Martini Media Affluent Online Shoper Index Powered by comScore: Consumers Shop and Spend More Online During the Holiday Season

Next Phase of Research to Provide Complete Year-to-Year Activity and Engagement Analysis

SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, NY and LONDON – Martini Media, the digital media and content platform for engaging the audience with the most money and influence online, and comScore, a global leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the results of a collaborative study that examines the online holiday shopping behaviors of the online affluent audience (HHI $100K+). By indexing  these affluent users (reached on Martini Media’s network) against the non-affluent online users (HHI <$100K), marketers now have a precise picture of the how this coveted segment acts online during the all-important holiday season.

The new Martini Affluent Online Shopper IndexTM Powered by comScore study leveraged comScore’s passively measured online panel of 1 million U.S. internet users to understand eCommerce activity for holiday 2011 in order to provide a baseline comparison for the upcoming 2012 holiday season. The specific dates covered in the first part of this analysis include the week of Thanksgiving ending on Cyber Monday and the month leading up to Christmas holiday.  The next phase of this research will detail online shopping, search and site visitation data for the affluent audience during the holiday time period in 2012, as well as quarterly through 2013.

According to independent research expert Michele Madansky, “Each year, comScore studies the likelihood of shoppers to seek out information on specific goods and services online. In this indexing studying, we compared that data with the activities of Martini Media’s audience affluent households. The results clearly show that affluent audiences are more likely to make online purchases during the critical holiday shopping period across all purchase categories.”

Martini Media CEO Skip Brand said, “It makes complete sense. The audience studied is always wired and has very little time and more disposable income than any other segment. So, while they may ultimately purchase a luxury item online or offline, this study shows that exposing them to ads online is a no-brainer. They are highly receptive and engaged. They simply spend money to save time and online is the best way to do that.”
Each phase of the comScore Martini index will provide insights and infographics aimed at helping marketers apply the findings to drive more business.

Highlights:

During the month leading up to Christmas 2011 (11/23-12/20), the affluent audience was more likely to make online purchases:

•       Over half made an online purchase (132 index compared to those with HHI <$100K)
•       The average dollar amount was higher (119 index)
•       Affluent households were more likely to make online purchases across all gifting categories, including: apparel & jewelry, books, movies & videos, computers and electronics, event and movie tickets, flowers, home products, toys and video games.
•       Affluent consumers were 28% more likely to make and electronics or computer purchase during the holidays, and on average spent $252/buyer (141 index)

During Thanksgiving week (through Cyber Monday) in 2011 – 11/23-11/29, the affluent audience was 26% more likely to make an online purchase, with each buyer spending $121 on average across these categories (131 index)
•       Among buyers, the average spending during that one week time period was:
o       Computer/electronics – $250 (119 index)
o       Event and movie tickets – $201 (119 index)
o       Home and living (which includes furniture, kitchenware, bed & bath and art) – $142 (166 index)
o       Apparel, accessories and jewelry – $106 (121 index)
o       Video games and consoles – $106 (112 index)

An infographic of the study is available at http://www.martinimediainc.com/luxurytravelinfographic.jpg.