Study: E-commerce hits the mainstream
Consumer study finds that more people are shopping online -- and shopping more often.
Credit AOL, portals
And online selling will have plenty of room for growth, since the present U.S. online population of 90 million is expected to double in four years -- to 180 million by 2003, according to IDC.
A big influence on the growth of online shopping has been America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL), which constantly encourages its millions of users to try the experience out, and makes them feel safe in doing so, analysts said.
"It's hard to underestimate AOL's influence here," said Jack Staff, chief economist of Zona Research Inc. "They'll not only connect you, but get you what you want, and for a beginning user especially, that's important."
Successful e-commerce players and portals have also had a big impact, simply by bringing trustworthy buying experiences online, according to analyst Delhagen.
zdnet.com
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