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Made in the U.S.A.: Majority of Americans No Longer Care
CHICAGO -- Some 72% of American shoppers don't check to see where products for the home are made before they buy them, and 57% report that even if they knew a product was not made in the U.S.A., it would have little or no effect on their decision, a new study concludes.The apathy toward purchasing U.S.-made products was even more dramatic among the youngest consumers, 18 to 24, only 15% of whom said that they would be more likely to purchase a product if they knew it was made in the United States.Among older consumers, ages 55 to 64, the results were almost opposite, with 44% stating that knowing the product was made in the U.S. would positively affect their buying decision.Among those with a high-school diploma or less, 51% stated that they took the country of origin into account, but only 30% of those with post-graduate degrees stated they did so. The more education, apparently, the more apathy.There was no variance by gender, income level or region of the country among the 72% who don't look to see where the product was made before purchasing.David L. Weiner, chief executive officer of Marketing Support Inc., sponsor of the study, notes that these results significantly differ from a Gallup poll undertaken in 1994, which reported that 84% of consumers moderately or strongly sought out American-made goods.There is no ongoing marketing campaign by private interest groups or the government that encourages consumers to look for and purchase American-made products, he adds. There is no motivation reinforcement other than media reports, which primarily state the facts. In other words, nobody is telling people in U.S. households that buying American-made products is a good thing to do. "As a result, we appear to be part of a vicious circle," Weiner says. "We are losing hundreds of thousands of higher paying manufacturing jobs to lower paid service industry jobs, motivating consumers to look for products with the best price for the same quality, regardless of where the products are made. These consumers need to really stretch their dollars, and made in the U.S.A. is obviously not the factor it once was."Manufacturers of commodity products in particular are no longer capable of controlling their pricing," he continues. "Their competitors set the pricing levels for them, including many of their own large retailer customers, who are establishing their own brands that are made offshore. If a major competitor goes offshore and can bring in the same quality at a much lesser cost, the manufacturer is faced with three choices: build their own plants in Mexico or China, source from existing manufacturers in those and other low-wage countries, or spend large amounts of capital to automate their processes in their existing plants. The latter option, however, requires that the product category is amenable to automation and that the company is capable of raising the capital required. Jobs are lost in any case, reinforcing the vicious circle."Giving companies tax breaks to keep their manufacturing in the United States, a position being taken by many politicians, will never be enough to offset the incredible difference in wages, versus China in particular, where a day's average factory wage is $5, Weiner emphasizes. Ocean freight, which was once an important factor, is diminishing because of the immense size of the newer container ships."We hear the politicians railing against U.S. manufacturers for going offshore, but we don't hear them strongly motivating their voting audiences to buy American," he says. "If consumers demanded American-made products even at higher pricing, the manufacturers in the susceptible product categories would provide them."The Ad Council or the U.S. Department of Commerce, which has a $6 billion budget to develop a common "Made in USA" logo, should encourage manufacturers of U.S.-made products to place it on their products and packaging, and then develop a campaign to motivate consumers to look for that logo when making a purchase. "If we don't attempt to change the existing paradigm, particularly among younger adults, the situation will get progressively worse," Weiner says.Marketing Support Inc. is a full-service, integrated brand marketing agency, which provides a broad range of services, including strategic marketing and communications, branding, advertising, packaging, merchandising, sales promotion, marketing research, public relations and e-commerce strategies."