Research by Subject: Advertising: Consumer Behavior & Demographics

What is on this page

Consumer behavior data and surveys; who buys what; who reads/watches what media; how we spend our time
Consumer demographics
Public opinion polls data, including resources for evaluating opinion polls

Good first sources to check.

DataPlanet Statistical Datasets This link opens in a new window
Use the EASI Market Planner datasets: select Browse by source > EASI Analytics > EASI Market Planner > Select one of 13 categories > Select one or more variables. EASI uses data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Mediamark. View data as charts, graphs and maps by state, counties, census tracts, and block groups. Export data as Excel, PDF, Demlimted Text, SAS, XML.

Data-Planet Demo of EASI Analytics Data Video
Learn how to locate and use EASI Market Planner data in less than 10 minutes.

SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new window
SimplyAnalytics is a web-based mapping, analytics, and data visualization application that makes it easy for anyone to create interactive maps, charts, and reports using 100,000+ data variables.

In order to save your work, you must create an account; you may also sign in as a guest user without creating an account, but you will not be able to save your work.

Consumer behavior data for the U.S.

American Time Use Survey
"[M]easures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing."
Consumer Expenditure Survey
"[I]nformation on the buying habits of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics."

Nielsen MyBestSegment Zip Code Lookup
Nielsen's lifestyle segmentation systems define every household in the U.S. by distinct lifestyle types, called "segments"; provides a detailed snapshot with key demographics as well as lifestyle and media traits by zip code: income, age and presence of children.
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Nielsen's lifestyle segmentation systems define every household in the U.S. by distinct lifestyle

Need international data on consumer behavior? Try this source.

Passport (Euromonitor International) This link opens in a new window
Euromonitor International's reports provide business intelligence on countries, consumers and industries.

American FactFinder
Data.census.gov provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data in Data.census.gov come from several censuses and surveys.
Local Personal Income (BEA Interactive Data Application)
Local personal income historical time series can be accessed in BEA's Interactive Data Application; includes mapping and charting software.

Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Results from over 14,000 surveys and polls conducted by over 700 organizations in the US and over 80 other countries.

Gallup.com
Gallup's public web site provides summaries of selected polling data.
SDSU does not subscribe to the full text of the polls.
Pew Global Indicators
"Pew Research Center conducts public opinion surveys around the world on a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. Nearly 400,000 interviews in 63 countries have been conducted as part of the center's work."
Public Agenda Online
"Public Agenda conducts nuanced and in-depth opinion research, based on co-founder Dan Yankelovich's Learning Curve perspective.
"This research enables us to understand where people with a stake in a given problem are coming from, what they think and why. In turn, it helps leaders and stakeholders grasp:
*how others are thinking and talking about a problem
*the sorts of solutions they are currently willing to support
*how to effectively engage them in problem solving"
World Public Opinion Poll
"[P]rovides information and analysis about public opinion on international policy issues from around the world. While the studies of the WorldPublicOpinion.org network figure prominently, the website draws together data from a wide variety of sources from around the world. We have found that data from all reliable sources are important contributions and that as more studies are integrated into analyses, world public opinion comes into increasing focus."

Evaluating polling data

American Association for Public Opinion Research
"[P]romotes a better public understanding of this role, as well as the sound and ethical conduct and use of public opinion research."