New figures from Roy Morgan have shown that catalogues are the most useful media for driving consumers in groceries and alcoholic beverages.
According to the latest Roy Morgan September 2017 magazine readership results, almost four million Australians read either Coles Magazine (3,975,000) or Woolworth’s Fresh (3,828,000).
This wide readership has meant strong recognition by consumers, as 45 per cent of Australians regard catalogues as the most useful medium for buying groceries, compared with 28 per cent for the internet and less than five per cent for each of the other media categories.
Print media are also favoured by consumers of alcohol, with 39 per cent preferring catalogues over the internet (30 per cent), newspapers (four per cent) and other types of media.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the disruption caused to existing advertising models by the rise of digital media doesn’t mean traditional channels for engaging customers should be discarded.
“The internet looms large as the pre-eminent advertising channel with close to 50 per cent of all Australia’s $15 billion-plus advertising spend now online, and $3.5 billion of ad spend via internet search alone (approximately 46 per cent of all online spend), with the balance of internet spending via internet display advertising and online classifieds,” she said.
Ms Levine notes that while the internet enjoys clear advantages in some product categories such as travel and accommodation, restaurants, cars and insurance, there are large consumer markets that prefer other channels of information.
“In Australia’s huge $103 billion-plus grocery market, which this week welcomed German supermarket giant Kaufland, Australians continue to regard catalogues (45 per cent) as the media most useful for information, well ahead of the internet (28 per cent) and all other media categories,” she said.
“The closely related $15 billion-plus alcohol market is also dominated by catalogues (39 per cent) and the internet (30 per cent) as the media most useful.”
The report also noted that catalogues are highly regarded by consumers for information about selecting children’s wear, toys, clothing, cosmetics and toiletries, as well as small and large appliances.
Consumers also turn to magazines for sourcing information on home improvements and renovations, home interiors and furnishings, and health and first products.