Which news source do consumers refer to before making a big purchase?

Data from YouGov Global Profiles suggests that people are likely to take into account news about finance and the economy before making big purchases. But where do they source their news from?

Habits differ across four markets – but in all (UK, the US, APAC, and MENA) more than half of consumers are likely to watch finance and economic news on television - making this a good place for marketers of big-ticket items to make a good impression.

In Britain, two in five consumers access a newspaper’s website or listen to the news on the radio, making these sources the second most-preferred choice. American (36% and 32%) and APAC (39% and 23%) consumers are less likely to lean on these mediums. While Britons are more likely to read a printed copy of a newspaper (35%), Americans prefer accessing websites not associated with a newspaper (30%) or listening to podcasts (17%) before making a big purchase compared to the rest of the markets.

In APAC, more than half of consumers refer to social media websites (57%) or news apps on mobile or tablet devices (51%) before making big purchases. Nearly two in five watch or read a newspaper’s website, while a third prefer reading a printed newspaper copy. Across four markets, APAC consumers are more likely to read an online magazine (20%), access news from a magazine app (28%) or refer to blogs not associated with major media organizations (13%).

Three in five MENA consumers who consider news about finance and the economy before making big purchases are most likely to refer to social media websites for news. More than two in five prefer consuming news from a newspaper’s website, while nearly a third listen to the radio. MENA consumers are most likely to read email newsletters, or RSS feeds for information before making big purchases.

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Methodology

YouGov Global Profiles is a globally consistent audience dataset with 1000+ questions across 43 markets. The data is based on continuously collected data from adults aged 16+ in China and 18+ in other markets. The sample sizes for YouGov Global Profiles will fluctuate over time, however the minimum sample size is always c.1000. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from India and UAE, which use urban representative samples, and China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, which use online representative samples. Learn more about Global Profiles.