Insights from consumer research that you can take home to the farm!
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Cross-Industry Insights
What consumer-derived lessons can we draw from non-traditional places to garner understanding and insights for those in agricultural business? I’m Dr. Nicole Widmar, and I have an affinity for taking lessons from other industries and applying them in agriculture. Come along with us here in Consumer Corner to think differently about how consumer research can help inform your decision making.
March 20, 2023
Letter
Meemaw’s Math and Where She Went Wrong
A few weeks ago, we tackled the Young Sheldon inspired philosophical question of “Why does everybody knowing something make it right?” Spoiler: It doesn’t, and you should probably be... Read More »
March 13, 2023
Letter
Childcare Apps: Friend or Foe?
I think most parents will agree – finding childcare is STRESSFUL! (I mean parents are our example of stressed out consumers on Consumer Corner, after all.) Millions of parents in the U.S. require... Read More »
March 6, 2023
Letter
Why Does Everybody Knowing Something Make it Right?
The challenge with consumers is that they aren’t just walking around as these mythical one-dimensional consumer-bots. Instead, they are walking around as thinking, feeling and ever-changing human... Read More »
February 27, 2023
Letter
Consumer Spending in Casual Dining Restaurants: Up, Up, Up!
Spending on casual dining restaurants has been increasing during recent years. In the samples from our CFDAS Database, the aggregate netspends on casual dining in billions $ from 2016-2022 were 18.9,... Read More »
February 20, 2023
Letter
Threats To and From Agricultural/Food Production, as Ranked by U.S. Consumers
The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS) recently finished its final report from December 2022. The final report Volume 1, Issue 12: December 2022 CONSUMER FOOD INSIGHTS by... Read More »
February 13, 2023
Letter
Egg Prices and Supporting Consumer Decision Making with Big Data
Egg prices have soared, hitting historically the highest level at $4.25 per dozen in 2022 (BLS, 2023). This is a 138% increase compared to December 2021, and the price spike exceeds the one... Read More »
February 6, 2023
Letter
Lessons from Stressed-Out Consumers Scorned
Humans have ever-evolving tastes and preferences. Further, there are times we are interested in being adventurous with new things, and then there are other times when we most certainly are not. You... Read More »
January 30, 2023
Letter
Squirrels are Better than People
Squirrels are better than people when it comes to decision-making. They’re rational and consistent, even though they may appear somewhat haphazard when playing in traffic. (I said they were... Read More »
January 23, 2023
Letter
You, The Consumer, (Almost Certainly) Don’t Know What You Want
Way, way back in June of 2020 … you remember those days, right? You were wearing the newest in Zoom fashion (otherwise known as the oldest clothes you owned). We even had a Consumer Corner letter... Read More »
January 17, 2023
Letter
Agricultural Outlook 2023 … Inflation, Recession, Trade and Commodity Coverage from the Purdue Department of Agricultural Economics
As we said last week, “At the end of the day, it’s about the people”. And we’re happy to have a whole crew of people here in our department with specialty areas covering all gametes of... Read More »
January 9, 2023
Letter
It’s About the People
At the end of the day, it’s about the people. People make the difference in businesses, in schools, in governments, in leadership of organizations, etc. In late 2022, we had a series of videos from... Read More »
January 2, 2023
Letter
Reflections from Consumer Corner #2022
Time flies! As we look back on 2022 here on Consumer Corner, we’re excited to have shared and documented insights from consumer and online media research, lessons from consumers in the... Read More »
December 26, 2022
Letter
Shades of Gray
Most of the pivotal aspects of ‘what we do’ in life can be boiled down to the decisions we make — big ones that shape the paths of future possibilities, or little ones that stack up to become... Read More »
December 19, 2022
Letter
#BabyFormula
You have undoubtedly heard about, experienced, witnessed or participated in the uncertainty and ultimately panic of the recent U.S. baby formula shortage. While you may have spent your 2022 summer... Read More »
December 12, 2022
Letter
Marketplace Politics
You may have seen that Consumer Corner partnered with the Center for Animal Welfare Science’s director, Dr. Candace Croney, to attempt to look at livestock and animal welfare through the lens of... Read More »
December 5, 2022
Letter
We Do Not Talk Enough About the People
Without a doubt, the topic of livestock housing, especially for pigs, is a contentious topic today. We’ve explored a variety of aspects of these conversations, mostly in the context of politics via... Read More »
November 28, 2022
Letter
Learning from Leaders: Things We Wish People Would Ask About Pork Production
Last week we delved into how Malcolm DeKryger, President and Co-Owner of Belstra Milling Company, shared his views on marrying animal science with public pressures in his industry. That conversation... Read More »
November 21, 2022
Letter
Learning from Leaders: Navigating the Marketplace with Malcolm DeKryger
Back in April 2022, Consumer Corner partnered with the Center for Animal Welfare Science’s director, Dr. Candace Croney, and Dr. Carson Reeling in attempt to look at livestock and animal welfare... Read More »
November 14, 2022
Letter
Implications of Science and Communication Discourse Today
There may be no more obvious example of where science is rejected in public debate than in the COVID-19 pandemic-era. “If we’re paying attention to anything happening in the public sphere today,... Read More »
November 7, 2022
Letter
#Halloween2022
With The Wall Street Journal headlines like “Soaring Inflation Pushes Halloween Candy Prices Scary High” leading the week ahead of Halloween 2022, there was some concern about whether rising... Read More »
October 31, 2022
Letter
Unfunded Producer Mandates for Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture
When the language on a ballot initiative or other public referendum is worded so the intent is simply to help animals, what is often missing are the details on what changes need to be implemented,... Read More »
October 25, 2022
Letter
Leave People Wanting More (Not Begging You to Stop)
In navigating this dance between what’s biologically possible, what’s economically viable, what’s socially acceptable, and what’s accomplishable politically and within regulatory guidelines,... Read More »
October 18, 2022
Letter
How Did We Get Here?
How did we get here? Negotiating standards, regulations and outcomes in the ‘court of public opinion’ is a very costly way to navigate a path... Read More »
October 11, 2022
Letter
We Are All a Bunch of Liars
When Consumer Corner first launched on June 1, 2020, our inaugural Welcome Letter flatly stated for the first of many times in one form or another, “Consumers…They’re Fickle, They’re... Read More »
October 3, 2022
Letter
Just so We’re Clear, Take a Look in the Mirror
When Consumer Corner first launched on June 1, 2020, our inaugural Welcome Letter flatly stated for the first of many times in one form or another, “Consumers…They’re Fickle, They’re... Read More »
September 26, 2022
Letter
Communicating Socially Charged Issues
“I want people to know that folks who farm animals actually like animals and have compassion for what they experience.” Dr. Candace Croney, April 6th, 2022 in the Consumer Corner Micro-Course... Read More »
September 19, 2022
Letter
What Even is Risk?
We destroyed any common understanding of probabilities, then maybe convinced you that what you really mean is propensity and now, we just cannot leave it alone until we finally ask in this context... Read More »
September 12, 2022
Letter
Ag and Carbon Markets — Everybody’s Winning Here, Right?
In our last three letters, we tackled why carbon markets are not exactly markets, the non-regulatory nature of carbon markets and the challenges of agriculture specifically participating in carbon... Read More »
September 6, 2022
Letter
Fundamental Challenges of Agriculture in Carbon Markets
There’s lot of demand for social action to reduce carbon emissions and for agriculture to have a role in this. There are also many challenges, political and otherwise, with the functionality of... Read More »
August 29, 2022
Letter
Non-Regulatory Voluntary Carbon Markets Meet Agriculture and Creates Questions
Dr. Reeling calls carbon markets non-regulatory offset markets (well, programs, since we do not agree that they are actually markets). In contrast to a regulatory market where demand for permits and... Read More »
Contact Us
Nicole Olynk Widmar
ASSOCIATE HEAD AND PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
Phone: (765) 494-2567
Email: nolynk@purdue.edu