Great CX programs shape the roadmap to deliver better experiences. Yet most programs are focused exclusively on metrics which summarize how the customer rationally thinks about a touchpoint post the experience. This focus on the rational misses the crucial emotional element of a brand experience. We have evidence that brilliant customer outcomes are the result of using these rational metrics that show the business what needs improving combined with Emotional CX measurement which uncovers how it needs improving. Why measuring emotion drives CX breakthrough Behavioral science proves the dominant ..read more

Agile research is too often seen as the low cost, low quality alternative to “proper” research projects. It shouldn’t be this way: with the right objectives and capabilities an agile program can deliver to the standards of the most demanding Insight Professional. The increasing need to work efficiently and effectively with tightening budget and resource means that Agile research tools and platforms have become a staple of any good research toolkit. Well-executed Agile research delivers insights at the speed of business. To meet the highest standards and have speed the software platform used mu ..read more

Meal Kits exploded onto the American food scene in 2012 with the launch of Blue Apron, HelloFresh, and Plated, followed by Home Chef a year later. By 2019, the North American market for meal kits had slowly but steadily grown to an estimated 1.7 billion dollars, although companies struggled with profitability and retaining customers. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, interest in meal kits increased as people found themselves at home, staring into the cupboard, searching for inspiration. The meal kit industry has faced notable changes and challenges since its birth, including increased streamlini ..read more

The payments landscape was undergoing a revolution as the world became increasingly digitized, and then the pandemic hit. While it is too early to fully understand the long-term effects of COVID-19, the entire payment industry must prepare for the impact of the ‘new normal’. We gathered a group of insights professionals from the financial services industry to discuss what is happening in this rapid-changing payments ecosystem. From this, three important themes emerged: The pandemic is turbo-charging a change in payment methods; The current fragmentation of payment services will yield to conso ..read more

Maru/Matchbox’s MoneyScreen interactive payments innovation platform evaluates consumer perceptions of payment concepts, both traditional and groundbreaking, that may or may not be in-market yet. This tracker helps us, and our clients, assess and keep a pulse on how the payments world is constantly innovating, and which payment methods or brands are resonating with consumers. We feel it is imperative to look beyond what consumers are saying, and dig more into how they feel and behave. With this view in mind, I wanted to understand how spending behavior, in general, is changing in light of the ..read more

It’s no surprise to anyone that Christmas is going to feel a little different this year. That’s why we’re pleased to continue our Reinventing the Holidays series focusing on the central question of what does the 2020 holiday season hold for consumers and brands alike? With so many risks, and so many parts of our lives transformed by COVID-19, how can we still make the biggest shopping holiday of the year feel special? Erica Ruyle, Senior Vice President of Qualitative Insights and Liz Miller, Vice President of Business Development at Maru/Matchbox, used a variety of Maru/HUB tools to attack the ..read more

How did you split the bill the last time you shared a meal with friends? Did you all pitch in cash? Did you get separate bills? Or, did you easily, like the many Americans who have embraced the convenience of peer-to-peer payment (P2P) services in recent years, open an app, type in an amount, and hit “Send”? The global P2P market has grown considerably over the past few years, with the United States now dominating usage. Consumers across the US are sending billions of dollars through digital apps, from both traditional financial institutions and fintech options. Estimates indicate that the US ..read more

Remember when Bitcoin was launched, and the appeal it had when it first emerged in the shadow of the Great Recession? Most people probably don’t. It has taken over a decade to reach base awareness, but at the time, trust was at a low point and the opportunity for a decentralized currency emerged. Now, in the midst of a pandemic and the hugely volatile economic indicators in major economies, the appeal of crypto becomes easier for the everyday American to understand. The one difference this time – awareness. According to Maru/Matchbox and the nearly 10,000 interviews about payments innovation i ..read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled significant increases in digital payment adoption across the US. A study by Mastercard found contactless transactions grew 3x as fast as non-contactless transactions in the grocery and drugstore categories between February and March 2020. While contactless payments are on the rise, there remains a significant proportion of consumers who have not adopted fully to this form of payment. These fence-sitters present a business challenge for technology and payment companies and how they focus their efforts on converting this segment into adopters during this unpre ..read more

We’re pleased to continue our Reinventing the Holidays series, this time covering Hanukkah in the US. As a refresher, this series centers on a central question for consumers and brands alike: what does the 2020 holiday season hold? With so many risks, and so many parts of our lives transformed by COVID-19, how can we still make this time of year special? To date, we have looked at Halloween and American Thanksgiving and for this installment, we focus on Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights. We’ll be noting wider implications for how the holiday is viewed by those who celebrate, and what role brand ..read more