Consumers Respond To DRTV.

The Electronic Retailing Association (ERA), a trade association representing the $125 billion electronic retailing industry, today unveiled the preliminary results of a consumer tracking study designed to monitor and update direct response television (DRTV) viewership trends as well as consumer attitudes and preferences about electronic retailing.

At the 12th Annual Electronic Retailing Association Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, ERA CEO, Elissa Matulis Myers noted that the electronic retailing industry continues to thrive as more consumers embrace shopping through direct response television/radio advertisements and home shopping channels.

The ERA commissioned Leisure Trends Group of Boulder, Colorado, a leading market research company with clients in the entertainment, sports, hospitality, travel and recreation businesses, to conduct a nationally representative telephone survey of American adults in the third quarter of 2002. ERA plans to release the full study results in January, 2002, but early findings point to growing consumer acceptance of electronic retailing, including infomercials (30-minute long form paid television programming), direct response television advertisements (short form 30-second to two minute TV ads), and home television shopping networks such as QVC, HSN, Shop at Home, and Shop America.

— In 2002, nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of Americans 16 and older have experienced at least one form of direct response television advertising, translating to an extremely sizable customer base of 136.2 million viewers.

— One in four American viewers (28.6%) report that they have purchased a product advertised via an infomercial, most often by calling a toll-free 800 telephone number to order.

— The average DRTV viewer has become more affluent–with income levels among infomercial, direct response and live shopping viewers–all up over previously reported levels.

— In addition to generating immediately trackable sales, DRTV campaigns also drive retail store traffic. More than one third of viewers indicate that they have purchased a product they were exposed to via advertising at a later time, primarily through brick and mortar retail stores.

— Viewers are more likely to trust infomercials than Congress, used car salesmen and corporate executives.

“We are enormously excited about this new study,” noted Myers. “Not all the news it brings is good news as the data reflects challenges faced by all marketers for consumer attention in an increasingly fragmented and overcrowded media landscape. But much of the news is great and reflects the growing importance of direct response TV in the marketing mix.”

For more information at http://www.retailing.org