• by July 18, 2001

The Internet’s power to influence a purchase has long been debated in the advertising circles, especially when it comes to teens. After all, this demographic group does not own credit cards and there’s little they can buy online without those plastic rectangles.

So, why advertise to teens online? According to the latest research from Jupiter Media Metrix, there are plenty of good reasons.

New Jupiter Media Metrix digital marketing research shows that while 89% of teens (ages 13-17) have never made an online purchase, nearly one-third (29%) research products on the Internet before buying them at stores.

Although teens don't own credit cards, they visit the same sites as adults (ages 18 and up) - including popular e-commerce sites such as Amazon.com and eBay.

Jupiter analysts have found that marketers must consider the influence of online window-shopping when developing advertising campaigns and advise companies to incorporate a singular message across multiple ad channels.

"Many teens use the Internet as a shopping mall - a place to meet friends, play games, and shop - even without the intent to purchase," said Jupiter analyst Jared Blank. "Teens spend almost as much time on Amazon.com as adults, even though few of those teens can make purchases on the site. Marketers need to recognize the value the Web has on influencing purchases that may take place offline."

Between April 2000 and April 2001, the growth of the adult online population outpaced the teen population. According to Media Metrix ratings data, the number of adults online increased 18%, reaching a total of over 71 million users. The teen population increased 11% in April, reaching a total of almost 9 million. The data also reveal that adults go online more often than teenagers - the average adult logged on 15 days in April, while teenagers used the Internet an average of nine days in April.

Jupiter analysts say that companies who want to attract the teenage demographic should allow users to set up and personalize their experience as much as possible. According to Jupiter, 42% of teenagers view personal Web pages set up by other users. Media Metrix ratings data show that homepage providers Angelfire, TriPod and Homestead are all among the top 20 sites visited by teens, though none are among the same list for adults.

Teens spend the most number of minutes using the Yahoo! and MSN portals and checking e-mail at Hotmail. According to Media Metrix ratings data, teens use these sites intensely, spending 45, 50 and 48 minutes per month on each site, respectively. The data also show that teens spend a considerable amount of time (an average of 52 minutes in April) on eBay. Jupiter analysts say that while adults spend much more time on eBay (an average of 112 minutes in April), teens spend a significant amount of time on the site considering they don't have the checkbook or credit card required to make many of the purchases.