Onlinesights

by Burst Media

Copyright 2009

Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to SaveMarch 2009

Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to SaveCoupons are a very powerful and fl exible marketi ng tool. They benefi t manufacturers by increasing sales, retailers by bringing in more customers, and consumers by off ering great bargains. To bett er understand consumers’ use of coupons, Burst recently surveyed more than 4,500 women 18 years or older about their current use of the Internet for household purchases and their penchant for web coupons.

Onlinesights

Insight #1: Women Use the Internet to Manage Their HouseholdsThe Internet Helps Households Run SmoothlyThe Internet is the primary means by which women conduct many daily acti viti es. In fact, 69.4% of women cite the Internet as the primary source for informati on to keep their household running with informati on on family acti viti es, recipes, health news, and entertainment listi ngs. The Internet is also the primary vehicle (62.3%) that women use to research products or services they may purchase. Half (51.7%) of the women surveyed cite the Internet as the primary way to keep in contact with family and friends. Interesti ngly, 70.8% of women 65 years or older say the Internet is the primary way they keep in touch with family and friends (see Table 1).

Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

The Internet is now the primary resource for women to manage their • households

Households are using coupons more frequently than six months ago•

The use of Internet coupons has increased tremendously since 2002 study; it • is now the second most popular source aft er Sunday newspapers.

Search for information to help run your household

Table 1: Internet is Primary Method to Accomplish TaskBurst Media, March 2009, n=4,559

Respondent’s Age

70.0%

61.2%

54.0%

46.2%

39.8%

20.3%

71.1%

66.6%

46.8%

47.4%

42.4%

20.3%

65.5%

58.8%

53.7%

40.5%

36.2%

21.3%

62.5%

43.3%

70.8%

40.0%

30.4%

23.3%

69.4%

62.3%

51.7%

44.6%

40.0%

20.6%

18-34 35-54 55-64 65+ All

Search for information about products you might purchase

Stay in contact with family and friends

Pay bills/manage �nances

Search for bargains

Purchase products

Internet is Primary Method to Accomplish Task

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Onlinesights

Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

Women Depend on In-Store Displays and the Internet for Product Informati on; Internet Top Source for Travel Consumers turn to a number of informati on sources before making a product or service purchase, such as in-store displays, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet. The informati on resource they consider the best depends on the product category being researched.

The Internet is cited by three out of four (74.1%) women as the best place to research travel informati on such as airline ti ckets and hotel reservati ons. This fi nding is consistent among all age segments. The Internet and in-store displays are the top source for informati on on health and beauty products – 29.2% and 28.2%, respecti vely. In-store displays are cited as the top informati on source for adult apparel (38.2%) – followed closely by the Internet (30.4%). In-store displays are also cited as the top source of informati on for children’s apparel (45.7%) – again followed by the Internet (22.1%). The top three informati on sources for food and groceries are in-store displays (35.3%), newspapers and magazines (30.7%) and the Internet (13.2%).

Insight #2: Coupon Use - Online and Offl ine - Is On the Rise

Most Households Use Coupons at Least Occasionally Survey respondents were asked about their use of coupons (online or offl ine) when shopping. Respondents were segmented into frequent coupon users, occasional coupon users, and non-users of coupons. One-third (32.4%) of women are frequent coupon users, 54.3% are occasional coupon users, and 13.3% are non-users of coupons. Groceries are the most popular items to redeem coupons for when purchasing – 77.9% of respondents who use coupons say they have done so. Coupon use for other product categories varies; beauty products (57.7%), health care products (57.3%), fast food (47.7%), clothing/shoes (41.4%), non-fast food restaurants (39.6%), books and music (33.4%), toys (23.8%), electronic equipment (23.0%), and computer equipment/soft ware (22.5%).

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Frequency of Coupon Use When Shopping

Chart 1 – Frequency of Coupon UseBurst Media, March 2009, n =4,559

% of Respondents

18-24

25-34

35-44

45-54

55-6433.0%

57.8%

Frequent Coupon UserOccasional Coupon UserNon-User of Coupons

Resp

onde

nt’s

Age

9.2%

36.9%53.0%

10.0%

35.3%54.4%

10.3%

28.9%57.0%

14.1%

21.2%53.8%

25.0%

65+40.6%

43.8%15.7%

Use of Coupons increases with Age and Household SizeAll age segments use coupons – however, the frequency of use increases with respondent’s age. The percentage that frequently use coupons while shopping increases from 21.2% of respondents 18-24 years to 40.6% of respondents 65 years and older (see Chart 1). A surprising fi nding was the consistent frequency of coupon use by household size (HHS) segments. Nearly one-third (30.7%) of household with one or two members are frequent users of coupons while shopping – compared to 33.8% with a HHS of three or four members, and 35.7% of fi ve or more.

Onlinesights

Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

The Economy is Adding To The Use of Coupons One-third (34.0%) of respondents are using coupons more frequently today than they were six months ago. This fi nding is consistent among age, household size, and income segments. Among frequent coupon users, more than one-half (54.9%) say they have increased their use of coupons, and among occasional coupon users, one-fi ft h (21.6%) are using coupons more frequently.

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The Use of the Internet As a Source For Coupons Has SoaredThe Internet has seen signifi cant growth as the primary source of coupons – increasing from a 3.8% reading in 2002 to 16.0% today. The Sunday newspaper is sti ll the primary source of coupons for 29.2% of respondents – but that is down from a 35.3% reading in 2002. Other media cited as a respondents’ primary source of coupons include in-store circulars (14.9%), mail packs/direct mail (13.5%), weekday newspapers (8.3%), in-store dispensers (5.4%) and magazines (2.2%).

Internet Coupons Get Consumer’s Att enti onMore than two-thirds of respondents (69.4%) say they would print and redeem an Internet coupon for a product they would be interested in purchasing. Three-quarters (75.2%) of women 35-54 years would print and redeem an Internet coupon – this compares to 62.2% of women 18-34 years and 67.7% of women 55 years and older. Among all respondents, 43.0% say they are more likely to redeem and print an Internet coupon today then they were six months ago.

How You Can Use This Informati onImpact on Adverti sers: Target Coupons To The Most Likely Buyers and SwitchersThe advantage of Internet coupons over their paper counterparts is that adverti sers can more fi nely target their off ers – whether through content, geographic or even behavioral targeti ng. Additi onally, the immediacy and targeti ng capabiliti es of the Internet allow marketers to run last minute promoti ons, react to changing market conditi ons, and target consumers who have shown a previous interest in their product.

Impact on Adverti sers and Publishers: Make Use of New Creati ve Opti onsUse rich media and other delivery opti ons that provide consumers with a hassle-free experience of printi ng coupons and promoti ons directly from a banner ad or sending special promoti onal off ers to their email addresses for future use. Also consider creati ve that can launch mini-sites where consumers can learn about other products and services, receive helpful advice or obtain additi onal discounts, helping to create strong brand identi ty and company loyalty. Publishers should adopt ways to print coupons with recipes, reviews, or other arti cles for consumer to use when they head to the store to buy.

Onlinesights

Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

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Unclutt ered Quality Sites in Burst’s Networks

Slickdeals.net is a free, user-driven deal sharing site with a mission to provide consumers an avenue to collaborate and share informati on in order to make the best shopping

decisions. Slickdeals achieves this by providing a forum for communicati on and various shopping tools. Slickdeals.net prides itself on being user and community focused. Browse around and you’re bound to save more than a few bucks!

FrugalLiving.com examines smart, easy ways to save money. Being frugal doesn’t mean you have to sett le. FrugalLiving.com emphasizes simplicity, family values and eco-frugality, inspiring women with ways

to cut down the food bill to fi nding alternati ve uses for everyday items.

The GasBuddy.com web site was developed as an initi ati ve to provide all residents and visitors to an area access to local current gas prices. By having access to the most

recent prices at GasBuddy.com, consumers are now able to locate the most inexpensive fuel price in the city and fi ll up on a budget.

All sites added to Burst’s networks are subject to a rigorous screening process. Burst also audits network sites several ti mes a year to ensure they conti nue to meet our standards. Our conti nuous review guarantees your adverti sing message is placed in a high quality content environment, and receives the maximum exposure it deserves. Here are three sites from Burst’s Shopping channel that att ract a predominantly female audience in a quality branding environment:

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Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

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Onlinesights

Online Insights Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009 Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009 Women Depend on the Internet to Spend and to Save March 2009

About Burst MediaAn online media and technology company founded in 1995, Burst Media (www.BurstMedia.com) is a leading provider of adverti sing representati on, services and technology to independent Web Publishers. Burst Media enables adverti sers to reach fi nely segmented, engaged consumers as they visit Burst’s extensive number of interest-based sub-channels. Through its Burst Network and Burst Direct units, the company represents one of the broadest and deepest off erings of interest-based websites online. Burst also markets its ad management platf orm, adConductorTM, which empowers content websites, online ad networks, and web portals to manage the complete process of ad sales and service. Burst Media is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusett s, with offi ces throughout the United States and in London, UK. For more informati on, visit www.BurstMedia.com or call 781.272.5544.

About Online InsightsTrends in Internet use and consumers’ online purchasing behaviors are constantly evolving and oft en diffi cult to detect. That’s why Burst Media publishes Online Insights – our monthly newslett er that highlights emerging trends in online media and eCommerce. Findings reported in Online Insights are based on an online survey fi elded across its Network of more than 4,700 web sites. Data from the survey is weighted based on age and gender to ensure fi ndings are representati ve of the US internet audience.

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