A third of American Internet users have bought online, says new report
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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