The Internet Now A Driving Force For Helping
Brides- And Grooms-To-Be
PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, July 12,
2000 – According to leading marketing information provider The
NPD Group, Inc., 48% of engaged-to-be married couples who have Web
access are using the Internet to gather information to help plan
their wedding. This is almost half of the 8% of respondents who are
currently engaged to be married.
Out of the 48% of the soon-to-be
married couples using the Internet for wedding planning purposes,
34% are engaged females, while the remaining 14% are engaged males.
However, the gender split for the 52% who are not using the Internet
for wedding research is more evenly distributed with 28% of the
engaged females and 24% of the engaged males indicating that they
have not yet logged on to get wedding information.
"The report confirms the Internet’s
increasing role in helping engaged couples plan their wedding. With
today’s busy lifestyles, the Web has become a convenient way to get
the information they need to make their weddings a success,"
commented NPD New Media Vice President Carol Neithercut.
WeddingChannel.com was the top site
most often selected by respondents (37%) to help plan their wedding.
Other top selections were the TheKnot.com (35%), ModernBride.com
(34%), and WeddingNetwork.com (23%).
Top Sites Visited to
Help Plan for Wedding*
|
SITES |
% of Respondents
Visiting |
|
WeddingChannel.com |
37% |
|
TheKnot.com |
35% |
|
ModernBride.com |
34% |
|
WeddingNetwork.com |
23% |
While most sites are fairly homogenous
in their visitor demographics, the age profile on a few of the sites
stands out from the rest. ElegantBride.com and ModernBride.com
attract the younger population. Forty-two percent of survey
participants who visited ElegantBride.com were under age 25; 45% of
ModernBride.com visitors were under 25. This compares to a 33%
average for visitors under 25 on all wedding sites combined. Another
site, 4Wedding.com, holds the distinction of attracting older
married-to-be to their site. Almost 30% of their visitors were age
35+, while the other sites mentioned only averaged 17% of their
visitors in that age category.
Men and women under the age of 35 are
far more likely to turn to the Web for help with their wedding
planning. Of those engaged to be married, 63% are under the age of
34, which represents 75% of those who are planning their wedding
online. In the over age 45 group, 17% are currently engaged; yet
only 8% of them have done any online research for their upcoming
wedding. This indicates that the older population is using more
traditional mediums for wedding research, or perhaps is doing less
research for their wedding in general.
When asked whether engaged couples
planned to register for their wedding gifts online, respondents were
equally divided. Half indicated they either planned to or already
have, while the remaining 50% indicated they do not plan on
registering online. Of the 50% in the affirmative, 41% are planning
to register, while only 9% have actually registered online for their
gifts.
About the Study
The NPD data presented were compiled
from 66,641 surveys completed and submitted in April 2000 by members
of NPD’s Online Panel, individuals prerecruited to participate in
surveys.
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