The internet now accounts for 20% of total media consumption in Europe as the amount of time people spend online continues to increase rapidly, according to the latest research from the European Internet Advertising Association.
The pan-European study, carried out by Millward Brown, shows that television still leads the field in terms of media consumption with 33%, followed by radio with 30%. However, the internet has overtaken both newspapers (11%) and magazines (8%).
The number of European internet users continues to increase exponentially and the research shows that a massive 42% are now online every single day, with one in ten of those surveyed claiming to spend at least 25 hours a week surfing the net.
Nigel Morris, president of Carat Interactive Worldwide, said: “This research demonstrates the growing impact that the internet is having on daily lives. It commands consumer attention, and with overall consumption and frequency of use increasing year-on-year, it must now be viewed as an essential part of the marketing mix.”
Michael Kleindl, chairman of the European Internet Advertising Association, added: “The internet is now a rival to other media and with always on and mobile technologies emerging, we can only expect this trend to continue.”
Whilst television still commands the lion’s share of media consumption, 83% of European consumers felt that the medium carries too much advertising, less than half felt the same way about the internet. A further 30% found online advertising relevant and more than half associated it with forward thinking brands.
The study also shows that increasing numbers of consumers are using the internet over traditional media to perform daily tasks such as booking tickets (45%), reading newspapers (37%) and shopping (31%). A further 88% of respondents were found to use 88% regularly, 61% visit news sites and almost half organise their finances online.
Travel tickets and holidays are most frequently researched online with the highest purchase conversion rates of 64% and 45% respectively. Theatre and cinema tickets also proved popular with a 71% conversion rate, clothes came in at 69%, music at 66% and books and 65%.
According to the EIAA, the research also demonstrates that offline sales are boosted by the internet. Two in five people admit that they research travel tickets and holidays online, then buy through traditional means. A further third of consumers claim to look at books and theatre/cinema tickets on the web but subsequently purchased them elsewhere.
Last month research from the EIAA showed that FMCG brands are the greatest beneficiaries of internet advertising with the average online campaign helping to raise brand awareness by as much as 5.9%. Online marketing was found to raise brand awareness by an average of 5.4% across all sectors, with FMCG campaigns creating the most uplift in this area.
