Shopper & Ad Effectiveness Study
The sales engine of the research library. A national study of how Americans shop locally, how newspaper advertising drives their decisions, and the consumer data behind 70 ready-made category sales sheets your team can put in front of advertisers this week.
An engaged, shopping-ready audience that notices the ads
85% of American adults read local print or digital newspapers every month — and they don't just tolerate the advertising. They agree, in overwhelming numbers, that the newspaper is useful, reliable, and part of how they shop.
Newspaper advertising is important — and it moves shoppers
83% of American adults say newspaper advertising is important. Among readers who consider it important, 88% read the ads — because the ads deliver: valuable information (44%), purchase decisions (44%), and products they're more likely to consider (42%). And reading leads directly to action.
Reliable, useful, relevant — newspaper ads in a category of their own
Asked which local media's advertising is most reliable, Americans choose local newspapers decisively. The contrast with social media — which leads only in "annoying" and "irritating" — is the strongest sales argument in the study.
Newspaper readers are in the market — for nearly everything
The study measured purchase intent across the categories that drive local advertising. The numbers below are American adults buying or planning to buy — and in every single category, newspaper readers index higher, with community weekly readers highest of all. This is the data behind the 70 sales sheets.
Sales-Boosting Data for 70 Retail Categories
Inside the Resource Center you'll find the results of the 2024 Ad Effectiveness Study broken into 70 retail categories covering nearly all local advertisers. Each category has its own customized sales sheet — built to equip advertising managers and sales executives with the tools they need to close deals and strengthen their local market presence.
Whether you're targeting grocery shoppers, automotive aftermarket, medical, or home improvement businesses, this research delivers detailed insights tailored to nearly every local advertiser in your market.
Research from America's Newspapers Foundation
The Foundation invests in national, independently conducted research so local newspapers have the data to make their case — in the boardroom, on the sales call, and in the statehouse. The Shopper & Ad Effectiveness Study is part of that ongoing commitment.
Survey Methodology
The America's Newspapers Shopper Study was conducted online by independent research firm Coda Ventures, with sample provided by Quest Mindshare. Respondents were screened by zip code and age, with quotas for gender and education set to match the U.S. population profile across nine census regions.
Data were weighted and projected to the total U.S. population using the latest ESRI census estimates. The study was designed so its findings could power the category sales sheets available to members in the Resource Center.