• by Kate Kaye , March 1, 2004

If advertisers take away just one thing from DoubleClick's Touchpoints Survey, it's that the Web can't be ignored. The newly released, second annual survey of consumers, developed in conjunction with Beyond Interactive/Grey Worldwide and Greenfield Online, shows that Web sites are a dominant influence in purchase decision-making in 7 of the 10 product categories studied. Compared to five years ago, the survey has found that the 'Net has had the greatest impact on the way consumers purchase travel and financial services products.

"In online advertising, we tend to focus so much on the very end of the purchase cycle," says Doug Knopper, senior-VP and general manager of online advertising, DoubleClick. "We don't have lot of visibility into how consumers use online advertising."

The survey analyzes how media affect initial product awareness (First Learn), research and information gathering (Further Learn), and the final purchase decision. Consumers were asked about their purchases during the last six months for products in the following categories: Auto, Credit Cards/Retail Banking, Electronics, Home Products, Mortgages/Investments, Movies, Personal/Household Care, Prescription Drugs, Telecom Services, and Travel.

TV advertising plays a major role in establishing early awareness of Movies, Personal and Household Care items, Telecom products, Autos, and Prescription Drugs. However, Web sites and online marketing make bigger dents when it comes to building awareness of Travel and Mortgages/Investments. In the First Learn phase, the survey found that TV's influence dropped 8 percent in the Electronics category and 7 percent in the Movies and Automotive segments in the past year. In comparison, print drives First Learning in the Personal/Household Care and Home Products segments, while direct mail most heavily influences awareness of Credit Cards/Retail Banking offerings.

The Internet is most important later on in the buying process, during the Further Learning and Purchase Decision stages for products in the Travel, Auto, Credit Cards/Retail Banking, Consumer Electronics, Mortgages/ Investments, and Prescription Drugs categories.

Study participants ranked media influence on the purchase process on a scale of one to seven, with seven as the highest. Web influence outranked other media in the Travel, Mortgages/Investments, Credit Cards/Retail Banking, and Telecom segments. Web sites matter most for Travel, ranking 3.9. In fact, 86 percent of participants studied made a travel purchase online in the past year, up from 68 percent the year before. For Mortgages/Investments, news and financial sites have the most impact, ranking at 4.5; company Web sites came in at 4.3. More than 55 percent of consumers studied made a financial services purchase online during the past year, according to the research.

However, as reported last week by MediaPost's MediaDailyNews, a "Mood & Mindset" study by Havas' Arnold Worldwide Partners showed that for Banking and Travel among other product categories, many consumers prefer human to virtual contact. According to the study, 43 percent of respondents would rather visit a teller than use an ATM machine for banking, and 47 percent would rather book cruises via a travel agent than the Web.

Although other media have a greater impact in certain segments, the Internet does make an impression on consumers when making buying decisions. Take movies, for instance. While TV ads are the most influential, online movie reviews rank No. 2, the same as newspaper ads. The study found that 24 percent of consumers purchased a movie ticket online during the past year, up from 16 percent the previous year. And although in-store presence and word-of-mouth led the way for home products and food purchase decisions, manufacturer sites and food brand sites were also found to be factors.

To DoubleClick's Knopper, it's not surprising that purchasing decisions about products such as food are less driven by the Internet. Besides being more influenced by brand marketing, he suggests that food, consumer packaged goods, and health and beauty products "don't require a lot of information or consideration."

Search and email marketing also play a role in the purchase process. Search has an impact on complex purchase categories like Consumer Electronics and Prescription Drugs. In addition, 32 percent of consumers who visited a company's Web site and requested more information preferred email as the mode of communication.