Best Way To Find Bargains

How and where do customers believe they can find the best bargains? Is it still the Newspaper/Magazine Ads, or is it online ads?

I think that the face of advertising has been changing for years, but just in the last couple of years since kids who started on computers in the early 21st century have been graduating from college and hitting the marketplace on their own, theres been a surge on the internet.

Online ads do better with younger, better educated consumers than with older consumers, who are accustomed to going into the brick and mortar store for their products. Also the older generation had a lot of problems with the internet when it first started taking off, (Spam and viruses, etc.) They have trust issues.

My own son just graduated this year and is starting out on his own, I talked with him about his shopping habits, I was very surprised that while he was in college he searched Craigs list to find rides to and from different locations and always found a ride to share online. He also purchased his bed and dresser online.

He told me there was a larger selection and he could shop from the comfort of his deck while enjoying the sun. He also explained that the internet is seen a safe for purchasing now, more than a few years ago people were having their emails sold to other people so you would end up with massive spam in your box.

My son made a good point; the internet is too important to a vast amount of people who make a living through selling their wares and want to protect their customers from spammers. Emails are hardly ever sold anymore and companies are letting their customers know this in their advertising. Even viruses are seen less and less, once a hacker had bragging rights for the destruction, but anymore the younger generation finds those among them that do that stuff as ignorant. He informed me that the hackers he knows are making a very good living from writing and selling programs and no longer hack.

After having this conversation, I started thinking about it; I do have trust issues, scared that if I give out my email my computer will crash or something crazy like that.

I think the internet is the best place to find bargains, I think its our future right here and now and we should all jump in and get our feet wet. Here are a few numbers I found.

Online ads appeal most to people under 45 and to college graduates

When looking for the best bargains, different age groups have different ideas of where to look. Those 18-34 are more likely to say online ads (22%) and television commercials (17%) are the best places to go.

While those 35-44 years old go online (26%). The older one is, the more likely they are to use newspaper and magazine advertisements.

24% of those 44-54 and one-third of those 55 and older (33%) say newspaper, and magazines are media most likely to help them find the best bargain.

Among the genders, women are more likely than men to say newspaper, and magazine advertisements (24% vs. 22%) and direct mail and catalogs (14% vs. 11%) are more likely to help them find a bargain.

Men, on the other hand, are more likely to say online advertisements are more likely to help them find a bargain (21% vs. 16%).