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• College students consume the Internet in greater quantity than both television and
radio.
• Students have significant dollars to spend – and will be spending them on apparel and
technology products leading up to their September return to campus.
These findings come from a July 2007 Burst Media online survey of 439 college students
18-24 years old on their media consumption, how they finance their discretionary
spending, and what influences their brand preferences.
Keeping in Contact and Entertainment are Primary Reasons to Use the Internet
Instant messaging is the most popular online activity with both male (62.3%) and
female (57.2%) college students. This activity is followed by downloading music/MP3
files (53.3%), and pursuing school/work activities (51.7%). Other popular online
activities include; playing online games (47.7%), reading entertainment news/gossip
(46.2%), listening to Internet radio (44.5%), reading local/national/international news
(44.2%), viewing streaming video content (42.6%), shopping (38.2%), researching
health information
(26.7%), reading sports
scores and news (23.9%),
searching for local
restaurant/club listings
(20.6%), reading
fashion/trend news
(20.3%), reading
horoscopes (15.3%), and
seeking weather
information (6.2%).
Personal spending is funded from a number of sources. One in five (18.7%) college
students’ work full-time to fund their personal expenses and another 39.4% work part-
time. Male students are more likely than female students to fund expenses through
savings, 37.0% vs 28.5%, respectively. One-half (50.9%) of female students and
46.1% of male college students also fund their personal expenses with contributions
from their parents or guardian.
Offline Retail Gets Bulk of Dollars – But Significant Money Still Spent Online
College students will be making their purchases both online and offline. The Burst
survey found that students expect to make three-quarters (77.3%) of their purchases
offline in a mall or other retail outlet, and 22.7% of their purchases online. Male college
students will make more of their purchases online than female college students (26.6%
vs 16.7%, respectively).
A Generation of Savers?
Given the Option to Spend it – College Students Save it
When given a hypothetical $500 windfall to spend in any way they please, male and
female college students are most likely to save/invest a majority of the money;
allocating an average of $330 out of the $500 to savings/investing. Male college
students allocate slightly more money to savings/investing than female students; males
average $354 and females average $302. Beyond that, males and females spend the
remaining money in a similar
fashion; spending money in Fa ctors Tha t Influe nce Bra nd Sw itching
descending order on travel,
clothes, doing something with 68.8%
Better Price
friends, electronics, and music. 64.2%
9 The Burst Automotive channel offers information on the purchase, maintenance and
customization of autos, motorcycles, and trucks. More than half (55.9%) of channel
visitors say they use the Internet to research automobile models, 34.0% say they
research auto parts online and 19.8% say they purchase auto parts online. More than
one-third (36.8%) of channel visitors plan on purchasing/leasing a new or used vehicle
in the next six months.
9 The Burst Health & Fitness channel provides information on keeping the body looking
and feeling good with guides on exercise, nutrition, and fashion. More than half
(54.4%) of channel visitors have households with three or more individuals in their
household. More than half (55.9%) of channel visitors say they shop online.
Online Insights is a monthly publication that highlights emerging trends in online usage and
purchasing patterns. Learn about the latest online usage trends and purchase patterns with
your free subscription to Online Insights.