Online Daily Newspaper Classifieds Increasing in Popularity

In the seven years that NADbank has been measuring online daily newspaper classified ads, the number of adults reading those ads has steadily grown.

Over 4 million adults read a daily newspaper online classified ad in 2007 compared to only 2 million adults in 2001; an increase of 69%. This increase is even larger, 115%, for those adults who read a newspaper online classified ad in the past week.

The profile of daily newspaper online classified ad readers has changed over the years.

In 2001, when more males than females were using the Internet, males were more likely than females to be accessing classifieds online. Today (2007) readership mirrors the population with 49% male readers and 51% female readers. Household incomes and education levels of daily newspaper online classified readers in 2007 are higher than in 2001. Overall, the readers are younger than the general population. The market for online classifieds in daily newspapers is growing and reaching buyers that are most desired by advertisers.

While the number of adults who read a newspaper online classified ad and took action on that ad doubled in seven years, the percent of adults reading then taking action remained unchanged at 64%.