New research carried out by Media Central for Communicorp Media shows that Irish people are listening to more radio during the Covid-19 outbreak and that engagement levels with radio have increased significantly.
The research received over 6,000 responses over a 48hr period on the March 24th and 25th and focused on Communicorp’s stations including Today FM, Newstalk. Dublin’s 98FM, Spin1038 and Spin South West.
According to the research, Communicorp Media stations have seen a significant growth in listenership with reach growing by 34% while people are listening for 45% longer. In addition, the research shows that app downloads for Communicorp apps have increased by 47% while there has been a 54% increase in the number of listeners accessing their stations via a smart speaker.
According to the Media Central research, a majority (87%) continue to grocery shop instore, while shopping online has grown amongst older consumers (55+) with 60% of all consumers are saying that the current situation will
likely see them change their shopping habits.
The research also shows that many consumers are reviewing their finances and providers in mobile (11%), insurance (10%) and gas electricity (9%), about 1 in 10 is actively considering switching supplier at the moment. This is higher amongst those aged between 35 and 54.
Despite charities facing a difficult period at the moment, 73% of people surveyed are still open to charity donations.
“Right now, the markets we work in are shifting on a daily basis, consumer behaviours and habits are changing dramatically. We want to utilise the engagement and trust which radio has with consumers and harness the immediate responses we receive to provide some insight and hopefully direction for agencies and brand,” says Gavin Deans, managing director of Media Central.
“With 6,335 respondents over a 48-hour period, this research was carried out prior to the Government announcement on Friday evening last (27th March). The business areas that we focused on are retail (both grocery and online retail) with a further focus on personal finance such as utilities, mobile, insurance and the charity sector. In the coming weeks, we will be conducting follow up research, using this research debrief as our starting base to track the changes going forward,” he says.
A full copy of the research is available to download HERE
