Data reveal consumers are turning to the internet to help ease the gas price burden.

As consumers feel the pinch in their wallets with gas prices reaching record highs in April, many are turning to the internet as a resource to help ease the burden. Sites like GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com have cropped up, directing consumers to the gas stations offering the lowest prices in the area.

• Gas Buddy sites attracted 755,000 visitors in March 2006, while GasPriceWatch.com drew 115,000.
  
  
• Visitors to Gas Buddy sites skew older. In fact, consumers between the ages of 55 and 64 were more than twice as likely to visit the sites versus the average internet user. Moreover, those aged 65 and older were nearly twice as likely to do so.
  
  
• Visitation to Gas Buddy sites also exhibited strong regional skews. People in the West North Central (CI 164), East North Central (CI 140) and West South Central (CI 117) were all more likely than average to visit the sites. (Composition Index -- CI -- represents the proportion of the given group within a specific site audience, compared to the proportion of that group in the total online population. A composition index of 100 represents parity.) Interestingly, these regions do not coincide with the highest national gas prices, which tend to be the East and West Coast. Instead, visitation skews to various central regions, which tend to be more working class.
  
  
• Household income among these site visitors is in line with the regional skews, as households with incomes between $40,000 and $60,000 show the highest likelihood of visiting Gas Buddy. Low income households show the lowest visitation, perhaps due to the low levels of car ownership. The data suggest that those who feel the squeeze the most are those who own cars, but may not have much disposable income.
  
  
• Internet users are using search to find information on gas prices. The top search term including "gas" (excluding non-gasoline related searches) was "gas prices." The next most common term ("gas") was searched for less than half as often as "gas prices." Other high ranking terms included "cheap gas" and "gas buddy," underscoring public concerns regarding high gas prices.

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