Consumer Research: Digital Insights on Australian Consumers (Part 1.)

Depriving people of their Internet connection will not exactly be like stealing candy from a baby, according to this research from Pureprofile. Almost 42% of people would give up their Internet last, compared with 26% (TV), 19% (mobile) and 13% for magazines & newspapers. (One caveat should be made about this research, however. Before jumping to the conclusion that print media expendable, consider that it is the ‘hardcopy’ newsrooms which power much of the online general and finance news services.)

The terms utility and ubiquity have long been used to describe a household’s Internet service, so it is no surprise that the medium is no more indispensable than ever before - but 16 points ahead of television?

And does this indispensabilty translate into consumer confidence, in particular the purchase of goods and services online? According to this survey, the average value of items purchased on line seems to be rising, with the Internet now one of the strongest ‘influencers’ on purchase decisions associated with mid-tier goods (between $100 and $1,000) - neck and neck with television and word-of-mouth. For goods and services in the +$1,000 category, word-of-mouth dominates. One quetion though - what happenswhen you mix an Internet application with word-of-mouth, as in product referrals and reviews, a la CNET?

With such vaulted status within a household’s media portfolio, the ramifications for brands (which offer a direct sales channel, in particular) via a social media or networking setting are particulalry powerful.