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RAMA Research Finds Magazines, Television and Newspapers Prompt
Online Product Searches
-- Young Adults Using New Media to Communicate
About Online Searches --
Washington, DC, March 12, 2007 – Though
there is no question that online searches are becoming more popular among
consumers, what exactly triggers those consumers to search online? In a recent
analysis of BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Survey (SIMM 9) conducted for the
Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), consumers say they take
cues from traditional advertising to determine when and where to search for
merchandise online.
Consumers said that they were most motivated to begin an online search after
viewing advertisements in magazines (47.2%), newspapers (42.3%), on TV
(42.8%) and from reading articles (43.7%). Women were more likely than men to
be motivated by coupons (41.8% vs. 29.0%) and in-store promotions (29.0% vs.
24.5%) while men were more driven to start an online search based on a
face-to-face conversation (36.1% vs. 29.5%).
“When it comes to advertising, retailers always need to be careful not to put
all of their eggs in one basket,” said Mike Gatti,
Executive Director of RAMA. “While search engine marketing continues to be a popular
strategy, retailers should not lose sight of traditional advertising channels
to promote products and services.”
After searching, online consumers said they are most likely to communicate
with others about their search through face-to-face discussion (68.9%), though
email (53.1%), telephone (50.9%), and cell phone (30%) communication were
also popular choices. Young adults 18-24 are also taking advantage of an
influx of new media, communicating about service, products and brands by
instant messaging (37.5%), text messaging (23.7%) and through online communities
like MySpace and Facebook
(20.6%).
”Retailers must realize that online communities are now producers and through
their stories are able to extend the distribution of traditional media with a
trust and truth not even approximated by mass media,” said Joe Pilotta, Vice
President of BIGresearch.
Shoppers continue to use the web as a resource before determining which items
to buy and where. According to the survey, 92.5 percent of adults said they
regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a
store. Products that are most often researched online before being purchased
in a store include electronics (50.8%), apparel (31.9%), and appliances
(27.0%). Men were twice as likely as women to shop for automobiles online
(20.2% vs. 10.2%), though women research home décor products more often than
men (18.9% vs. 11.6%).
About the Survey: The SIMM 9
survey is a consumer centered survey of 15,287 consumers, which is conducted
two times each year. SIMM measures consumption across media, retail channels
and products and provides marketers with unique, holistic consumption
insights for improving marketing ROI. SIMM 9 was collected in November and
December of 2006. The SIMM Survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0
percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides
unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample
sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM)
monitors more than 15,000 consumers twice each year to identify marketing
opportunities in a fragmented and changing media marketplace. www.bigresearch.com
The Retail Advertising & Marketing Association, a division of the
National Retail Federation, is a trade association of over 1500 retail
marketing and advertising executives, plus their supporting partners from the
advertising agency, media and service-provider areas. RAMA sponsors the
annual Retail Advertising Conference, the largest single gathering of retail
marketing and advertising professionals in the industry today. RAMA also
produces the RACie Awards Competition, the most
prestigious creative contest in retail. www.rama-nrf.org
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