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NetFaqs in This Article
• Who are your customers
• What are they buying online
• Top selling categories |
THE INTERNET:
Who Exactly Is Online?
So
who is the average Internet user?
Businesses
that want to market via this exciting new medium must
know the demographics of the average Internet user.
Why? First to determine if their existing customers
are within these demographics so they can market and
service them better, quicker and more cost effectively,
and secondly to determine if existing products and services
require modification and/or enhancement to appeal to
this group.
Let's
take a quick look at the "average" Internet user. According
to estimates, one of the leading Internet research firms,
the "quickie" profile of an average Internet user is:
30-Something - Median age of 38 Male -61% are male (although
women are the fastest growing segment on the Internet)
Affluent - Median household income of $59,500 Better
educated -64% have graduated college White CoHar - Most
work in Professional/ Managerial/ Education/ Computer-related
fields. Married -42% are married ESTATS goes on to state
that the demographics of the Internet have changed gradually
over the past couple of years.
As
the total number of net users grows, their demographic
profile becomes more similar to that of the average
American. Core demographics -- such as age, gender and
income - are beginning to stabilize, more closely monitoring
the population at large.
That
said, the Internet audience remains a relatively elite
group of consumers. Notably, the female/male split has
shifted significantly in favor of women who now represent
39% of the net population (up from only 30% in 1996).
Women in fact are the fastest growing segment online.
How
do these demographics break out ethnically? A recent
survey conducted by Lou Harris and Baruch College that
was published in the April/May '98 issue of the Public
Perspective states that as of this past winter; almost
equal percentages of whites (30 percent), African Americans
(27 percent) and Hispanics (26 percent) logged onto
the Web.
Who's
buying online?
The
real question in the minds of most business people is
exactly who's buying online? Let's take a look at the
most recent statistics for online transactions. Keep
in mind that there are at least 3 times as many people
that shop online than those that actually make transactions
online. These shoppers have discovered the convenience
of shopping online from the comfort of their own homes
anytime day or night, however for whatever reason they're
still hesitant to make their transactions online and
typically place their orders via phone, fax or snail
mail. Online commerce statistics do not reflect this
group of online shoppers, only those that actually make
their transactions online.
The
following chart from Internet World's Statistics Toolbox
shows the growth in the percentage of the total online
population that shops online, the total number of users
that shop online and the percentage of US adults that
shop online from 1996 - 2001.
| Year |
Percent of Net users who
purchase online |
Number of purchasers |
Percent of U.S. adults
who shop online |
| 1996 |
23% |
6.6 million |
3% |
| 1997 |
27% |
11.2 million |
6% |
| 1998 |
30% |
15.5 million |
8% |
| 1999 |
35% |
21.6 million |
11% |
| 2000 |
39% |
28 million |
14% |
| 2001 |
43% |
35.4 million |
17% |
What
are people buying online?
In
the early days of E-Commerce, almost 80% all online
sales consisted of computer hardware and software products.
E-Cornmerce has evolved considerably since then to include
a wide variety of products and services. People are
even buying new cars online these days. Who would have
ever dreamed of buying a car on the Internet a few years
ago?
A friend
of mine did exactly that recently. He was living in
NYC and wanted to buy a new car for his mother in Florida
He planned to visit her in about a week and wanted to
surprise her with the car when he arrived but didn't
want to spend 2 or 3 days of his visit going from one
dealership to another haggling with car salesmen. Instead
he hopped on the Internet and accessed a few of the
major car sites like autobytel.com and honda.com.
These
sites offered him the ability to select the make, model
and options he wanted to come up with a price he was
comfortable with. He then clicked on the fmance calculator
and determined the financing option that gave him the
monthly payment he wanted and filled out most of his
application right on the site. Through the site, his
information was distributed to local dealerships that
had the inventory he was looking for and within about
2-3 hours he received his first call from a salesman.
It's important to note that in this type of transaction,
a real car salesman is not necessary. My friend was
already sold on both the car and the fmancing, so the
person that called him only had to collect the necessary
information for the financing and get the car processed
for pick-up when he arrived. Ml that was left for him
to do when he arrived in Florida was to sign the loan
paperwork and pick up the keys. Needless to say, he
much preferred.this method of buying a car to the tradition
method of haggling with car dealers.
According
to estimates, the more difficult and time consuming
a purchase category is, the more likely consumers will
prefer to use the Internet versus standard physical
means.
Let's
take a look at a List of Hot-Selling Categories on the
Net
Catalogs
and mail order houses
Computer
Products
Financial
services
On-line
brokerages
Smaller
companies with unique products/services
Information
Services
Travel
Services
Forrester Research calculates that PCs, porn, CDs
and gift items such as flowers make up a little over
half of all current online consumer revenues.
How
Many Consumers Are Buying Online?
EStats
estimates that 65% of current net users have used the
web to "shop around" online. We define "shopping" here
as checking out products and services and comparing
prices, prior to a purchase decision. However, only
14% of net users have actually purchased anything online.
Fewer still have used their credit card.
How
Many Consumers will Shop Online Tomorrow?
By
the year 2000, eStats projects that 92% of net users
will do some "shopping around" online and another 45%
will actually make purchases. This growlh will result
from increased security as well as a psychological boost
in trust, familiarity and overall ease with online technology.
By the year 2000, 46 million consumers in America will
be buying online.
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