Buying Non-American, Negotiating Health, Etc.

Domestic automakers can't afford more bad news. They get some, though, in a new J.D. Power and Associates poll on new-vehicle buyers' attitudes about imports. "New-vehicle buyers are increasingly accepting of import brands, and those who purchase domestic vehicles are less likely to cite an aversion to imports as a reason for buying a domestic brand"—which, of course, means they're more apt to succumb to the lure of imports the next time they're in the market. The shift has been especially sharp in the South, traditionally a redoubt of buy-American sentiment. In that region, the proportion of new-vehicle buyers who said they don't want an import declined from 40 percent last year to 34 percent this year. Domestic makers of pickup trucks have gotten some protection from buy-American feeling, despite lackluster reputations for reliability. But that factor is fading, according to J.D. Power. This makes the domestic brands vulnerable since "few domestic truck buyers question the quality or reliability of imports." One inference the domestic automakers' ad agencies can draw from all this: Flag-waving imagery may have run its course as a useful element in commercials for those brands. We expect people to haggle over price when they buy a car. But when they're buying healthcare? Actually, it's quite common, according to a Wall Street Journal Online/ Harris Interactive survey. Nine percent of the respondents said they've tried to negotiate a lower price from a hospital; 12 percent said they've tried it with a doctor, 10 percent with a dentist and 13 percent with a pharmacist. Did they have any luck? Many did. Of those who haggled with a hospital, 70 percent got a better price. So did 61 percent of those who negotiated with a doctor, 64 percent who tried it with a dentist and 56 percent who did so with a pharmacist. This phenomenon even carried over to health insurers/health plans. Thirteen percent of respondents said they've tried to negotiate a better price from such organizations. And among those who made the attempt, 45 percent succeeded.Instead of agitating to ban tobacco ads, anti-tobacco activists should insist that all such ads feature overweight people brandishing cigarettes. This might help combat the general perception that smoking keeps people thinner than they'd otherwise be. Conducted in Canada for Pfizer, a new Ipsos-Reid survey fleshes out public opinion on the relation between smoking and weight. As you can gather from the chart above, weight gain is a significant worry for people who are trying to quit smoking. And, truth be told, that concern is not misplaced. Among respondents who have quit smoking or tried to do so, 41 percent said they put on some pounds in the process. This phenomenon naturally weighs on the thoughts of some current smokers who'd like to quit. Respondents who now smoke were asked to what degree they agree with the statement, "The idea that I might gain weight because I tried to quite smoking makes me not want to quit at all." Nine percent said they "agree completely" with this view; another 9 percent said they agree "somewhat." By the way, people's tendency to gain weight during the holidays makes this a particularly uncongenial time for smoke-cessation efforts. Asked whether the holidays would be "an excellent time to quit," 65 percent of current smokers disagreed completely, vs. 11 percent agreeing completely.Brick and mortar aren't quite obsolete yet, though you might think so amid reports of feverish online holiday shopping on Cyber Monday. It's certainly true that more and more people buy Christmas gifts through the Internet. Still, a Maritz Poll finds that just 12 percent of holiday shoppers plan to do most of their gift-buying that way. Why do people choose to brave the traffic and crowds to do their gift shopping in brick-and-mortar stores? Forty-six percent said it's because they "like to see, feel and touch what I am going to buy"; 14 percent "don't trust online security"; 28 percent don't have a computer or simply don't feel "Internet-savvy." Then there are the 8 percent who said shopping in stores "gets me in the holiday spirit"(!). The same survey also notes the growing enthusiasm for gift cards, with 46 percent of respondents saying they plan to buy them. Notwithstanding their reputation as avid shoppers, women were a bit more likely than men to say they'd resort to the expedient of gift cards (50 percent vs. 42 percent). On average, shoppers expect to buy five of the cards, at a total cost of $173.

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Buying Non-American, Negotiating Health, Etc.

Mark Dolliver

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Mark Dolliver