Two-thirds of adults rely on newspapers for shopping information

Most Americans turn to their newspaper for shopping information. According to MORI Research for the Newspaper Association of America, almost two-thirds of adults browse the weekly ads for items they may want to purchase and sixty-seven percent of adults who identify themselves as the primary shopper in the household read advertising inserts in their newspaper. While women still consider themselves the primary household shopper, men are taking the lead in some categories. Among higher income household shoppers almost one-half say that newspapers are their primary shopping medium, followed by the internet. Online newspaper readers, according to the MORI Research, prefer to view inserts with their online edition of the newspaper.

“For many consumers, the largest shopping center in the country is not the Mall of America; it’s their newspaper,” said John Kimball, NAA senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “It confirms that today’s consumers are prepared to do their homework before they go to the store. They study newspaper advertising first and, in many cases, take it to the store with them.”

Nearly half of adults used preprinted inserts in the past week for shopping. That number rose to 64 percent in the last 30 days and the average printed inserts is kept for four days and many consumers take it to the store. The primary use of preprints is for checking sales or when one is in the market to purchase a specific item. Two-thirds of readers like to browse even when they are not looking for anything in particular, while around one-half use them to plan regular shopping.

Preprint readership by direct mail is considerably lower than it is for newspapers: 29 percent in the past seven days and 46 percent in the past 30 days. Consumers prefer newspaper delivery over direct mail by a more than two-to-one margin. Sunday subscribers feel especially strong about this. Regarding preference of page size, 37 percent favor a newsweekly size, 30 percent favor tabloid size, and 20 percent prefer broadsheets.

Newspaper advertising is an effective way to reach shoppers when they are in the market to buy.

Resources:
Media Post Publications, November 2006
NAA News Release, November 2006
MORI Research Study, 2005

This monthly newsletter is a service provided by Customized Newspaper Advertising. For more information on the newspaper advertising industry, please contact Leslie Earp, CNA Marketing & Research Manager at learp@cnaads.com.

To unsubscribe, please send an e-mail to cna@cnaads.com and your name will be removed from our subscription list.

ARCHIVES: VIEW PAST ISSUES OF IREACH