Consumer faith in Internet transactions is slowly increasing, says the new Consumer Internet Barometer, issued quarterly by NFO WorldGroup, Forrester Research and The Conference Board. According to the survey, 25% of consumers trust that their personal information will be safe when purchasing products online, up from 21.9% a year ago.
"Lack of trust has long been a major barrier to engaging in online transactions," says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board. "Consumers' concern about privacy of their personal information has a significant influence on their willingness to engage in business exchanges online. But this trust barrier is beginning to erode."
Overall Internet usage increased in the fourth quarter, according to the survey. Now, nearly 61% of consumers go online at least once a month, up from 58.7% a year ago. The primary reason for using the Internet is personal communication (37.9%), work-related activities (17.8%) and research (17.35). The survey also reports that only 33.6% of U.S. consumers have never been online, down from 34.7% a year ago, 37.4% of users go online daily, up from 33.7% a year ago. Of those who go online daily, 60.5% have made an online purchase in the last three months, down from 62.3% a year ago. Among Internet users over the age of 55, 40.2% of males play games online versus 51.7% of females. This is in sharp contrast to gamers younger than 35, who are predominantly male.
The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households.
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