Prospectiv Survey Reveals Consumers Seeking More Online Resources for Personal Finance Information
Thursday, 23 March 2006
Consumers want more access to online information and resources to help them better manage their personal finances, especially during tax season when the majority of those polled said they evaluate their overall financial health. These are the results of a recent Consumer Preference Index (CPI) poll conducted by Prospectiv, a provider of online customer acquisition solutions to leading consumer brands and the owner/ operator of the online properties Eversave.com, and Healthier.com and TheKnowledgeStop.com.
Respondents said currently their top three resources for personal finance information are financial advisors/accountants (26 percent), family and friends (23 percent) and online resources, including Web sites, e-mail (20 percent).
When asked their preferences for accessing personal finance information in the future, online resources took the lead, jumping to 38 percent.
Financial advisors/accountants remained at 26 percent and family and friends dropped to 9 percent.
In addition, 63 percent of consumers polled would be very likely or likely to take advantage of online resources such as personal finance-focused websites and e-newsletters tailored to their specific interests.
"These survey results are yet another proof point that more consumers are first looking to the Internet to research and evaluate their personal finance options," said Jere Doyle, Prospectiv's CEO. "Consumers are also eager for more information tailored to their specific interests, which provides a great opportunity for marketers of personal finance products and services to reach out to interested consumers and provide them with the information they need, either through an e-newsletter or websites focused on specific personal finance issues."
The survey also revealed that consumers' biggest concern is credit card debt and secondly, savings and investments. And, although the majority of the 70 percent who received a tax refund last year used it for personal spending - this year, most consumers (47 percent) plan to allocate their refund money to savings accounts and credit card payments.
Prospectiv conducted the 2006 Personal Finance survey online, gathering responses from over 200 consumers across the United States. The survey was conducted from February 27 through March 2, 2006.