Someone’s trash is my market research (intelligence) treasure
Trash days in the Upper East Side, NY are simply the best.
My husband says I’m a hoarder, but how can you pass up on classic vinyls and a vintage suitcase vinyl record player that’s out there for you to grab – FOR FREE!
That’s just one, but I’ve found pretty good treasures that my husband has ALL tossed away “because we don’t have space.”
So, yesterday – my trash scavenging/hoarding became my new source for consumer goods intel. I identified top 20 consumer goods trends in my zip code – ranging from hardware, subscriptions, CPG, etc.
It’s legal, it’s public domain, and it’s free intel.
“It is generally considered legal for people to rummage through trash that has been left in a public area such as a curb for pickup. Once the garbage is placed in such a place, the person has basically forfeited their ownership rights to the items, as the property is now in the public domain.”
Zip Code Intelligence
Who needs a Trash Trend Report?
I don’t know if there is already this type of granular aggregated consumer goods market research data with this high fidelity of accurateness out there, but let me tell you folks – this is the best way to know what is truly being consumed at a microlevel…..
I think this type of data could be useful for targeted ad spend and for local businesses – and the reason I know that is because many of the brands in the trash are not available in the nearby supermarket and stores. Another local business who could use data on palate preferences are restaurants and again, the reason I now can confirm that is because local menus are not reflecting what I saw in the trash (asides from the pizza boxes)…
If brick and mortar wants to prevail – I believe this data can be very valuable.
I’LL BE POSTING TRASH TREND REPORTS (WITH PHOTOGRAPHS) BASED ON MY FINDINGS SHORTLY.
Photo Credits: TheFauxGras
