Internet Plays An Increasing Role In Purchasing Decisions

The survey has found that even when people buy goods and services offline, there is a growing likelihood that the Net will have played a role in ‘stimulating the purchase’. More than two thirds of internet users – 68% or 12 million people – have used the web to research potential purchases in the last twelve months. Travel, holidays and flights are the most popular services.

Items researched over internet in past 12 months
	Researched item
Holidays	39%
Flight tickets	35%
Entertainment tickets	28%
Books/ Magazines	24%
CDÂÂ’s	23%
Financial Products/services	18%
Computer games/ software	17%
Train or coach tickets	17%
VideoÂÂ’s/ DVDs	15%
Financial products/ services	13%
Cars	12%
General gifts/ novelties	10%
Supermarket Shopping	11%
Houses	7%
Flowers	6%
Any item	68%
Source: Continental Research, 11.11.01

The survey also found that offline advertising is increasingly important in driving consumers to companies’ websites. “In recent years we have seen a rapid increase in the number of advertisements that feature a website address,” says the report. Overall, 59% of regular internet users have visited a website after having seen a URL on an offline ad. “The impact of traditional media such as magazines, newspapers and TV in attracting people to websites is clear,” says Continental.

Ever visiting website as a result of advertising
	% visiting website as a result of seeing advertising
TV ad	30%
National newspaper ad	23%
Magazine ad	22%
Local newspaper ad	11%
Ad in a brochure or catalogue	7%
Radio ad	6%
Ad on direct mail/ leaflet/ bill received in post	5%
Poster/ Billboard ad	5%
Cinema ad	3%
Ad on the wrapper of a product	3%
Any advertising	59%
Source: Continental Research, 11.11.01