The economy will affect holiday shopping this year, but AM/FM radio listeners will spend more than the average. That’s according to a recent Nielsen study of 1,000 respondents that claims AM/FM radio is the “soundtrack of the American economic recovery.” The study found that 54% of consumers say their holiday spending will remain unchanged from last year, 36% say it will be less, and 10% say they will spend more. But a higher proportion of heavy AM/FM radio listeners say they will spend more this holiday (14%) than heavy TV viewers (10%) and the overall market (10%).
Across 29 categories, heavy AM/FM radio listeners showed stronger purchase intentions compared to heavy TV viewers.
“Compared to heavy TV viewers, heavy AM/FM radio listeners will spend more across a wide variety of purchase categories,” Pierre Bouvard, Chief Insights Officer at Cumulus Media and Westwood One, wrote in a blog post. “Over the past four consumer studies, Nielsen has found that heavy AM/FM radio listeners are the engine of America’s economic recovery.”
What this means is that brands looking to reach qualified consumers should not overlook radio.
Christina Baeten, Director of Client Services at SMI, said, “We have clients that are spending more on their radio campaigns right now than they did in any previous Q4. Low media rates, coupled with consistent demand for goods and services across direct-to-consumer and business-to-business categories, has been a winning combination in recent months. Categories from personal care to professional services — and everything in between — are experiencing sustained efficiencies in KPIs [key performance indicators] projected to carry straight into the new year.”
To find out how your brand can get a commercial on the radio and reach qualified consumers at current low media rates, contact SMI today.