Study: Offline media prompts online search

A new survey finds that the majority of consumers are motivated to search for online products after seeing ads and articles in traditional print media.

by Helen Leggatt

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The results of recent research from BIGresearch show that just over 47 percent of respondents are motivated to search online for products after seeing a print ad in a magazine, with nearly 44 percent motivated by print articles. The take out from the report being that retailers should be careful not to ignore the role of traditional marketing channels in online strategies.

Men, it seems, are more likely than women to go online to search for a product as a result of a face-to-face conversation (36 percent vs. 29.5 percent). Women, on the other hand, will respond more to print coupons (41.8 percent) and in-store promotions (29 percent).

The impact of the offline initiation doesn't stop at online searching. Many adult consumers went on to share their search results, most via face-to-face communication (65 percent), some through email (53.1 percent) and even phone contact (telephone 50.9 percent / cell phone 30 percent) was prevalent.

The younger generation of 18-24 year olds favored instant messaging (37.5 percent), text messaging (23.7 percent) and social networking sites (20.6 percent) as a way of communicating their findings.

”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.