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US Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs) outperform text search ads in click-through rates by 47%, in conversion rates by 38%, and in return on ad spend (ROAS) by 25%, according to [download page] an October 2012 report from Kenshoo covering Q3 activity. The average ROAS among the select merchants examined was $3.96 from PLAs versus $3.17 from text search ads. These findings are especially significant given that beginning October 17 2012, Google Shopping results in the US will reflect only merchants that buy PLAs. Read more »

US online ad spending will exceed the total spent on print magazines and newspapers this year for the first time, according to a January 2012 eMarketer estimate that projects $39.5 billion in online ad spending, $19.4 billion in newspaper ad spending, and $15.4 billion in magazine ad spending. eMarketer estimates that online ad spending will continue its dramatic growth to reach $62 billion by 2016, while the print total will continue to decline to $32.3 billion that year. Read more »

70% of women say they tried to only buy sale items this past holiday shopping season, compared to 57% of men, according to a study released in January 2012 by the NPD Group. Women were also 21% more likely than men to buy more thrifty gifts (51% vs. 42%), 18% more likely to cut back on the amount spent for each gift (65% vs. 55%), and 15% more likely to cut back on the number of people they bought gifts for (62% vs. 54%). 57% of women also shopped in less expensive stores for their holiday shopping, compared to half of men, while an even greater proportion (70%) bought more practical gifts, relatively matched by their male counterparts (65%). Read more »

A greater proportion of marketers than agencies believe that spending on traditional media such as direct mail (25% vs. 17%), print (22% vs. 8%), and radio (18% vs. 3%) will increase this year as compared to 2011, with the proportions expecting spend to increase on TV relatively on par, according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by RSW/US. Read more »

69% of residents in areas served by a local newspaper with circulation of under 15,000 say that their local paper provides valuable local shopping and advertising information, while 81% rely on the paper for local news and information, according to a survey released in December 2011 conducted by the National Newspaper Association (NNA) and the research arm of the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism. 86% of respondents say their local newspaper is informative, and 3 in 4 look forward to reading it. Read more »

Direct mail (92%) and newspapers (91%) are the media most Millennials say affect their store choices, ahead of digital channels such as visiting a store website using a computer (84%) or receiving emails from retailers (78%), according to [download page] a December 2011 report from Nielsen. Data from "The Evolution of Circulars: From Print to Digital" indicates that when it comes to shopping, Millennials are more tech-savvy than Gen X adults, being more likely to have their store choices influenced by smartphones or mobile phones, social media sites, and retailer emails. Read more »

Almost 3 in 5 American consumers report that they enjoy getting postal mail from brands about new products, compared to just 43% who say they enjoy getting emails from brands on new products, according to a study released in December 2011 by Epsilon Targeting. Data from the "2011 Channel Preference Study" indicates that a similar gap exists for Canadian consumers: 66% enjoy being notified about new products via postal mail, compared to 55% who report that enjoyment from receiving marketing emails about new products. Read more »

Almost one in five (18%) smartphone/tablet users do not want to receive any coupons on their device, according to [download page] data released in October 2011 by Prosper Mobile Insights. This is a higher percentage than say they want to receive mobile coupons via social media check-in (10%). Read more »

US mobile app inventory is poised to absorb the equivalent of the entire US internet display advertising spend by the end of this year, according to analysis from Flurry. Mobile app inventory has grown aggressively this year, rising from less than $500 million in January to a level closer to $1 billion this month. Read more »

Below are some links to recent research news, studies and lists from the collection of items that MarketingCharts didn't get to writing up this week, but still may be worth a peek: Read more »