Online shopping is largely an American phenomenon, although other countries may catch up fast, says Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive’s third annual Global E-commerce Report on online purchasing.
Across 37 countries in the survey, the average proportion of Internet users who made online purchases in the four weeks before the survey is 15%. In the U.S. the rate is 32%. The median amount spent around the world during the four weeks preceding the survey was $99, while in the United States it was $162.
The wired countries of Korea, Germany, Norway and Great Britain follow the U.S. in online shopping. In Korea, 31% of Internet users bought online in the month before the survey, 26% in Germany, 25% in Norway and 23% in Great Britain.
Growth in U.S. online shopping probably will remain strong as 29% of Internet users who have not bought online said they intend to do so this year vs. 23% who said so last year.
However, the issue of security continues to deter buying over the Internet. The survey reports that 40% of Americans do not feel comfortable providing their credit card information online while 30% of Internet users across the 37 countries feel the same.
The Global e-Commerce Report also notes that where Internet usage has become firmly established over a long period, e-commerce is more developed, creating the expectation that other countries will eventually catch up to U.S. e-commerce levels.
The third Taylor Nelson Sofres Interactive Global E-commerce Report interviewed 42,238 people in 37 countries.
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