Nearly one in three Internet users engage in e-commerce

[August 12th 1999]

The floodgates of e-commerce are officially open, with nearly one out of every three (31 percent) Internet users making online purchases, according to a study conducted by CDB Research & Consulting Inc. While consumers are using e-commerce to order everything from laxatives to travel bargains, the most common purchases are inexpensive items such as books (33 percent), compact discs (26 percent), and small gifts (20 percent). However, the study found that consumers have come to accept purchasing certain "big ticket" items online. For example, one in five (21 percent) have bought airline tickets and 13 percent have bought computer hardware.

"When it comes to e-commerce, consumers clearly prefer well-defined items -- those with which they are already familiar," said Ann Middleman, vice president of CDB Research & Consulting. "Online shoppers tend to stick to known quantities -- a John Grisham book is a John Grisham book and a ticket to Chicago is a ticket to Chicago."

Convenience is clearly a driving factor for e-commerce. Thirty percent of online shoppers are attracted by the ability to shop at home while 25 percent cited the ability to shop at any time of day or night. Price was another factor, with nearly one out of five (18 percent) using the Internet to find the best prices.

The study also revealed few differences between the way men and women use e-commerce. Both sexes are equally likely to shop online (35 percent of the online shoppers are women and 28 percent are men), and to be looking for " the best prices" (20 percent of women and 16 percent of men). However, women tend to be looking for convenience, while men are looking for hard-to-find items -- like that left-handed, turbo-charged widget they heard about somewhere but could not find in any store.

These shoppers' price consciousness is reflected in the finding that more than half of them (52 percent) spent less than $100 in the past month. However, women spent more than men (47 percent of the women versus 23 percent of the men spent at least $100), and they tend to buy a wider variety of items, especially airline tickets, gifts, and tickets to entertainment events.

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