Summary
According to a study conducted by market researchers Constat Inc. and The Kelsey Group, 70 percent of American households now find local businesses using the Internet. A poll conducted in October 2003 found the figure to be 60 percent, with 73 percent using the local newspaper. If current trends continue, the Internet will become more popular for local business searches than newspapers in the next year.
Original source:
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=159904660
Details
Consumers are turning away from newspapers for local shopping information, taking their broadband connections to search engines on the Web instead, a recent study says.
The trend is expected to increasingly shift advertising dollars from print to cyberspace.
Consumers are turning away from newspapers for local shopping information and heading to the web instead, a reflection of the impact Internet search engines are having on the use of traditional media, a study released Tuesday showed.
Fully 70 percent of U.S. households now use the Internet to find local merchants and services, which is equal to the percentage that go to newspapers, according to a survey conducted in February by market research firms Constat Inc. and The Kelsey Group.
Assuming the current trend continues as expected, the Internet will surpass newspapers over the next 12 months.
The findings are significant for newspapers, as well as Yellow Pages and other traditional media for finding shopping information.
With people using the Internet more, advertising dollars are sure to increasingly shift from print to cyberspace.
Fully 55 percent of people with Internet access, which could be at home or in the office, use a high-speed connection, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
In addition, 69 percent of retail purchases made online are conducted via DSL, cable or other speedy connection, and broadband users spend 34 percent more on the web than dial-up users.
The ConStat/Kelsey study did not look at the number of times shoppers use the Internet versus newspapers, Polachek said.
To compete, newspapers and other traditional local advertising media will need to develop new business models for attracting shoppers, Polachek said.
For example, a national
newspaper, such as The New York Times, could build its own news portal with a search engine capable of directing people to local merchants and services through partnerships with regional newspapers.
About the author: Mike Adams is an award-winning journalist and holistic nutritionist with a passion for teaching people how to improve their health He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, and he has published numerous courses on preparedness and survival, including financial preparedness, emergency food supplies, urban survival and tactical self-defense. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams created TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural living video sharing site featuring thousands of user videos on foods, fitness, green living and more. He also launched an online retailer of environmentally-friendly products (BetterLifeGoods.com) and uses a portion of its profits to help fund non-profit endeavors. He's also the founder and CEO of a well known email mail merge software developer whose software, 'Email Marketing Director,' currently runs the NaturalNews email subscriptions. Adams is currently the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and regularly pursues cycling, nature photography, Capoeira and Pilates. He's also author a large number of health books offered by Truth Publishing and is the creator of numerous reference website including NaturalPedia.com and the free downloadable Honest Food Guide. His websites also include the free reference sites HerbReference.com and HealingFoodReference.com. Adams believes in free speech, free access to nutritional supplements and the innate healing ability of the human body. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
Have comments on this article? Post them here:
people have commented on this article.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Email this article to a friend
Share
this article on: 
