On-line shopping rockets

According to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on internet shopping habits, more than 85% of the world's online population has used the internet to make a purchase, increasing the market for online shopping by 40% in the past two years.

Bruce Paul, VP, Customized Research, Nielsen US, said, "When The Nielsen Company conducted its first global survey into internet shopping trends two years ago, approximately 10% of the world's population (627 million) had shopped online. Within two years, this number has increased by approximately 40% to 875 million."

Globally, more than half of internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month, according to Nielsen.

Among internet users, the highest percentage shopping online is in South Korea, where 99% of those with internet access have used it to shop, and 79% of these internet users have shopped in the past month. Other prolific shoppers are in the last month are:
• The UK 76%
• Switzerland 67%
• The US 57%.

Globally, says the report, the most popular purchased items over the internet are books, clothing/accessories/shoes, videos/DVDs/games, airline tickets, and electronic equipment.
• Among Germany's internet users, 55% said they bought books, 42% had bought clothes/accessories/shoes and one in four had purchased music/videos/DVDs in the previous three months.
• During the same period, among internet users in the UK, 45% bought books online, followed by videos/DVDs/games (44%), clothing/accessories/shoes (38%), music (37%) and one in four internet shoppers also purchased and airline tickets/reservations online.
• Among US internet users, in the previous month 41% had bought clothing/shoes/accessories, 38% bought books and one in three internet shoppers bought videos/DVDs/games.

According to Nielsen, online shoppers tend to stick to the shopping sites they are familiar with, with 60% saying they buy mostly from the same site.

"This shows the importance of capturing the tens of millions of new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money," said Paul.

In selecting sites on which to shop, according to the study, one-third used a search engine or just surfed around to find the best online store. One in four relied on personal recommendations.

Jonathan Carson, President, International, Nielsen Online concludes that "The explosion in consumer generated media over the last year means that this reliance on word of mouth, over other forms of referral, looks set to increase."

For more on this report, visit here.

Article courtesy MediaPost