“Milestones” were the hallmark of 2018 as consumers weathered the highs and lows of another eventful year in America. Snowboarding icon Shaun White shred major powder on the men’s halfpipe to earn America it’s 100th Winter Olympics Gold Medal. African-American girls, clad in their Sunday best, sipped tea to salute the first African-American woman to become British royalty. And most recently, the midterm elections, coined the “most expensive” and “most watched” captivated the country in an epic battle for congressional seats and equality. In our final report of the year, ThinkNow Snapshot: 2018 Total Market Markers & Milestones™, we highlight some of the major shifts in trends that impacted economic outlook, holiday spending, and digital media use. We’ve combined these findings and more into a brief narrative of Total Market consumer behavior over the last twelve months and marketing predictions for 2019.

1. ThinkNow Snapshot:
Markers + Milestones
2018 Total Market

2. The uncertain economic outlook and
polarizing political climate that plagued
2018 marked a decline in consumer
sentiment causing it to lag behind previous
years, most notably among minorities.
Overall, just under half of consumers
anticipated a better year financially
heading into 2018. Among minority
communities, fewer African-Americans and
Hispanics anticipated a bump in household
finances in 2018 compared to 2017.
ECONOMIC CONCERNS
HOUSEHOLDFINANCES
OUTLOOK
About The Same As 2017
Worse Than 2017
Consumer Sentiment: Divided We Stand? 2
While the availability of jobs and rising prices are top concerns for consumers, only about 20%
of consumers report that their financial situation worsened due to employment status over
the past year. The biggest concerns, by demographic, include:
Better Than 2017
“Milestones” were the hallmark of 2018 as consumers weathered the highs and lows of another
eventful year in America. Snowboarding icon Shaun White shred major powder on the men’s halfpipe
to earn America it’s 100th Winter Olympics Gold Medal. African-American girls, clad in their Sunday
best, sipped tea to salute the first African-American woman to become British royalty. And most
recently, the midterm elections, coined the “most expensive” and “most watched” captivated the
country in an epic battle for congressional seats and equality.
Availability of Jobs
AFRICAN-
AMERICANS
Financial Market
ASIANS HISPANICS
Rising Prices
WHITES
National Budget Deficit
2017
2016
Hispanic
White
African-American
Asian
Hispanic
White
African-American
Asian
Hispanic
White
African-American
Asian
47% 45%
50% 56%
45% 44%
50% 63%
45% 47%
28% 29%
35% 42%
25% 21%
28% 39%
7% 8%
9% 9%
10% 8%
14% 7%

3. General sentiment across race and
ethnicity show that the U.S. economy is
growing, but slowly. That sentiment is
highest among Non-Hispanic Whites and
Asians, and lowest among African-
Americans. With perceived steady income
and higher employment, consumer
spending trended up during the record-
breaking 2017 holiday retail shopping
season, exceeding the National Retail
Federation’s forecasts by 5.5%.
But according to our 2018 retail study,
consumers plan to spend an average of
$506 on gifts this holiday season. That’s
about $70 less than last year’s average.
Non-Hispanic Whites, males, and
consumers ages 35-54, in general, plan to
spend the most.
Holiday Spending: Cautiously Optimistic 3
Avg.Consumer
HolidaySpending
in2018
$506

4. Holiday Spending: Cautiously Optimistic 4
ONLINE vs. IN-PERSON
African-
Americans
Asians Hispanics Whites
Smartphone usage is especially high for
Hispanics and African-Americans.
The likelihood to use smartphone for
holiday purchases declines with age.
Consumers are more likely to browse for gift ideas online than in-person.
However, on average, consumers are as likely to buy gifts online or via mobile app this holiday as they
are to buy in-person. Hispanics, however, are most likely to buy gifts in person.
Of shoppers purchasing online this year, most will use their smartphone to make purchases. Ninety
percent of American adults own a smartphone and more than half own a tablet.
TopReasonsForBrowsingOnlineSearchOnlineForGiftIdeas
27%
in 2017
31%
in 2018
BrowseForGiftIdeasAtStore
16%
in 2017
17%
in 2018
Easier/
Faster
55% 53% 50% 44% 42%
Better Prices No Crowds
or Lines
Can Take My
Time
More
Availability
of Products
Can See/
Touch Items
57%
No Waiting
on Delivery
Enjoy
Shopping
In-Person
In-Store Only
Discounts
50% 41% 30%
TopReasonsForBrowsingIn-Person
Online Holiday Shopping With Smartphone

5. Holiday Spending: Cautiously Optimistic
MOSTPOPULARGIFTIDEAS
Gift cards will be the single most popular item this
holiday season, followed closely by clothing, and toys.
Despite hefty advertising budgets and drastically low prices, only 2 in 10
consumers plan to purchase a voice-controlled product, like Alexa or
Echo Dot, this holiday season. Privacy concerns continue to plague mass
adoption among some consumers.
10MostPopularHolidayGiftsOf2018
Gift Cards
47% 42% 37% 29%
28%
26% 25% 25% 24% 23%
Clothing Toys Money Jewelry/
Watch
Electronics Sweet Food
Items
Books Video Games
Home
Accessories
5

6. Holiday Spending: Cautiously Optimistic 6
CLASHOFTITANS
This holiday shopping season is predicted
to be a real clash of the titans as Amazon
and Walmart, the two largest online
retailers, fight for the top spot in
the hearts and wallets of consumers.
With Walmart investing more in its online
shopping platform and Amazon
continuing to invest in its brick-and-
mortar expansion, these retail giants are
battling it out online and in-store as both
retailers attempt to create desirable
experiences that attract and retain
consumers year-round, not just during the
holiday shopping rush.
Former Toys R Us shoppers are in hot pursuit of a
retailer with the depth of selection and budget friendly
pricing as the now defunct toy retailer. Many shoppers
are looking to Wal-Mart.
Unlike last year, Walmart, by a small margin, topped
Amazon, as the top retail destination shoppers plan to
visit this holiday season. More consumers said they
would shop at Walmart and Kmart this year compared
to one year ago. Clearly, the close of Toys “R” Us is a
contributing factor to this.
vs.
Walmart Amazon
2018
62%
2017
64%
66%
55%
Consumer
Confidence
Consumer
Confidence

7. 7
Mobile Apps:
Powered by Younger Consumers
Social networking apps, while popular, are not the top mobile apps used across all
demographics. Facebook, Instagram, and similar apps rank highly among teens and
millennials, but fall sharply in popularity among baby boomers. Among ethnicities,
Hispanics continue to over-index on social media use, driving daily use of the top social
media platforms. Within that demographic, younger Hispanics drive engagement. Mobile
apps for weather, search/maps, and news, on the other hand, rank most popular among
baby boomers than younger demographics. Gen X is more likely than other age groups
to use banking/finance apps.
Teens and Millennials use mobile apps significantly more than their older counter parts,
are more likely to download an app to share with others or to download an app for others
to use. People use their apps an average of 8 times per day with peak times between
6pm – 9pm.
Mobile device owners average nearly 30
total apps across devices and download
new mobile apps at least once a month.
Teens and Millennials are most active in
terms of downloading and deleting apps.
Mobile-savvy consumers, particularly
Millennials and Gen Z, use a variety of
mobile apps for utility, entertainment,
and convenience.
Mobiledevice
SocialMedia

8. 8
Mobile Apps:
Powered by Younger Consumers
Average # of Apps Across All Devices
27
0 25 50 75
Social Networking
Weather
Maps/Navigation/Search
Games
Music Streaming
Communication
Utilities
Shopping/Retail
Banking/Finance
Entertainment
News
71%
65%
63%
60%
56%
55%
41%
58%
41%
48%
53%
Language matters. About one third of adult Hispanic
device owners use Spanish language apps, most
popular among Spanish-dominant Hispanics. Among
all Hispanics, nearly 50% of all apps are mostly in
English. Overall, 4 out of 10 mobile device owners say
that mobile apps are a very important part of their
lives. For teens, that percentage is 25 points higher.
Number of Times Access Apps/Day
8.3
Number of Times Teens Use Mobile Apps/Day9.4x
ellenguajeimporta
0255075100125
48%
31%
21%
Apps All/Most
in English
1/2 Apps in English/
1/2 in Spanish
Almost All Apps
in Spanish
MOST
POPULAR
(ALL DEMOGRAPHICS)

9. 9
Media: The Demise of Live TV
Live TV viewing has dropped from 68% to 48%, a whopping 20-point decline across all
audiences according to this the 2018 ThinkNow Media report. African-Americans had
the largest percentage point decline in live TV viewing, a 22-point decline from 75% in
2017 to 53% in 2018.
While Millennials started the streaming trend, Baby Boomers and even Gen X are
catching up, watching significantly less programs when they air on network
TV. Boomers have experienced a decline in live TV viewing habits with a 21-point
decline compared to 2017. The survey found the switch to streaming will continue to
grow: 4 in 10 consumers predict they will stream most or all their TV shows online by
2020.
BoomersJoinCord-CuttingTrend
NetflixStill#1AmongHispanics
Seventy-one percent of Hispanics prefer watching TV programming through
Netflix compared to 59% of non- Hispanic whites, 63% of African-Americans and
55% of Asians. Additionally, 35% of Hispanics report they watch TV programming
most often using Netflix. Almost half (47%) of all consumers perceive streaming
as the future of television and a reason why they
prefer watching shows through streaming services.
LIVETV
Over 50% of all ad spend in the U.S. is driven by digital. For the first time, using ThinkNow
ConneKt, digital advertising spend was quantified by ethnicity and race in our 2018
Multicultural Digital Report and found that Latino and African-American consumers make
up 26.4% of total digital spend though they make up 35.5% of the total U.S. population.
Non-Latino Whites drove 65% of the digital spend.
DigitalAdSpend

10. 10
Marketing Predictions for 2019
Hispanic and African-American consumers were most affected by the toxic
political climate and economic tension that plagued 2018, drastically skewing
their feelings toward their place in society.
Asian and non-Hispanic white consumers, however, will likely stay optimistic,
but as wages among Hispanic and African-Americans stagnant and the political
sideshow continues to playout, we will see a further dip in consumer sentiment
among these key demographics leading to a slowdown in their purchase
behavior in 2019.
With Walmart’s laser focus on improving their mobile and online-
shopping experience, more Hispanic and African-American consumers
will flock to the brick and mortar giant who is now more of a brick and
mobile giant.
Walmart’s understanding of the mobile-first nature of Hispanic and
African-American consumers and their efforts to double down on this
while Amazon invests in more moonshot ideas such as drone delivery
and cashier-less stores, will give them a clear advantage in 2019. Next
year will be the year that Walmart beats out Amazon among
multicultural consumers.
WalmartBeatsAmazonThanksToHispanicand
African-AmericanConsumers.
NegativeConsumerSentimentAmongHispanicsandAfrican-
Americans WillIncrease.1
2

11. 11
Marketing Predictions for 2019
3
Sounds contradictory but as content continues to become more fragmented,
consumers are searching for the variety cable provided without the cord. In
comes internet TV streaming services which provide access to all the major
networks without the major bill.
DirecTV Now and Sling, for example, have been experiencing year over year
growth. As they begin reaching out to multicultural consumers, this trend will
accelerate in 2019.
Cord-CuttingAcceleratesButCableCompanies
StartWinningAgain.
thinknowresearch.com
2100 W. Magnolia Blvd.,
Suite A/B
Burbank, CA 91506
Contacts
Roy Eduardo Kokoyachuk
Co-Founder-Principal
roy@thinknowresearch.com
t: (818) 843-0220 x102
Mario Xavier Carrasco
Co-Founder-Principal
mario@thinknowresearch.com
t: (818) 843-0220 Ext. 101
Sources:
ThinkNow Retail Report 2018
ThinkNow Mobile Apps Trends Report 2018
ThinkNow Media Report 2018
Multicultural Digital Report 2018 (partnership with The Center for Multicultural Science and MAGNA)