Americans still biggest online shoppers

[June 27th 2002]

The United States continues to be the global leader of online purchasing and spending, according to Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) Interactive's third annual Global e-commerce Report (GeR).

Across 37 counties participating in the survey, the average percent of Internet users who made online purchases is 15%. In comparison, the percent of online purchasers in the U.S. is 32%. Additionally, in terms of online spending, the worldwide median average spent during the past 4 weeks was $99 (100 Euros), while in the United States it is $162 (164 Euros). Korea, Germany, Norway and Great Britain follow the United States in online purchasing.

                 Top Five Online Purchasing Countries
                      Online Shopping Statistics
              (Interviewing occurred March - April 2002)

                                       Online Shopping   Median Value
                       Internet Usage    During Past     of Purchases 
                           During          Month            In $US
                         Past Month    (Among Internet  (Among Online 
                                           Users)          Shoppers)
All Countries In Study       34%            15%              $99
United States                62%            32%             $162
Korea                        52%            31%             $43*
Germany                      41%            26%             $119
Norway                       58%            25%         Not Available
Great Britain                38%            23%              $94

* Caution: Low Base size. Although e-commerce is strong in the U.S., it has not reached its highest level. Potential for continued growth here is evident. More Internet users indicated they would buy online this year (29%) versus 2001 (23%). However, what continues to deter buying over the Internet is the issue of security. Forty percent of Americans do not feel comfortable providing their credit card information online, and 30 % of Internet users across the 37 countries interviewed feel the same.

"Getting Americans to feel secure is a challenging task for e-tailers. Since consumers started to buy online they have expressed their concerns about providing their credit card and personal information over the Internet, yet there has been little improvement in addressing those needs," says Brenda McFarland, Executive Vice President of TNS Interactive. "In order for this industry to continue to grow, businesses will need to develop security measures beyond what is currently available."

The Global e-Commerce Report also concludes that a direct correlation exists between Internet penetration and e-commerce. In countries where Internet usage has become firmly established over a long period of time, e-commerce is more developed. Therefore, the expectation is that other countries will eventually catch up to U.S. e-commerce levels.

Links
Taylor Nelson Sofres		http://www.tnsofres.com