
THE CPS SAMPLE
11,618 respondents were surveyed from Amazon Mechanical Turk, an online crowd-sourcing
platform. Summary demographic statistics for the sample are as follows:







Mean age: 32.3 years
Mean income: $50,453
Gender: 51% Male, 49% Female
Race: 77% Caucasian, 7% African American, 8% Asian, 6% Latino, and 2% other
Education: 10% HS/GED, 43% Vocational/some College, 36% BA/BS, 10% Masters or
higher
All respondents live in the U.S., and all 50 states are represented in the sample.
This report reflects responses that were collected from October 2013 to August of 2014.
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ABOUT THE GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE FOR CONSUMER
RESEARCH (GICR)
The Georgetown Institute for Consumer Research, sponsored by KPMG, conducts and
disseminates scientifically rigorous research that leads to innovative and actionable insights
about consumers.
The Consumer Problem Survey and this report were conceived, designed, conducted, and
produced by:

Christopher Hydock, PhD: Researcher for GICR at the Georgetown University McDonough
School of Business

Kurt A. Carlson, PhD: Associate Professor of Marketing and Director of GICR at the
Georgetown University McDonough School of Business
To speak to the authors of this report, please contact Angela Olson at Live Wire Media Relations
(703-519-1600).
Find GICR on the web:
http://consumerresearch.georgetown.edu/
Find other GICR Research at: http://consumerresearch.georgetown.edu/institute-findings/
To see an infographic with findings from this survey:
http://consumerresearch.georgetown.edu/institute-findings/reports/the-consumer-problemsurvey-december-2013/
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