A new report by eMarketer, supported by data from BIGresearch shows that two "media consumption clusters" lead the way in online comparative shopping - "Independents" with 37% and the "Opportunity Minded" with 19%.  So what are these two groups?

Independents are described as average search (Internet) media influence and low (traditional - TV, newspapers) media consumption.

Opportunity Minded are described as high promotional influence (special sales, promotions) average to low (traditional) media consumption.

The top online comparison shopping categories for both groups are Travel followed by Medical, Clothing, Autos, Real estate and Financial services.

According to Joe Pilotta, VP of research for BIGresearch, the Independents are best reached through online media campaigns, which makes sense as they are most likely to shop online. So, it seems that if you are looking to achieve the highest ROI and are targeting online consumers, reaching the Independents with online advertising and targeting the Opportunity Minded with special online promotions would be the way to go.

Furthermore, it would seem that if you are in the travel industry, turning to an online campaign would be a wise choice - both the Independent and Opportunity Minded consumer (accounting for 56% of online comparison shoppers) are heavily using the Internet to look for and buy your services.