COMSCORE STUDY REVEALS NARROWING OF DIGITAL DIVIDE
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African American home Internet penetration soars to 51%, up 35% from one year ago
Reston, VA (May 16, 2001) -- African Americans in the U.S. have made substantial strides during the past year in closing the digital divide to the Internet, a report by comScore Networks disclosed today. More than half (51%) of African American households in the U.S. are now linked to the Internet, representing a 35% growth rate from April 2000 to April 2001.
The study also found that two other demographic segments -- low-income households and senior citizens -- also demonstrated a rapidly growing U.S. presence on the web in the past year. With a 28% growth rate, households earning less than $25,000 per year increased their Internet presence more than any other income segment, bringing total household penetration in this income sector to 36%. Internet connection by households earning between $25,000 - $50,000 grew 17% versus last year, representing the second largest increase by income segment and bringing total household online penetration in this income range to 56%.
A far greater proportion of senior citizens is connected to the Internet today than a year ago. For households whose eldest member is 65+, Internet connectivity grew by 25% as total online penetration grew to 27% in this age range. The 55 - 64 age range experienced the second largest increase in the age demographic, growing by 20% and reaching a penetration level of 52%.
"In 2000 the Internet has continued its growth toward becoming a mainstream medium," said Gian Fulgoni, chairman and co-founder of comScore Networks. "The rapidly growing online penetration into these new demographic segments suggests that web usage is on its way to becoming pervasive, and that many marketing strategies may need to be re-examined in light of the ability of the Internet to efficiently and effectively reach a wide variety of target consumer segments."
Other findings in the study include:
Total number of U.S. households with access to the Internet grew by 15% versus last year with 58% of all U.S. homes now using the web.
Nearly 60% of Caucasian households in the U.S. have access to the Internet.
Households in the West have the dominant regional presence in the U.S. with 62% on the web, followed by the Northeast (60%), the South (58%) and the N. Central (54%).
Households where the eldest member is in the 25 - 34 year old age group have the largest on-line penetration at 68%, followed by the 35 - 44 age range at 66%.
Survey Background
comScore conducts a weekly population survey to determine household Internet presence across key demographic segments. Survey respondents are contacted by random digit dialing. For purposes of this report, information has been calculated for the ten weeks ending April 15, 2001 and compared to the same time period in 2000.
About comScore
comScore Networks is a provider of data based infrastructure services to the Internet E-economy. By providing a confidential, 360-degree view of more than 1.5 million Internet users` surfing and buying behavior, comScore`s solutions supply businesses with detailed information on Internet behavior, enabling them to optimize decision-making and fuel high performance CRM solutions. comScore`s suite of business intelligence services - including netScore, comScore Global Network Solutions and comScore Private Network - provides enterprises with a detailed understanding of the demographics, surfing and buying behavior of today`s Internet consumers. This includes what they buy, how often, from what sites and how much they spend. comScore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, Kraft, Johnson & Johnson, Hyatt Hotels, Dell and AT&T. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com .
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