|
|
among big shoppers
Study: Especially effective in driving online sales
By Marty Beard
People may debate the overall effectiveness of rich media, but it appears to work especially well with one kind of consumer.
It turns out that ads filled with sound, motion and other attention-grabbing effects score remarkably high with affluent heavy online shoppers, according to a recent study by Forrester Research.
“The ability to see an ad, immediately click on that ad and be transported to site where you can actually purchase that product is what is driving these consumers,” says Forrester analyst Chris Kelley, one of the report’s authors.
These heavy online consumers are represented by the 12 percent of online shoppers who have clicked on an internet ad and bought the item advertised, according to the report, a higher percentage than analysts expected.
These shoppers consume frequently, making about 18 online purchases a year, spending on average $100 per purchase.
Another part of the story of these consumers is that they’re pressed for time, and they feel that online ads that link directly to an online store save them time.
“They’ll be doing research for product or reading the news on CNN.com, and all of the sudden they’ll see an ad for something they needed to buy anyway, and they’ll click through and buy it because they have the money,” Kelley says.
Eighty percent of the people who both see online ads and shop online say that they participate in e-commerce because they can shop during unconventional hours, versus 78 percent of people who see online ads but don’t go on to buy what they see advertised.
Sixty-seven percent of people who see net ads and then shop online say they take advantage of online retailers because it saves them time overall.
Sixty-two percent say they shop online because they don’t have time to stand in checkout queues.
And 59 percent of people who see online ads and then buy the products say they buy goods online because they can access retailers via internet that they can’t reach otherwise.
“For them the web is a convenience tool,” Kelley says. “It is the way to get the information and goods that they need when they need it because their schedules are pressed."
Additionally, 58 percent of people who see ads and then make purchases online say they do so because they can do so without feeling any pressure from a store’s sales staff.
Generally, the sorts of goods these shoppers buy are consumer electronics and computer hardware, plus books, music, videos and apparel, Kelley says.
They prefer to learn about these goods via ads that are visually engaging, using rich media and Flash, and contain pertinent material, such as the large units that run on such sites as CNET.com.
Still, this sort of ad isn’t guaranteed to make people click and buy, Kelley says.
“Although this group is very tech-savvy and more likely to have a broadband connection, make sure that if you’re using Flash, make it simple, make sure it’s going to load quickly.
“Otherwise consumers will just ignore it or think it’s a pain the neck.”
January 30, 2002 © 2002 Media Life
-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.
Printer-Friendly
Version | Send
to a Friend
Cover Page | Contact
Us
