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1. Almost one in two consumers are still not that concerned about where clothes are produced:
In the wake of the disaster, almost half of consumers (44%) are no more likely to ask where clothes come from. This is especially true of the male consumer (53%); women are driving the increased mindfulness that does exist (41% more likely vs. 35% overall).

This lack of interest in where clothes come from indicates that, despite the wide condemnation of the Bangladeshi factory safety standards, supplier safety is not a deciding factor when consumers are shopping. It could of course mean that people trust retailers to make the decisions in this area for them, though there is definitely room for improvement from retailers.

2. Retailers aren’t thought to put much effort into ensuring safety standards in factories:
When asked about perceptions of the effort put in by retailers to ensure standards, half of those we spoke to feel retailers don’t try hard to ensure safety and acceptable labour conditions in supplier factories. This scepticism is driven by older consumers (58% of 55+ consumers feel retailers either don’t try very hard or don’t try at all).

3. The responsibility for factory safety is felt to lie more with the factory owners and country government than the retailers:
Our poll also revealed that whilst retailers could try harder to ensure safety and acceptable labour conditions, their responsibility is shared with factory owners and even the local country’s government. Indeed over a third of consumers (38%) feel the factory owners have responsibility and 26% believe the Bangladeshi government are responsible for the Dhaka building collapse.

These findings raise questions of how retailers communicate their safety standards to consumers. Whilst they may not be the most important factor when making purchase decisions it could help build trust and brand loyalty.

To find out more please contact Anna Johns on 020 7845 8305

Editor notes:
ICM interviewed a random sample of 2,025 adults aged 18+ in GB online between 10th – 12th May 2013. Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

To find out more, please contact Hannah Mills on 020 7845 8300

Con 28% (-4)
Lab 34% (-4)
LD 11% (-4)
UKIP 18% (+9)
BNP 4% (+3)
SNP/PC 3% (nc)
Other 0% (-1)

The poll sets recent Guardian/ICM precedents left, right and centre. The previous highest share for UKIP was 9%, but their record share surges to 18%. That implies an historic level of ‘other’ party support of 27% (including a surprising increase to 4% for the BNP) compared to the previous net others record high of 16% most recently recorded last month (April 2013).

The Conservatives, reeling at present over splits on Europe, stand at 28%, which is as low as they have achieved since 2002. Labour should take little solace in this: despite retaining the 6-point lead they also fall by 4-points to 34%, a share they last had in July 2010 just after David Cameron’s coalition had settled into Downing Street. The 4-point drop in Liberal Democrats share takes them to 11%, a share only 1-point above their historic low of September 1997. For the three main parties, this poll is the stuff of nightmares, and a true reflection of the public’s current rejection of three party politics.

As we might expect, respect for the coalition has ebbed away. In the immediate aftermath of the decision by Cameron and Clegg to govern collectively, public endorsement for the decision was as high as +27, but now when asked the same question disapproval outweighs approval to the tune of -13. Women (-16) are twice as critical as men (-8) on this measure (which aligns with the current ‘gender gap’ with Labour only 4-points up amongst men, but 11-points up among women).

Leader ‘approval’ ratings can only be legitimately called so for UKIP’s Nigel Farage, who can claim to be the only party leader to enjoy any kind of public affection (Boris Johnson may well be the only other politician of note to have a positive public rating). Farage stands on +17 with 40% of the public approving of his performance (50% among men, but women are decidedly unsure about him). Cameron’s rating drops to -15 which is a new low score for the PM, with exactly 50% disapproving of his performance of late. Ed Miliband continues to not impress the public, with his rating of -22 only one-point shy of his worse ever rating in April 13.

With UKIP surging, and Tory grandees and senior ministers alike emerging to declare their rejection of Britain’s membership of the European Union, the public are reminded of splits that previously tore the party apart on the European question, and thus it’s no surprise to see the party tumble in the polls. While it is never a good thing to be seen as disunited, it could be said that the party’s position is no more than a reflection of the public’s own indecision over the EU. While there is no doubt they want a referendum (and more want it now (35%) than agree with Cameron’s position that it will only come after the next General Election and after renegotiation of our membership (30%)), the public just don’t know which way to jump. Four in ten (40%) would stay in the EU, but slightly more (43%) would opt to leave. With one in five unsure (17%), any future vote on British membership would be completely in the balance.

We found that one in twenty people had purchased a vinyl record in the last month, but this rises to 14% when looking at the young age demographic (18-24). Younger people are also far more likely to have bought Luxury or Special edition records in the last month as well as just over one in ten stating that they had bought an audio cassette in the last month.

As well as this, we found that many people, especially vinyl buyers, prefer to buy their music from independent record stores as opposed to other purchase methods. Two in five of those who had bought any music in the last month would prefer to purchase their music from an independent retailer, whilst 85% of vinyl buyers would prefer to buy limited or special edition vinyl records or CDs from an independent store.

It also seems that engagement with music in general and independent record stores is much higher amongst vinyl buyers than the general music buying public. Almost nine in ten vinyl buyers were aware of an independent store local to them compared to just over a quarter of the whole population. Vinyl buyers were significantly more likely to have bought other formats in the last month as well, with 52% purchasing CDs, 31% buying an MP3 and a fifth (19%) purchasing an audio cassette.

When it comes to listening to the records they buy, only 51% of vinyl buyers have a record player or turntable which they use with a small percentage citing that they do not have a record player and do not want one, yet continue to buy vinyl.

Knowing this, we went to Berwick Street in Soho on Record Store Day to investigate why young people were leaning towards vinyl, and why people prefer to shop in independent stores for their music. The findings suggest that the vinyl resurgence has no sign of stopping, and that it could give a much needed boost to music retailers on the high street, though will it be enough to prevent the further demise of music retail institutions in the UK?

A nationally representative online survey of 2030 18+ GB adults was run between 12th and 14th April 2013. The qualitative interviews were conducted in Soho, London on Record Store, 20th April 2013.

To find out more, please contact Natalie Compas or Maurice Fyles on 020 7845 8300.

Send a CV and covering letter to Elizabeth.Githigiu@icmresearch.com

Whilst 40% of consumers in the UK continue to shop at Tesco as often as they did a year ago, a quarter claim to shop at Tesco less now. Amongst Tesco shoppers there appears to be little evidence of change in customer service standards in the last 12 months although the grocer has added 8,000 new staff to the shop floor and ran a customer engagement programme. When it comes to the issue of price, consumers’ perceptions of Tesco’s value for money lack agreement with 1 in 10 unsure and around 40% suggesting Tesco’s offer is comparable to other grocers.

To read the full analysis of Tesco in 2013 please click here.

Even more Britons, some 3 in 10 (30%) cannot even function without having had their morning brew.

Majority of tea-drinkers are creatures of habit, just over a half (52%) say that the way how they take their tea hasn’t changed over the years and more surprisingly over a third of tea-lovers (38%) always prefer to use the same cup/mug.

Interestingly, the stronger brews are much preferred to the lighter and milkier cuppas.

ICM interviewed a GB nationally representative sample of 2000 adults aged 18+ online between 8th – 10th March 2013.
Surveys were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

Almost one in four (24%) nurses have been discouraged or told directly not to raise concerns about patient safety. Nearly two-thirds (64%) have raised concerns about patient safety with their employer or manager but of these, less than half (49%) say any action was taken as a result. Most of the concerns raised were related to staffing levels (48%), patient safety (21%) and the behaviour of work colleagues (17%).

‘Non-essential paperwork’ includes tasks such as ordering supplies, completing time-sheets and claim forms, and filing/photo-copying. The RCN claims that many of these tasks would previously have been carried out by ward clerks or administrative assistants.

At the same time, two-thirds (67%) of nurses believe that the use of Information Technology and computerised records has actually increased the amount of time spent on paperwork and administration (69% among NHS nurses).

*Of these, 6,387 were NHS nurses.

To find out more, please contact Laura Byrne on 020 7845 8300