Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.trends From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: trends Wed, Aug 19 1992 Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 04:20:00 EDT Message-ID: 08-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Trends & Marketing USA TODAY Update Aug. 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network FAST FOOD CUSTOMERS CHARGE IT: Buying burgers on credit is catching on. MasterCard is accepted at 10,000 fast food locations nationally, and a Burger King franchisee will be the first fast food restaurant owner to test the idea in New Jersey. Burger King is already testing the concept in its company-owned establishments in Houston, Tampa and stores in Louisiana and south Florida. PIG CRAZE FIZZLES: Looks like the pot-bellied pig craze has gone belly up. Five years ago, they were the pricey pets of the moment, fetching from $1,500 to $5,000. Now, many of the once-adorable Vietnamese piglets have become hogs and their owners are unloading them. In the past few months, more than a dozen pigs have been abandoned in the New York area, says Charlie McGinley of the North Shore Animal League. MORE ARE LIVING SINGLE LIFE: A growing number of adults are opting to live by themselves while maintaining a steady relationship. In 1990, 22.6 million people living along claimed almost one-quarter of all households. People live along for many reason. They are either never married, divorced, separated, or widowed. Their numbers increased 24% in the last decade, a rate 2.5 times faster than overall population. (For more, see special Singles package below.) BODY IMAGE EXTENDS TO TEETH: As boomers enter middle age, yesterday's Crest kids are facing stained teeth and early stages of gum disease. But true to form on fitness, they're fighting effects of age, turning oral care into a $3 billion-a-year market. Drugstore and discount-store aisles are stocked with expensive elixirs and fancy gadgets devoted to whitening teeth and massaging gums. MAINSTAYS PREPARE FOR CHALLENGE: Makers of standard toothbrushes such as Oral B aren't worried that high-end oral care will grab their market share. Oral B says it will benefit from increased awareness since people change toothbrushes every nine months on average, while dentists recommend changing every three months. Of course, the company also is hedging its bets by marketing a power toothbrush with Braun. 20-YEAR LOANS CATCHING ON: Members of the fortysomething crowd who want to own their homes mortgage-free when they retire are discovering 20-year home loans. They're being sold as a compromise for people who want to pay off a home loan in less than 30 years but can't afford the high payments of a 15-year mortgage. Fannie Mae has financed $3.1 billion in 20-year mortgages in six months, 76% more than last year. PERKS ARE LESS PERKY: Criticism of high CEO pay has meant less money in the pocket of chief executives. A Towers Perrin survey of 350 large companies showed 56 CEOs didn't get bonuses last year. That's up from 35 in 1990. Thirteen CEOs got perks in 1989, the survey showed. PARTIES TALK ABOUT VALUES: Democrats and Republicans have been talking past each other lately on family values. To the Republicans, families mean the nuclear family. Keeping that vision means fighting against pornography, and violence and and opposing gay rights. To the Democrats, family is two-parent, single-parent and others. Keeping that vision means fighting for health care and child care. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON SINGLES: AUSTIN, TEXAS IS SINGLE'S DEN: Census Bureau figures show 60% of people who live by themselves are under the age of 65, and roughly 60% of people who live alone are women. Travis County, Texas, which includes Austin, has one of the highest proportions of people under the age of 65 living alone in the USA - 27% of its households are nonelderly singles. New York has the highest average at 36%, followed by Alexandria, Va.'s 34%. SINGLES HAVE MORE MONEY: With no children to clothe or educate, singles have more money to spend on themselves. Men who live alone spend $1,061 a year on entertainment, $380 on their own clothes, and another $466 on alcohol, according to the 1989-90 Consumer Expenditure Survey. Single women spend $540 on their clothes and $130 on alcohol. SPENDING PATTERN SEEN: Frequent changes of roommates and address influence spending patterns. They spend heavily on entertainment, dining out, travel, alcoholic beverages, clothes, and recreational equipment. Storage rental facilities also do good business in single communities. As the population ages, the numbers of people living alone, many of them widows, will continue to increase. (End of package.) Trends & Marketing Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM