A U.S. Department of Commerce survey has found that more than half the U.S. population is now connected to the Internet. In addition, 39 percent of Internet users are making purchases online.
The study was based on U.S. Census Bureau statistics and included data gathered from more than 137,000 people. It found that in September, 143 million U.S. residents -- about 54 percent of the population -- were using the Internet, up from 117 million in August 2000. Of those users, 55.8 million bought goods or services online.
And online shopping will continue to grow as consumers get more comfortable with the Internet, according to GartnerG2 analyst David Schehr.
"Once somebody's online, it typically seems to take them a year-and-a-half to two years to make the move to buy online," Schehr told the E-Commerce Times. "It's still not something that people do regularly -- maybe once or twice a quarter, on average."
Who's Shopping
According to the study, online shopping is especially popular among Web users age 25 to 44. More than half -- 53 percent -- of 25- to 34-year-olds use the Internet to make purchases, and 51.2 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds are Web buyers.
Another unsurprising finding was that those who have more spend more. Among individuals making more than US$75,000 a year, 49.1 percent made purchases online, compared with just 26.1 percent of those with an annual income of less than $15,000.
But lower-income households are adopting the Internet more quickly than their richer counterparts, the study found. Between December 1998 and September 2001, Internet use by individuals making less than $15,000 grew 25 percent annually. Web use by those in the highest income group increased just 11 percent.
Show Me the Money
In addition to online shopping, Web banking is on the rise. In September, 21 percent of the total U.S. population -- not just Web users -- made online purchases, and 8.1 percent banked online, up from 14 percent combined in the previous study.
Men were more willing to trust the Web for money matters than women were -- 12.6 of male Internet users traded online, and 19.3 percent banked on the Web. Just 5.3 percent of wired women traded, and 16.5 percent banked.
Other Online Activities
The most popular use of the Internet was sending and receiving e-mail. Eighty-four percent of U.S. Web users -- 45.2 percent of the total population -- used it for that purpose.
Looking up information on products, playing games and checking news, weather and sports all were more popular Internet activities than making online purchases. But buying online beat out online banking and job searches.
Growth Expected
"To the extent that product/service purchases, online trading and online banking represent consumers engaged in e-commerce, that activity is fairly strong and growing," the report said.
According to GartnerG2's research, revenue from online product sales -- not including financial services or travel -- is up to about $30 billion to $40 billion annually.
In 2001, revenue from online shopping grew 40 percent over 2000 revenue, and Schehr said he expects to see a similar or slightly higher increase in 2002.
"As the economy strengthens, online buying will strengthen,"
he noted.
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