SURVEY ASKS: WHAT ATTRACTS SHOPPERS?

IRA P. SCHNEIDERMAN

NEW YORK -- It's an advertiser's enigma: how to zap-proof TV ads. What makes a viewer stay tuned to a commercial instead of flipping to another channel? And what gets shoppers to go into a store?

A recent survey asked consumers what attracts their attention most, and how they respond to certain elements used in promotion. The national telephone survey was conducted May 14-18 by International Communications Research, a market research firm in Media, Pa. It polled 249 women in households with incomes over $25,000. The sample provides a nationally representative and projectable estimate of 48 million women 18 or older. The average annual household income among respondents was $56,790, the median age, 42. The survey was intended to be general and didn't focus particularly on food retailing.

The top attention-getter for TV spots, according to the survey, is music. Apparently, while the eyes might wander from the tube, the ears do not. Music was cited by 36% of respondents as best capturing their attention.

In second place was the product being advertised, selected by 20 % of those polled.

As might be expected, music was rated highly by the youngest segment, ages 18 to 34, where 43% chose it. But the group that likes music the most is women 45 to 54 years old, with 47% of this group citing music as the way to draw their attention to store ads.

Music was also favored by upscale income groups -- 37% by those from households over $50,000 annually and 46% by those from households with incomes from $40,000 to $49,999.

Despite the contribution of creative computer images, only 12% of respondents indicated that TV graphics were most likely to get their attention when watching store commercials. Further, only 11% said the word "sale" would attract their attention to store commercials.

Eight percent of those interviewed said the "mood" of the TV commercial is what attracts them to a store's commercial.

And there are some people for whom nothing will keep their fingers off the remote -- 21% of respondents said they zap through commercials, and that no element holds their attention.

While the survey indicated that the word "sale" was not as powerful as music in a TV ad, the overall power of a sale is still a motivating factor with many women. When asked what is most likely to draw the consumer to a store, the top response, not surprisingly, is a sale. A third of respondents indicated sales bring them to stores. This was pretty much the case across all age and income groups. The attraction of saving money was strongest among 45-to-54-year-olds (38%) and among those from households with incomes between $40,000 and $49,999 (40%).

Moreover, respondents indicated that promotional literature they receive doesn't all end up in the trash. An ad, catalog or other literature sent through the mail ranked second, with 20% of the votes, as the method most likely to bring consumers into the store.