Get Paper Information On Your Site! Survey Says Buyers Are Hungry For Online Resources

Lexington, Kentucky, USA - July 3, 2001 - WhatTheyThink.com, the leading on-line community and research firm in the graphic arts industry, surveyed print buyers about resources they want on their print vendor’s web site. This survey took place with 269 print buyers from a variety of industry segments located throughout the United States.

The buyers were asked:

Which of the following resources would you USE if your primary print vendors were to offer them on their web site? Select all that apply:

Industry Glossary
Industry News
Articles About the Process of Print
Knowledge Center, Learning Area
Online Expert Advice
Paper Information
Industry Links
Industry Search Engine

Overall, paper information is the most requested data of print buyers with 60% saying they would use this feature if available at the printer’s web site. Knowledge and learning followed with 44% and online expert advice was a close third garnering a 41% rating. Least popular overall was the industry search engine and glossary with only 21% saying those were desirable features.

When cross tabulated by annual print budget, the findings indicate several variations. 67% of buyers spending over $500,000 on print want a knowledge or learning center. This compares with only 35% of buyers spending under $50,000 each year on print. Paper information remained popular regardless of the print buyer’s budget with a majority in each group saying it was desirable. The charts below indicate that the more a buyer spends, the more resources they would utilize.

BUYERS SPENDING UNDER $50,000 Annually




BUYERS SPENDING Between $50,000 and $500,000 Annually