Statistics & Trends [24]
More Asians Shop Online Than Any Other Ethnic Group
While relatively low in numbers, the U.S. Asian population exhibits financial strength. Measured at just 4 percent of the Internet population, according to Jupiter Research, 42 percent of Asian Internet households earn $75,000 or more annually, compared to 35 percent of Caucasians and 26 percent of African-Americans. While Hispanics outnumber Asians by more than double, the two groups nearly equal each other in the number of households that have annual incomes of $100,000 or more. In a survey of 86 major U.S. markets that roughly 56 percent of Asians have household incomes above $50,000, compared to some 50 percent of the general population. The high household income disparity among Asians and other ethnicities has exhibited itself in e-commerce. Nearly 31 percent of online Asians have made five or more Internet purchases in a year, and roughly 56 percent have made at least one purchase overtaking the general Internet population and other online minorities. [Full story: Online Asians Lead in Income, E-commerce - ClickZ]
55 Million Europeans Prefer Google
According to the research from net measurement firm Nielsen/NetRatings, Google is the search engine of choice for more than 55 million Europeans. The top five search engine in europe are; Google (55 million), MSN search (27 million), Yahoo search (12 million), Google image search (10 million), and AOL search (5 million). [Full story: Europeans take a shine to Google - BBC News]
39% of Americans Use a Search Engine
Nielsen//NetRatings reports that 114.5 million or 39 percent of Americans, representing 76 percent of the active online U.S. population, used a search engine during January 2004. The top five search destinations were Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN Search, AOL Search and Ask Jeeves. Fifty-nine million users or 39 percent of active Internet users visited Google. Thirty percent or 46 million visitors used Yahoo! Search, while 45 million or 30 percent went to MSN Search. Rounding out the top five were AOL Search and Ask Jeeves with 23 million and 13 million unique users respectively. [Full story: One in Three Americans Use a Search Engine - Nielsen//NetRatings]
Ecommerce Hits 1.9% of Total Retail Sales in Q4 2003
The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce found that year-over-year online retail sales were up by more than 25 percent. The preliminary figures revealed that e-commerce accounted for 1.9 percent of total retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2003, resulting in revenues of more than $17.2 billion. The Internet continues to grow as a percent of total retail and Jupiter Research project it reaching 5 percent by 2008. Research has shown that even when items are not actually purchased online, the Internet plays a valuable role. The influence of online to offline purchases continues to grow. Where by 2008 nearly 30 percent of all offline purchases will have been influenced by research done online. [Full story: E-commerce Penetration on the Rise - ClickZ Stats]
Survey: Local Commercial Search Accounts for 25% of All Searches
New survey conducted by The Kelsey Group and BizRate.com of 5,582 online buyers reveal that local commercial searches those seeking merchants "near my home or work" represent 25.1% of all searches being performed by online buyers. Thirty-six percent of all search activity is now shopping-based, defined as using search functionality to look for a merchant, research a purchase or make an online purchase. In addition, sixty-four percent of respondents said that search engines were the "main way" they find things on the Internet. Commercial search results were rated as "good" or "excellent" by 80% of respondents. And forty-four percent of survey respondents are performing more local commercial searches than one year ago. All of the respondents to the online survey had made at least one online purchase in the past year.
Report: Paid Search Advertising Growth to Slow in 2004
EMarketer reports that U.S. spending on paid search advertising rose to about $2.06 billion last year, up 123% from $923 million in 2002, but will rise more slowly this year, about 23%, to over $2.5 billion. It figures search advertising will rise to about $3 billion next year, but then face sharper growth later in the decade, due to a surge in local search advertising. [Full story: Search engine marketing to grow at slower pace, study says - Internet Retailer]
Active Internet Users by Country for December 2003
Nielsen//NetRatings found that the overall at home global active Internet universe for a number of selected countries grew by only 278,000 from November 2003 to December 2003 a significant decrease from the month prior when the population swelled by 4.8 million. Hong Kong and Sweden showed the largest growth rates, increasing by more than 2 percent, while the U.S. logged nearly 1.1 million more users. Nielsen//NetRatings has expanded its tracking system to include Internet applications, and calculates active users as the number of people that actually go online in a given month, rather than the number of people with access.
Jupiter Research: 50% of U.S. Population Will Shop Online by 2008
As consumers get more comfortable with online functions such as e-mail, and research continues to increase, so too will their level of participation in e-commerce. U.S. online retail sales are expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent through 2008 to top $117 billion, according to a report issued from Jupiter Research. The company expects that by 2008, one-half of the population will make purchases online. Online retail growth will be fueled by another factor: increased average spending per buyer. The trend in higher spending is expected to increase over the next five years: Through 2008, average spending per buyer will be close to $780 per buyer, up from $540 per buyer in 2003.
Survey: Top 5 Online Marketing Promotions & Promotion Vehicles
The Shop.org/BizRate 2003 eHoliday Mood study produced some interesting results. The top 5 marketing promotions that have been most successful in driving business for the holiday period are; free ship with conditions (59%), online only sale (27%), free ship no conditions (24%), offline-online sale (22%), and free gift with purchase (14%). When asked what promotion vehicle has been most successful in driving business, the response was their own email promotion (86%), search engine marketing (58%), affiliate marketing (50%), catalog drops (37%), and portal shopping listing (17%).
Internet Traffic Peaks on Mondays
OneStat.com reports that the most popular day to go online is Monday, while EmailLabs identified Tuesday as the most effective day for companies to distribute e-mail newsletters. Based on data from 525 client accounts, EmailLabs' analysis of delivery trends found that e-marketers are sending out newsletters on Tuesday with more than one-quarter of messages being distributed that day slightly edging out Wednesday in the popularity contest. Wednesday ruled as the most popular day for messages to be opened, as well as the day with the highest click-through rate. The report also found that less than 3 percent of all legitimate marketing messages are sent on the weekend, mainly because many spammers use that time to fill inboxes. EmailLabs also found that 9 am (Pacific Time) was the most popular time to send messages and 11 am was the most popular open time, and the highest click-through time.
E-Commerce Grew 27.8% to $12.477B In Q2 2003
E-commerce increased 27.8 percent to $12.477 billion during the second quarter of 2003 compared to a year earlier, and a 4.6 percent increase in sales from the first quarter of 2003, according to the new estimates released from the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. This accounted for 1.5 percent of total retail sales, slightly above the 1.2 percent of total sales they represented in the second quarter of 2002. [Full story: E-Commerce on a Steady Rise - Ecommerce Guide]
Online Retail Sales to Account for 10% of Total U.S. Retail Sales by 2008
A report from Forrester Research finds that e-commerce sales will increase at a steady 19 percent year-over-year growth rate, rising to 229.0 billion in 2008 from $95.7 billion in 2003. Online retail sales will account for 10 percent of total U.S. retail sales by 2008. For the next five years, food and beverage, sporting goods, and home goods will outpace more traditional online categories like books and travel. Books, which generated 14 percent of U.S. e-commerce sales in 2000, will fall to 3 percent of total sales over the next five years. Online grocers will continue to make strides, as Forrester projects the most dramatic growth will be seen in the food and beverage category, with sales increasing to $17.4 billion from $3.7 billion over the next five years. Sporting goods, which have found a niche in the used goods market, are predicted to grow to $6 billion from $1.7 billion, with nearly a third of sales coming from used products.
E-Learning to Grow to $212 Billion by 2011
An eMarketer report reveals the global education and training market to be worth roughly $2 trillion. The data, generated by Think Equity Partners and Eduventures, found that the United States already accounts for 37.5 percent of this market, or roughly $750 billion. Brandon-Hall estimates the e-learning sector will grow from $10.3 billion in 2002 to $83.1 billion in 2006, and eventually swelling to over $212 billion by 2011. The trend is evidenced by an 80 percent growth increase from The University of Phoenix Online whose virtual campuses boasted 72,230 students as of May 2003.
Online Sales Soared 48 Percent to $76 Billion in 2002
According to The State of Retailing Online 6.0, a Shop.org annual study conducted by Forrester Research of more than 130 retailers, online retail sales soared to $76 billion in 2002, up 48 percent over 2001. Shop.org is the online retailing division of the National Retail Federation. The study also show that 70 percent of retailers reported positive operating margins, compared with 56 percent in 2001. Online retail sales are expected to grow 26 percent in 2003 to $96 billion, with seven product categories poised for more than 40 percent growth in 2003. Last year, 32 percent of computer hardware and software was sold online. Other categories reaching double-digit penetration include tickets for events (17 percent) and books (12 percent). In total, nine categories will exceed 5 percent penetration this year compared with seven categories in 2002. Online sales are expected to reach 4.5 percent of total retail sales in 2003, up from 3.6 percent in 2002. The study also showed that 40 percent of online customers are completely new to a retailers entire business. By shifting budgets away from expensive portal deals to performance-based affiliate marketing and search engine marketing, retailers were able to cut marketing costs almost in half per order placed ($12 to $8), with store-based ($5) and catalog-based ($7) retailers most successful in this endeavor.
Sports Broadband Users to Hit 309 Million By 2008, Resulting in $6.4 Billion In Revenue
A collaborative report from Screen Digest and ArkSports Limited indicates that there will be more than 309 million sports broadband users globally by the end of 2008, resulting in $6.4 billion in revenue. The U.S., China, Japan, Germany and South Korea are expected to lead the sports broadband services market to over $344 million by the end of 2002. The report finds that sports fans will pay for content only if it is not readily available elsewhere and the price is reasonable. Jupiter Research identifies online ticketing of sporting events to be a big money-maker in the U.S., almost tripling from $450 million in 2002 to $1.2 billion in 2007. Jupiter found that U.S. Internet users are more willing to pay for fantasy leagues than traditional sports content such as news and clips and a large opportunity exists for deep warehouses of statistics, analysis, and predictions to assist users in forming fantasy teams and making sports bets.
Retailers of Books, Music & Videos Spent $3.1 Billion in Online Ad Spending Last Holiday Season
Retailers of books, music and videos spent $3.1 billion to advertise their products online last holiday season, a rise of 40% over the prior year, as they led all product categories in online advertising expenditures, according to a new report by DoubleClick Inc. Apparel merchants were the second highest spenders in online advertising, at $2.7 billion, or 20% more than the prior year. The fastest-growing online advertising categories were toys/video games, up 72.5% to $1.84 billion, and consumer electronics, up 72.4% to $1.96 billion. [Full story: Books/music/videos category leads in online ad spending - Internet Retailer]
44 Percent of Luxury Consumers Consider Online Research as Very or Somewhat Important
While offline consumers flood malls looking for the lowest prices, other consumers are going online to research and identify luxury items, according to surveys conducted by Unity Marketing that analyze shopping trends. According to Unity Marketing, the Internet was named by 44 percent of luxury consumers as very or somewhat important, with editorial matter following at 42 percent. Traditional advertising lags behind with newspaper ads (31 percent); television programs and commercials (28 percent); and magazine advertising (24 percent). In 2001, Unity Marketing identified Wal-Mart as the number one jewelry retailer in the U.S. with estimated jewelry and watch sales of $2.3 billion, followed by Zales Corporation, with sales of $2.1 billion. Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing, believes that there will be significant generational market shifts over the next decade or two, with baby-boomers and "empty-nesters" creating new demand for luxury items. Despite all the luxury spending, Unity Marketing measured an increase in basic items in February 2003. Retail and food service sales totaled $304.1 billion up 2.6 percent over the previous year with the fastest growing retail channel being gasoline, which posted a 24 percent gain over February 2002. Decreased spending was noticed in home furnishings, sporting goods, books and music, cars, consumer electronics, and appliances. Retail sales among non-store retailers like the Internet increased 8.4 percent from February 2002, and food and drinking establishments posted a 4.2 percent gain from last year.
Online Sales Continue to Grow in Q1 2003
Online shopping sales in the first quarter of 2003 continued to grow at a respectable rate despite the war in Iraq and a sluggish economy. The first quarter of 2003 produced sales of $12.84 billion dollars - a 27% increase over the same period in 2002 when $10.08 billion was spent, according to leading comparison shopping site and e-commerce research firm BizRate.com. Post-holiday clearance sales in early January helped provide an early boost to first quarter sales with $738.6 million dollars being spent from January 1-5, a 40% increase in sales compared to the same dates last year. The average jump in first quarter sales was driven mainly by the growth in orders made online and not by the amount spent. The average purchase price was down 2%, from $127 in Q1 2002 to $124 in Q1 2003. Orders were up 30% from 79.4 million in Q1 2002 to 103.6 million in Q1 2003. The top categories in terms of sales volume were computer hardware ($3.43 billion), electronics ($2.16 billion) and entertainment ($1.88 billion). The strongest growth in Q1 came from health & beauty (61%), entertainment (58%) and computer hardware (41%) categories.
Online Paid Content U.S. Market Spending White Paper
This white paper provides some interesting statistics on how to price your online content--U.S. consumers spent $1.3 billion for online content in 2002, an increase of 95% over 2001. Proportion of spending on top three categories - personals/dating, business/investment content and entertainment/lifestyles is higher in 2002 and account for 63% of online content spending in 2002, which is slightly higher than the 59% spent on those categories in 2001. The personals/dating category surpassed business/investment content and entertainment/lifestyles to become the largest paid content category in 2002. Consistent with behavior of a maturing market, individual category growth rates have attenuated, with only two categories greeting cards and personals/dating showing over 100% year-over-year growth. Subscriptions, as opposed to single purchase sales, continue to be dominant pricing model for online content sales. Annual subscriptions continue to be the dominant pricing model, accounting for 41% of online content sales this year, compared to 42% of last years content sales. Annual retention sales remain high at 72%. The average conversion rate for those who signed up for free trial offers becoming paid subscribers was 17.8%, up only slightly from the 2001 free trial conversion rate of 17.4%. The number of U.S. consumers paying for online content continues to grow with 14.3 million U.S. consumers paying for online content in Q4 2002, up by 4.3 million from the number who paid for content in Q4 2001. The year-over-year growth in consumer acceptance of online paid content is 42.8%, from 7.6% of the U.S. Internet population in Q4 2001 to 10.3% of the U.S. Internet population in Q4 2002. Growth rates in paid content revenue are attributable to additional consumers and not additional dollars per consumer. The average spending per customer increased only 4% from Q4 2001 to Q4 2002. In 2002, the average price for annual subscriptions online was $48.94, $10.32 for monthly subscriptions, and $22.64 for single content items purchased online. [White Paper: Online Paid Content U.S. Market Spending Report (PDF - 23 pages) - Online Publishers Association]
One in Six UK Workers Have Been Bullied via E-mail
One in six workers in the UK has been bullied via e-mail, according to a new study. A poll conducted by internet job site Reed.co.uk showed that e-mail bullying is on the increase. Perhaps surprisingly, the higher up the office ladder people are, the more likely they are to be targeted by e-bullies. While just 15% of secretaries claim to be the victim of such attacks, 28% of their bosses are being harassed via the inbox. Examples of such bullying range from unfair comments sent by managers keen to avoid face-to-face confrontations to unwelcome personal remarks. The problem is likely to affect productivity, the report says. Some people find such bullying so distressing they need time off work, although nearly a third confront the bully and 22% talk the problem through with friends or managers. Reed advises anyone suffering from e-mail bullying to talk to friends and colleagues about the problem as well as discussing matters face to face with the sender. People should also keep a record of exchanges so it can be used as evidence should the problem persist. [Full story: E-mail bullying on the rise - BBC News]
Paid-Search Revenue Grew 40% Last Year, to $1.4 Billion
In 1998, Overture was the first to charge advertisers to be listed in its search results. Now, all the major search companies have jumped in. So-called paid-search revenue grew 40% last year, to $1.4 billion. It's now up to 23% of the $6 billion Net advertising market, which shrank 17% last year. Search-related revenues, mostly from advertising, will grow 43% this year, to $2 billion. Search advertising is cheap. At an average of 35 cents a click, paid search undercuts the $1-per-lead average for Yellow Pages ads. The money is split between the portal, which generates the traffic, and its search-advertising provider. When a user clicks a search-related ad on Yahoo, for example, Overture keeps 14 cents and sends 21 cents to Yahoo. [Full story: Search Engines Are Picking Up Steam - BusinessWeek]
4,854 Internet Companies Have Been Acquired or Shut Down Since the End of the Dot-Com Boom
According to WebMergers, three years after the peak of the dot com frenzy, nearly 5,000 Internet companies have either been acquired or shut down in a massive sector consolidation. At least 4,854 Internet companies have either been acquired or have shut down in the three years since the dot com investment boom peaked in Q1 of 2000. Since then, buyers have spent $200 billion to acquire 3,892 Internet properties.
European Consumers Beginning to Rival Americans' Internet Spending Habits
Europeans rival Americans as the Internet's biggest shopaholics, with the average wired European consumer splurging on items ranging from DVDs to airline tickets, according to a new study. The annual Cyberstudy on E-commerce, conducted by research firm RoperASW and AOL Time Warner's Internet arm, said during a three-month stretch last year between August and October European shoppers spent on average 430 euros, or about £295, per head online. During the same period, US consumers spent on average 543 euros worth of goods per head, the study said on Monday.
2002 Ecommerce Sales Reaches $45.6 Billion, Up 26.9 Percent Compared to 2001
A report from the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said that online retail sales in the last quarter of 2002 were up about 28 percent to $14.3 billion, compared to a total of $11.2 billion for the fourth quarter of 2001. Total e-commerce sales for 2002 were $45.6 billion, an increase of 26.9 percent from 2001. The fourth quarter 2002 e-commerce increased 29.3 percent from the third quarter of 2002, while total retail sales increased 5.1 percent from the prior quarter. However, ecommerce accounting for only 1.6 percent of total sales, up from 0.7 percent in 1999.