Chart of the Week: Online Ads Drive Brand Building, Offline Sales

August 24, 2009 · by Practical eCommerce Staff

A new study found that consistent online advertising could boost offline retail sales by 9 percent over a three month period, making online ads even more effective than television for building brand and boosting brick-and-mortar sales.

The study said, "Online ad campaigns with an average reach of 40 percent of their target segment successfully grew retail sales of the advertised brands by an average of 9 percent," according to Internet trend tracking company comScore and its research partner dunnhumbyUSA, a company that specializes in identifying consumer buying behavior. By comparison, television advertising tended to boost retail sales about 8 percentage points over 12 months, according to an Information Resources, Inc. report.

"These early results confirm the ability of online advertising to successfully build retail sales of [consumer packaged goods] brands on par with the impact of television advertising. It is likely that the more precise targeting ability of the Internet – especially in terms of accurately reaching the desired demographic segment – is a key reason for its effectiveness. That is meaningful in and of itself, but when you take into account the fact that online advertising is generally less costly than television, these results take on even greater significance," said Gian Fulgoni, Executive Chairman of comScore.