Urban vs Rural Shopping Habits
Everybody knows that population living in rural areas live a different lifestyle and have different needs than their urban counterparts. But what do advertisers need to know when it comes time to evaluate the impact those differences could have on a media plan?
Newspapers effectively reach Canadians with eight in ten reading in print or online each week. Media planners and advertisers generally target urban Canadians with their newspaper buys and overlook an opportunity: rural Canadians.
Presented below are results from a study undertaken by Newspapers Canada › to understand the differences between rural and urban markets. Rural markets were defined as those with populations of 10,000 and under. Urban markets were those with populations of over 100,000.
Rural Canada is home to a substantial seven million people. These rural neighborhoods in Canada are attractive markets that newspapers and their sites effectively reach. This study highlights the power of Canada’s newspapers to reach a market that, in some cases, cannot be reached successfully with any other media.
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Spending
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- Rural Canadians spending patterns are somewhat different than urban Canadians. Rural Canadians spend more than urban Canadians on some products and services (Statistics Canada, 2009). And they spend about the same as urban Canadians on other items.
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Rural Canadians spend more
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Average Annual Expenditure
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Rural
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Urban
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Diff.
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Recreational vehicles purchase and servicing
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$1,291
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$509
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+154%
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Financial services
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$506
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$437
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+16%
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Health care
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$2,319
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$2,036
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+14%
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Transportation
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$11,101
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$9,874
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+12%
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Rural Canadians spend the same
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Average Annual Expenditure
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Rural
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Urban
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Diff.
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Household Operation
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$3,444
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$3,485
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-1%
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Food
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$7,206
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$7,404
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-3%
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Pet expenses
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$848
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$887
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-4%
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Gasoline and other fuels
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$161
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$155
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+4%
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Travel time to stores
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- To get to most retail outlets, rural residents are required to travel longer than their urban counterparts.
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Rural Canadians travel longer to:
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Average Time Taken to Get to Store
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Rural
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Urban
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Car Dealership
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46 min. (77km)
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28 min. (23 km)
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Electronics Store
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41 min. (68 km)
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23 min. (19 km)
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Shoe Store
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50 min. (83 km)
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25 min. (21 km)
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National Department Store
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57 min. (95 km)
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26 min. (22 km)
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Local Department Store
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34 min. (57 km)
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24 min. (20 km)
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Clothing Store/Boutique
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49 min (82 km)
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25 min. (21 km)
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Supermarket
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30 min. (50km)
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20 min. (17 km)
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Home Improvement/Hardware Store
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29 min (48 km)
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21 min. (18 km)
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Discount Store
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47 min. (78 km)
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26 min. (22 km)
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Visit stores more often
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- Rural Canadians have different needs and lifestyles than those in urban centres. Based on this, rural Canadians visit some store types more frequently than do those in urban areas. And other store types are visited equally often by people in rural and urban areas.
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| Rural Canadians visit more |
Average Numbers of Visits
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Visited 3+ Times in Period
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Rural
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Urban
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Rural
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Urban
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| Car Dealership - excl. regular service (in a year) |
1.1
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0.8
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13%
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7%
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| Local Department Store (in 3 months) |
2.5
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2.2
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48%
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38%
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| Local Grocer (in one month) |
2.9
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2.1
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56%
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37%
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Home Improvement/Hardware Store (in one month)
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1.5
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1.1
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18%
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8%
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Discount Stores (in a month)
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2.1
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1.9
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33%
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28%
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Average Numbers of Visits
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Visited 3+ Times in Period
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Rural
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Urban
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Rural
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Urban
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Electronics Store (in 3 months)
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1.8
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1.7
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26%
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22%
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Shoe Store (in 3 months)
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1.3
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1.4
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14%
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15%
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National Department Store
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1.9
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2.1
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30%
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34%
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Clothing Store/Boutique (in 3 months)
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1.8
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1.8
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27%
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28%
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Drug Store/Pharmacy (in one month)
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2.5
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2.6
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42%
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45%
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Supermarket (in one month)
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3.7
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3.8
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80%
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81%
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Bank/Financial Institution (in one month)
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2.3
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2.3
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37%
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39%
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| Clothing and Footwear |
- For this category, all Canadians refer to newspapers far more than other media! With no differences between urban and rural.
- 97% of Canadians shop for clothing in-store. In rural areas, a smaller group, 25% of the population, have shopped by catalogue. This is twice as many as in urban regions. Given it takes about double the time to travel to these retail stores in rural areas, understandably catalogue shopping is stronger.
- Advertisers have the opportunity to reach rural clothing and footwear buyers effectively using newspaper advertising to drive them in-store. But in the ad, the convenience of their catalogue (either online or printed) should be highlighted to rural consumers (if one is available).
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Cars and Trucks
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- Canadians source information on cars and trucks from newspapers and other non-newspaper websites almost equally and use TV to a lesser extent.
- Those in urban centres have greater access to a variety of transport options. Rural Canadians visit car dealerships more often than urban Canadians – as they likely need their own method of transportation.
- And as such, rural Canadians spend more annually on transportation and recreational vehicles. Advertisers have the opportunity to use newspapers to effectively reach this desirable, rural
buying audience.
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Getting Started
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