BIGresearch releases new data on online purchasing behavior among women by "media consumption clusters."

BIGresearch writes an (almost) regular column each Monday for iMedia Connection.  This is the first in a special series of pieces focusing on purchasing decisions among women consumers by "media consumption clusters."

Over the next few weeks we will feature women who regularly purchase online. We will look at what merchandise they are planning on buying in the next six months and the synergy of media influencing their purchase decision by merchandise category.

We will employ our media consumption clusters, which we outlined in a previous iMedia column. The clusters provide a concrete relation between media consumption and merchandise consumption.

Here is a list of all media clusters and a description of each:

1. Old School: High mass media influence (TV, magazines, newspaper) and low in search media (online). Average overall media consumption and simultaneous usage.
2. Active Explorers: High promotion (inserts, coupons, direct) and search media influence. Average media consumption.
3. New Mediacs: Low mass media and promotional media influence. High electronics media consumption. Low print consumption.
4. Simultaneous Readers: Average overall media influence. High network simultaneous usage. High print consumption.
5. Independents: Average search media influence. Low media consumption.
6. Ravenous: High overall media influence. High network, print and electronic consumption.
7. Persuadables: High mass and search media influence. Average promotional media influence.
8. Opportunity Minded: High promotional influence. Average to low media consumption.

The following chart displays the groups that are planning the most, (by percentage), to purchase a computer, home improvement, travel for vacation, or a DVD/VCR.

The data in the above chart is drawn from our Simultaneous Media Survey VII, with survey group of 15,027 and conducted December 2, 2005. The number of women who regularly shop online is 1,490. The overall SIMM data exceeds 100,000 respondents to date.

What can we make of this information? While the ravenous and the persuadables both have a big appetite for media and its influence, their appetites regarding purchase decisions still fluctuate by merchandise category. The ravenous, old school, and persuadables are media consumption styles. Old schoolers may be ravenous in their desire to purchase but they are old school when it comes to media selection.

Take Away: Marketers have the tools to develop a strategy and a media plan tied to real purchasing decisions.

Next week, we'll look at women who shop online and the media synergy influence on home improvement purchases.