Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Mom Likes To Use The Web Before Making Purchases Online or Offliine

Here is a new study that shows a potential unmet and growing multi-channel marketing segment - Moms. It suggests that by better using online search to reach this audience real offline results can be achieved.

DoubleClick Performics recently released data resulting from a usage study targeting "moms," and completed in cooperation with Microsoft and ROI Research, which showed that of the nearly 1,000 moms surveyed, 89 percent use the Internet at least twice/day, and 90 percent have been using it for more than seven years. 86 percent of respondents said search engines are the most efficient way to find information.

The data illustrates heavy search engine usage in support of online purchases, offline purchases, coordinating travel and many other planning activities among moms.

  • 70% use search engines to gather information before making any online purchase
  • 57 percent use search engines to gather information before making any offline purchase
  • 64% use search engines to find out where to purchase products offline.
  • With regard to purchases made in the eight product categories under study, 92% of respondents say search engines were helpful in providing valuable information prior to purchasing, and 79% say the same for the offline purchases they made.

Stuart Larkins, vice president of search for DoubleClick Performics, said "... we gained a much better understanding of just how much moms rely on search engines to accomplish a wide range of tasks, literally on a daily basis."

Respondent demographics looked like this:

  • Respondents are highly educated and affluent
  • 46% of the moms are employed, with 26% employed full-time and 20% work part-time
  • The majority of respondents are between the ages of 35 and 49
  • 60% of the respondents have college or higher education
  • And about 1/3 of the respondents have HHI of $100k+
  • A third have a single child and 40% have two children at home

Key findings of the study include such things as:

  • Respondents spend the most time with the Internet and television. Three-quarters spend one hour or more per day using both the Internet and watching television
  • 76% spend one hour or more per day using the Internet, and 36% spend three or more hours per day
  • Respondents are heavy Internet users: 89% are online twice a day or more, and over two-thirds (69%) say their average online session lasts 16
    minutes or more
  • 95% have been using the Internet for more than five years
  • 97% go online once a day or more

Reporting on search behavior, the responses indicate that:

  • 86% feel that search engines are the best way to find information, and 89% always start with the same search engine
  • 82% will modify and search again if the initial results do not provide what they are looking for, and nearly two-thirds will view multiple results pages before abandoning a search
  • 57% primarily search using a browser toolbar
  • 40% say they will try a different search engine if their first search is unsuccessful

In the eight product categories included in the study:

information prior to purchasing offline specifically

  • 72 percent compared prices on consumer packaged goods (72 percent)
  • 71 percent used search engines to find retail locations for consumer packaged goods

Scott Haiges, President of ROI Research Inc., concludes that "... marketers (advertising to) this audience... should... integrate a well planned Search campaign. Sixty-four percent of women reported using a search engine to gather more information after seeing an advertisement,"

Please visit ROI here to get more information about the study.

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