Understanding students online IAB and The Student Room Research April 2011

Overview The IAB, Internet Advertising Bureau and The Student Room, the world’s largest student site, researched thestudentroom.co.uk audience with a view to understanding students online usage, how they are accessing the internet and to gain an understanding of the role that online plays in research and purchase decisions Online questionnaire hosted by Survey Monkey and distributed to students on thestudentroom.co.uk website Fieldwork 3 weeks across Jan 2011 Survey sample size of completed responses Natural fall out of demographics

Time spent online

Favourite past time is browsing the web Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Watching TV Going on Facebook Reading books Browsing the webHanging out with friends Hobbies

Average % share of free time spent doing any of the following: Socialising online is equal to offline and is more popular than engaging in hobbies or sport Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 More free time spent on community sites/forums than Shopping offline and watching DVDs

More visitors to The Student Room site own laptops than TVs Which of the following do you personally own (as opposed to being able to make use of someone else’s)? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

…and are using their laptops to view TV shows daily – as often as on the communal TV set Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 How often do you typically watch TV shows?

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Majority spending between 3-4 hours online per day… Typically how much time do you spend online per day?

… of which is accessed via different devices Rise in online smart phone usage expected in 2 years time Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Of time spent online per day, average % accessed using the following devices 50% access the internet via a smartphone everyday – this is expected to rise to 76% in 2 years time

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Average minutes spent per day on the following type of sites More time spent per day on social networking sites than academic/research sites

Majority commenting… and watching video online Regular activities online Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk -January 2010

Online Research and Purchasing

Students value opinions from friends on social networking sites… but still open to views from other trusted sources Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Before making a decision to purchase whose opinions online do you value when researching on the internet?

Product review sites seen as the most helpful in aiding purchase decision making Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 What type of sites are the most helpful to you when making purchase decisions? Online community sites seen to be as helpful as price comparison sites

Search engines most commonly used to research before purchasing If you want/need to buy something, how often do you research your purchase using the following? (For example, this could be something from a new laptop to a pair of jeans? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 How often do you research purchases before you buy using any of the following?

Word of mouth builds brand awareness Where do you tend to find out about cool new products and services? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

Online retailers most frequently used sites to purchase How often do you use the following types of website to make an online purchase? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

Price and quality most influential factors How important are the following factors in influencing what and where you buy things online? Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010

Paid for content is driven by apps The majority of users paying for content online are buying apps for their iphone/ipad Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010, base – all who have paid for content online

Music, books and games preferred purchases online Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Which of the following types of purchases would you make online as opposed to in an actual store?

Brands on Social Sites

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Large majority have seen brands advertising on social sites

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk, January 2010 Almost a third do follow or are friends with brands on social sites 8 out of top 10 mentioned were fashion brands

Which brands do they follow? *Top 10 mentioned brands

Source: IAB/studentroom.co.uk - January 2010 Majority follow (or would follow) brands for discounts and exclusive content

Summary Time spent online is evolving across platform Free time spent ‘hanging out with friends’ is equal to free time spent on Facebook More time spent on social networking sites than academic, career or college websites Online peers considered almost as helpful as real life friends online in terms of aiding a purchase decision → Community sites as helpful as price comparison sites in aiding decision making Potential for discounts and exclusive content to encourage greater brand following on social sites

Contact Us Kailan D’Arcy Marketing Executive The Student Room Jamie O’Connell Marketing Director The Student Room