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New Vertis Study Identifies Purchasing Trends and Behaviors Among Home Electronics Shoppers - Women More Involved in Home Electronics Purchases (1/7/2004)

Vertis, the premier provider of targeted advertising, media and marketing services, today announced the results of its Customer Focus(R) 2004: Home Electronics study, which reveals that 90 percent of women said they shared equally or made the decision for home electronics purchases in 2004 compared to 79 percent in 1998.

"Age is a significant factor that influences women's involvement in the purchase of home electronic products," said Therese Mulvey, vice president marketing research at Vertis. "The results of the study show that 35 percent of women 18-24 plan to purchase wireless devices in the next 12 months, compared to 21 percent of women ages 25-34."

Additional findings reveal that advertising inserts are the medium used most often by home electronics shoppers when deciding to make a purchase. This finding suggests a rising trend in the influence of advertising inserts and marketers should consider this when determining which medium will most influence the purchases of their target audience.

The Vertis Customer Focus(R) 2004: Home Electronics study shows the following additional findings, which provide insight into the differences in consumer home electronics purchase plans and trends:

Women Grow As Category of Chief Home Electronics Shoppers

-- In 2004, 90 percent of female shoppers surveyed said they were the chief shoppers or shared in the decision to purchase home electronics equipment, compared to 79 percent of female respondents in 1998 (See Figure A)

-- When it comes to digital cameras, both women 18-24 and women 25-34 are more likely to purchase at 23 percent and 24 percent, respectively, compared to 18 percent of total women

-- In the next 12 months, 29 percent of female home electronics chief shoppers plan to purchase software, 21 percent plan to purchase office technology such as a printer or scanner and 20 percent plan to purchase wireless devices such as a cell phone or PDA (See Figure B)

-- 41 percent of male home electronics chief shoppers said they plan to purchase software in the next 12 months, 28 percent plan to purchase electronic accessories such as cables or adaptors, and 23 percent plan to purchase a computer

Advertising Inserts Are Media Used Most Often by Home Electronics Shoppers

-- 28 percent of total adults surveyed in 2004 indicated that advertising inserts or circulars most influence their buying decision, compared to 22 percent who said that television had more impact (See Figure C)

-- 30 percent of chief home electronics shoppers said they turn to advertising inserts first to help with their purchase decision, compared to 18 percent who turn to ads on the page of a newspaper

-- When reading home electronics advertising inserts or circulars, 90 percent of readers who are large screen/HDTV purchasers said they usually compare circulars for price, compared to 85 percent of total adults

-- 80 percent of the home electronics advertising insert readers who felt that special financing was most important when making a purchase said they read other store inserts before deciding to purchase, compared to 17 percent who read inserts only from the stores they shop at regularly

-- 74 percent of total adults who are wireless device purchasers said that they have read an advertising insert in the past seven days, compared to 69 percent of average adults

Besides Price, Brand Name Is Most Important When Purchasing Home Electronics

-- 40 percent of home electronics chief shoppers indicated that, besides price, brand name was the most important factor when purchasing home electronics such as home theatre, large screen, HDTV or digital video camera (See Figure D)

-- Although brand name was most important to chief shoppers, 10 percent fewer made this claim in 2004 as they did in 1998

-- 15 percent of home electronics chief shoppers said that a helpful and knowledgeable sales staff were most important, compared to 15 percent who said special offers and 11 percent who said product availability was a significant factor

Home Electronics Customer Snapshot

-- Of the total adults surveyed, 33 percent of home electronics shoppers had an income of $30,000 or less, while 22 percent had incomes over $75,000 (See Figure E)

-- Of the total adults surveyed, 49 percent of home electronics shoppers were male and 51 percent were female; this is the first time the percentage of female shoppers has exceeded male shoppers

-- Of the total adults surveyed, 24 percent of home electronics shoppers were Generation X adults (1965-1976) vs. 14 percent Generation Y adults (1977-1994)

About Customer Focus(R)

Customer Focus(R) is Vertis' proprietary annual study tracking consumer behavior across a wide variety of industry segments -- home improvement, furniture, grocery, sporting goods, home electronics, optical, insurance, office supplies and discount stores -- and media including advertising inserts, direct marketing and the Internet. The survey was first conducted in 1998 and, in subsequent years, has been expanded and modified to identify emerging consumer behavior patterns and track shifts in consumer practices and motivations.

Since its inception, Customer Focus(R) has proven to be one of the nation's most comprehensive examinations of consumer behavior. The survey of 3,000 adults -- conducted by one of the nation's leading field research companies in August/September 2003 -- measures both general and industry-specific shopping trends, and Vertis provides the significant data as a value-added service to its clients.

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