• by April 19, 2005

Consumers who have recently experienced or are expecting to experience significant changes in their lifestyles display drastically different Web browsing behavior, according to a study released Monday by comScore Media Metrix.

The study, titled "Surfing Through Life Changes: How Consumers Embrace the Web During Major Life Events," profiled three different types of Web browsers -- consumers who have created or accessed a baby registry in the last six months, consumers who have become engaged or married in the past six months or who will get married in the next six months, and consumers who have reported buying their first home or moving more than 100 miles in the last six months.

Shopping expecting a child were 51 percent more likely to report using online coupons, 49 percent more likely to search for online movie information, and 41 percent more likely to pay bills online. The report also revealed that expecting parents online were more likely to check news sites like NYPost.com, CNN.com and CBS.com

The study found that recently engaged consumers frequent entertainment sites such as Ticketmaster.com, Launch.com (Yahoo!'s online radio service) and MTV.com, in addition to sites like Evite.com, Egreetings.com, and AmericanGreetings.com -- which the study theorizes are used for pre-wedding messages and parties. The study found that engaged consumers were 76 percent more likely than the average Internet user to be 21-34 years old, 46 percent more likely to report having entertained at home in the past six months, 44 percent more likely to report having purchased VHS or DVD movies in the past six months, and 42 percent more likely to access savings accounts online.

Consumers who have moved within six months used the Web overwhelmingly for local search services like CitySearch.com and Switchboard.com; recent movers are almost twice as likely as other consumers to use CitySearch.com and almost two and a half times more likely to use Switchboard.com.

The study also reported that recently-moved consumers are 45 percent more likely than the average Internet user to be 18-34 years old, and substantially more interested in financial services--283 percent more likely to have searched for checking account information online in the past six months, 85 percent more likely to have searched for credit card information online in the past six months, 64 percent more likely to use airline incentive cards, and 161 percent more likely to use credit cards offering other travel points incentives.