• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 7, 2001

The second annual Sunday in America study from PARADE magazine, conducted by Yankelovich in conjunction with Harris Interactive, has uncovered a growing trend among consumers -- the "Sunday state of mind." The study finds that this is a day when Americans do what they want to do, not what they have to do. They are relaxed and receptive to fresh ideas on Sundays, and actively look to newspapers for the information they seek.

Some of the major findings in the report are:

- Sunday provides advertisers with a unique opportunity to reach consumers on the one day when they are most likely to think about planning, researching and buying products, and are more actively seeking such information.

-The Sunday newspaper prompts consumers to take action, like making entertainment choices, making purchases, or researching an item they have read about.

-There are five distinct segmentations of the population based on people's goals for Sunday: Traditionalists, Rechargers, Explorers, Believers and Overwhelmeds. Each pursues their goals differently.

- Two-thirds of Americans read the Sunday paper, and they find it more entertaining, relaxing and worth the time than the daily newspaper.

- While most Americans prefer to read the Sunday newspaper in print form, some typically seek it out on the Internet because it's more manageable to pick and choose what they want to read.

- The most popular sections of the Sunday newspaper continue to be local news, national news, comics and coupons.

Here is the whole press release.