Consumers using internet to find local shopping, says study

• 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.