Internet Users Favourite Websites – Europe Wide Survey 2012
Paris, February 16th 2012 – NetObserver®, the largest study of European internet users of its kind, conducted by Harris Interactive, reveals the nation’s favourite websites across 9 categories, as voted by UK internet users.
The NetObserver® study began in 1998, and is conducted online twice a year. It provides over 1,000 partner websites with a better understanding of user’s online behaviours and attitudes, offline behaviour and visitor satisfaction and engagement. This is just the second time the study has questioned internet users on their favourite sites, and covers the following categories: clothes, shoes and accessories retailers; cultural retailers; family; IT/High‐tech; motoring; multimedia retailers; music; travel‐tourism; and women’s interest.
The survey indicates the degree of customer satisfaction and loyalty expressed by an online community of over 300K respondents per year.
Motoring Sites
The highest rated Motoring website was autotrader.co.uk (29%) followed by the BBC’s topgear.com (11%).
Women’s Interests
The Daily Mail’s Femail section (7.3%) manages to just surpass Goodhousekeeping.co.uk (6.5%) for the favourite website in the Women’s interest category.
Family Sites
The Netmums.com community recently acquired by the group Aufeminin.com comes out on top as the favourite within the family category, whilst the next four, including Babycentre.co.uk, Mumsnet.com, bounty.com and netdoctor.co.uk share a close percentage of the votes between 8% and 9%.
IT Sites
The clear leader in the IT category is Apple.com taking almost 20%, a large percentage above its rival Microsoft.com with almost 6%. Other sites making an appearance are the online retailers of technical products such as PC World (6.8%). The rest of the list is compiled by online tech guides such as Cnet.com (7.1%) and Download.com (2.7%), who both belong to CBS Interactive. T3.com (4.3%) and Techradar.com (2.8%) feature too, both belonging to Future PLC.
Music Sites
Due to the usage of the leading video sharing platform, Youtube comes out as the clear leader for the music category with 29.2% of the votes. Itunes (16.6%) comes second, far above the free Swedish music provider Spotify.com (8.3%), which is clearly benefiting from its recent integration within the Social Network giant Facebook. The BBC’s music section (5.6%) appears at number 4 and Global Radio has a number of individual radio stations who feature with Heart (3%), Capital FM (2.4%) and Classic FM (1.8%).
Retailer Sites
Ebay (11.8%) and Amazon (11.3%) take the lead for the clothes, shoes and accessories retailer category. Whilst some of the high street shop’s online counterparts make up the rest of the top 10. The pure player Asos.com (8.1%) is ahead of these with department stores Next.co.uk (7.5%) and Marksandspencer.com (6.2%) also proving popular.
Cultural Sites
The cultural retailers’ category shows Amazon.co.uk as the clear favourite with over 60% of the total votes. Multi‐specialists Play.com (7.4%) and Ebay.co.uk (6%) are popular whilst there are also places for more specialised product retailers such as iTunes (2.9%), Ticketmaster.co.uk (2.4%), Lovefilm.com (1.2%) orSpotify.com (1%). High street shops such as Waterstones.co.uk (3.3%) and HMV.com (2.9%) also make an appearance in the Top 5.
Multimedia Sites
The multimedia retailers’ category is once again dominated by Amazon.co.uk gathering 43.2% of the votes. As for cultural products, main competition is provided by EBay.co.uk (12.4%) and Play.com (8.5%). The rest are the major UK electrical high street retailers such as Argos.co.uk (5.1%) and John Lewis (3.2%). Dixons Retail Group features twice with Currys.co.uk (2.6%) and PCWorld.co.uk (2.1%). Apple (1.8%) also makes an appearance; the only one to sell a specific brand.
Travel & Tourism Sites
The clear favourite for the travel and tourism category is Tripadvisor.co.uk (18%), which allows users to leave their own comments and reviews about products. Expedia.co.uk (7%) and Lastminute.com (6.8%) prove popular while price comparison website Travelsupermarket.com also features.
A Shift in support for the Tories Post-Budget 2012
YouGov’s first post-Budget poll for the Sun finds that Wednesday’s announcements have dented Conservative support; they are now on 34%. They have never been lower since the 2010 election, though they have touched this number on a few occasions.
In contrast, Labour, on 42%, is broadly where it has been since early March. If YouGov figures are exactly right, then the new ex-Tory voters have moved to minor parties such as UKIP.
As ever, we should be wary of small changes in a single poll. The fluctuations could be the result of sampling variation. In the next few days we shall be able to see whether the Tory decline is a blip or a trend. However, the questions YouGov asked about the Budget are consistent with the view that the Tories have suffered without Labour benefiting:
◦A year ago, 34% thought George Osborne was doing a good job as Chancellor, while 40% thought he was doing a bad job, a net score of minus 6. After this week’s Budget, his rating is: good 28%, bad 50%, net score minus 22
◦Last year, 44% though the Budget was fair, while 31% disagreed. This year’s figures are 32-48 – a big shift that should worry ministers
◦37% think the decisions that the Government has taken since 2010 have made Britain’s economy weaker; just 24% think they have made it stronger
◦The “granny tax” is deeply unpopular. 64% oppose the decision to phase it out; among the over 60s the people who turn out to vote in greatest numbers are general elections – the figure rises to 79%
◦As many as 56% think the ‘richest people in Britain’ will pay less tax as a result of this week’s Budget; only 21% share the Government’s view that they will pay more
However…
◦When YouGov asked people which party they trusted most to tackle Britain’s deficit, the Tories are down four points since last year, from 38% to 34%, but Labour remains stuck on 24%
◦On who would make the best Chancellor, George Osborne retains the six point lead over Ed Balls he established after last November’s Autumn statement
◦When YouGov tested one of Labour’s frequent charges that the Prime Minister is out of touch, the Poll found that both Cameron and Ed Miliband scored equally badly – just 21%, while Nick Clegg scores 11%. By far the biggest number, 38% says ‘none of them’. This reinforces what YouGov have found in other surveys: that public disenchantment these days tends to be with politicians as a whole, not just with specific parties or their leaders
Most Comprehensive Survey So Far Regarding the Health and Social Care Bill
A survey was launched on 5 March to 25,417 fellows and members of the Royal College of Physicians in which they were asked their views of the Health and Social Care Bill and wider health issues. 35% (8,878) responded to the survey, which ran from 5 March to 15 March. The survey took place during the final stages of the Bill in the House of Lords and was in response to a request for an Extraordinary General Meeting called by 20 fellows of the RCP and attended by 189 fellows.
On the question of respondents’ personal view of the Bill;
- 6% (525) ‘Accept’ the Bill,
- 69% (6,092) opted to ‘Reject’ the Bill as it stood,
- 22% (1,971) ‘Neither completely accept, nor completely reject’ the Bill and
- 3% (290) declined to give an opinion.
However, fellows and members were also asked a supplementary question on how they wished the RCP to proceed;
- 46% (4,099) urged the RCP to ‘Continue to engage critically on further improving the Bill’,
- 49% (4,386) wished the RCP to ‘Seek withdrawal of the Bill’ and
- 4% (393) declined to give an opinion.
These results are interesting in that they represent the best response rate received to date for a survey conducted amongst the medical professions regarding the Health and Social Care Bill. Both online and paper based self-completion questionnaires were utilized, all moderated by an independent market research company.
Although the survey still reported a large percentage in favour of withdrawal of the Bill (49%) this is significantly less than the number recorded by the RCGP and BMJ online polls, both of which scored more than 90 per cent in favour of calling for withdrawal of the Bill.
The survey was undertaken by Electoral Reform Services (ERS) who securely and independently conducted and validated the survey which ran from 5 March to noon on 15 March. 25,417 fellows and members were surveyed by post and by e-mail (where we had an e-mail address). They were able to respond by post or by a secure internet site.
Sunday’s new Sun gets a warm reception from readers
There were 231 days between the closure of the News of the World (NOTW) and the launch of the Sunday edition of The Sun. With reports of sales figures for the first edition hitting 3.22m copies, it appears that Rupert Murdoch has timed the move well. Nevertheless, it is too early to say what the settle-down sales figure will be or indeed how readership numbers will fare against the 7.35m NOTW reported in its last set of NRS data (Jul10-Jun11).
But was the launch of the Sunday edition of a title that’s been around for 43 years a good idea or not? Rupert Murdoch clearly thought so, but what about the nation as a whole?
Core readers seem satisfied
An Ipsos MORI poll found that nearly a quarter (22%) of the British population felt that the launch of the Sunday edition of The Sun was a good idea.
It may not be surprising to note that those who were warm to the idea were already readers of News International red-tops. Around three in five (58%) of The Sun readers of Monday to Saturday copies were in favour, as were two-thirds (66%) of former regular readers of NOTW; for the latter, the figure fell from 74% prior to the launch to 63% after the launch, which may suggest that expectations of some former NOTW readers were not met. By comparison, overall seven in ten (69%) readers of the new Sunday edition of The Sun also thought the launch was a good idea.
So is it all good news?
A third of the population (32%) thought it was not a good idea. This figure is consistent both pre and post launch. A relatively small proportion among The Sun (13%) or former NOTW readers (12%) were not enamoured with the move. Furthermore, only one in ten (9%) of those who actually read the new Sunday issue were also not in favour of the launch. With early reports of The Sun’s second week Sunday sales reducing by around 500,000 copies
(-17%) even with the maintained discounted 50p cover price, there were perhaps a number of curious newsagent visitors or simply souvenir hunters on the 26th February.
Will The Sun keep shining?
Another interesting figure is the 46% of adults who did not have an opinion on the matter at all. In times of declining newspaper circulation and readership numbers, the print advertising industry would certainly welcome a boost. The launch of this Sunday edition has brought a ray of sunshine for now, however, the forecast suggests there may still be clouds ahead.
Director at Ipsos MediaCT, John Carroll, said:
“I think the results of this poll tell us that, on the whole, Sun readers want a Sunday edition. The new paper is clearly not a News of the World clone, which has possibly put off a relatively small number of those readers, but not the majority. There is however a wider issue at stake with the current health of the press advertising industry which these results also touch on. While this launch is a tonic for the press and News International, I feel that the real industry focus for the future lies more with distributing and monetising digital content to prop up the underlying ad revenue decline.”
Technical note
Ipsos MORI conducted a representative sample of 1,992 face to face, in-home interviews with adults aged 15+ between 24th February and 1st March 2012 in 143 sampling points across Great Britain. Data have been weighted to the known profile of the population. Two versions of the question were asked on either side of the launch date for the new title: The Sun newspaper launched a new Sunday edition last weekend. Do you think the launch of this Sunday paper is/was a good idea or a bad idea? Very Good / Fairly Good / Not very good / Not at all good / No opinion.
Regular readers of a publication are defined as those who read at least 3 out of every 4 issues.
Brits Put Money Ahead of Fair Play in Olympics Survey
Britons associate the Olympic Games with money ahead of traditional virtues such as fair play, effort, respect and excellence, according to research carried out by SMG Insight/YouGov.
35 per cent of Brits said they associated the Games with ‘money’, putting it second behind ‘achievement’ in a ranking of key statements associated with the Olympic brand.
The findings indicate the British are out of line with people in other major markets. In Germany, France and the United States, ‘money’ falls outside the top five statements.
Overall the research reveals that the sentiments or key statements most closely associated with the Olympic Games, amongst UK, US, French and German respondents, are ‘excellence’ (46%), ‘achievement’ (44%), ‘discipline’ (43%) and ‘effort’ (39%).
The study, which involved more than 8,000 respondents, was conducted in February, and explored people’s perceptions of the Olympic Games by looking at what sentiments/key statements are most associated with the Games. Respondents from the UK, the USA, France and Germany were asked which five statements, out of a list of 20, they most closely associated with the Olympic Games.
Cynicism towards the Olympics is shared equally amongst British respondents of all ages. However, those aged 25 and over are more likely than those aged 18-24 to mention drugs (15% versus 8%) and politics (24 % versus 15%) as statements associated with the Games
Total sample size was 2069 UK adults, 1025 US adults, 2021 French adults and 1074 German adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th and 16th February 2012. The survey was carried out online.
What is “Britishness”?
A new Ipsos MORI poll of British adults for Channel 4 reveals that two in five people (38%) cannot correctly say what date St George’s Day is celebrated in England, while 62% answered correctly. The survey commissioned by Channel 4 to coincide with a new documentary series exploring Britishness, “Make Bradford British”, asked three questions based on those in the Life in the UK test (required for settlement in the UK and British citizenship). Half (49%) of Britons aged 18-34 got it right while around two-thirds of those aged 35+ were correct.
Only 20% knew how many elected members the UK has in the European Parliament. And 28% correctly answered that two-thirds of people in the UK own their own homes. Only 30% answered two or more questions correctly (just 4% got all three right). Half (48%) answered one question correctly and around a quarter (23%) failed to answer any questions correctly.
The Ipsos MORI poll for Channel 4 also found that seven in ten Britons (70%) think there are too many immigrants, although less than half (43%) say they would rather live in an area where most people are from the same ethnic background as them. The poll reveals a divided public with around half (49%) saying immigration increases crime rates in Britain, while 47% disagree. This represents a shift in opinion from four years ago when, in 2008, 53% agreed that immigration increases crimes rates in Britain and only 33% disagreed.
Britons mix more frequently with people of a different generation than of a different ethnic background, sexuality or religious belief. Four in ten (41%) mix socially with people of a different generation on a daily basis, three in ten (29%) do the same with people from a different ethnic background. Younger Britons (aged 15-34) are more likely than those aged 35+ to mix daily with people that are different to them in sexuality, age, religious belief or ethnic background.
Six in ten Britons (59%) feel the biggest barrier to being British is ‘not speaking English’ – far ahead of anything else. Being born outside the UK (26%) and not mixing with other groups (25%) are the other most commonly named barriers. One in ten people (9%) feel that being from an ethnic minority stops people being fully British, a similar proportion (11%) feel that having foreign born parents is a barrier to being British.
The Channel 4/Ipsos MORI poll shows that over half of Britons (54%) say they are sometimes confused about which words are acceptable to use when describing people from ethnic minorities.
Ipsos MORI interviewed a nationally representative quota sample of 998 adults aged 15 and over across the Great Britain, interviews were conducted face-to-face between 27 January – 5 February 2012. Results have been weighted to the known GB adult population profile.
Milo – A Research Assistant – Paid in Bonios!
Meet Milo, the Wildwood Research Jack Russell Terrier.
Whilst an on-going diary of the comings and goings of a small dog has precious little to do with the world of surveys and opinion polls I thought it might still be quite interesting to share in this knowledge.
So here he is.
Over 1 year old but still “a puppy” in his approach to food, chew-toys, other dogs and most people he meets. We like to think he’s got a bit of attitude!
Britons’ Views for 2012
BRITONS are optimistic about the future, despite the economic downturn.
More than one in three people have told researchers they think their ‘situation will continue to be good’ in 2012.
And almost as many said even if their circumstances took a turn for the worse, it would only be temporary, according to a Harris Interactive poll for Metro.
The region most content with their prospects was the south-west – with half saying life would be rosy this year– while the Scots were the gloomiest.
But with new figures next week expected to show the economy once again contracting, Britons were less sanguine about the future in general.
Nearly half said they were ‘ uncertain’ while a third also reported feeling anxious, although 40 per cent of people insisted they were hopeful. Those aged between 45 and 54 were the most uncertain.
Despite record youth unemployment and the raising of tuition fees for undergraduates from this autumn, young people aged between 16 and 24 were easily the most hopeful.
When people were asked what they intend to do this year, the most popular answer was ‘to go on holiday’, chosen by almost half of respondents.
Harris Interactive conducted the poll online among 1,054 adults aged 16 and over in Britain
