Study Puts US Online Population At 62 Million
02/06/98 AUSTIN, TEXAS, U.S.A., 1998 FEB 6 (NB) --Newsbytes.
America's love affair with the Internet continues to grow,
as more than 62 million US adults went online in the
fourth quarter of 1997, according to a recent study
by the IntelliQuest Information Group Inc. [NASDAQ:IQST].
That number, representing 30 percent of the US population
age 16 and older, increased by almost a third again from the
46.8 million users IntelliQuest reported for the same
period in 1996.
According to IntelliQuest spokesperson Ursula Tally, the
study was conducted by IntelliQuest's Worldwide
Internet/Online Tracking Service (WWITS), which uses a
random-digit dial (RDD) methodology to develop projectable
estimates of both user and non-user populations. The company
claims the study has a sampling reliability of +/-1 percent.
According to the study, online population growth will
continue to remain strong, with seven million adults
reporting plans to go online within the next six months.
If these people follow through with their intentions, the
report notes, the number of wired US residents could
approach 70 million by mid-1998, doubling the online
population from when IntelliQuest began studying the medium
in the second quarter of 1996.
The fourth quarter 1998 figures also marked the first time
that Internet/online services users accounted for more than
half of computer users, compared to only 40 percent last
year, the study showed.
"The Internet/PC user percentage is expected to continue to
increase as the Internet continues to be integrated into
everyday life activities, such as communication, shopping,
and information retrieval," the report notes.
The study, however, found that the online services,
such as CompuServe and America Online, have dropped in
popularity among new users. While 70 percent of users
first accessed through an online service, in the fourth
quarter of 1996, the survey found that number dropped to 61
percent in the last quarter of 1997. When asked what type of
provider they would prefer, the survey found that users' and
intenders' first choice of providers was an Internet service
provider (ISP), followed by their local telephone company,
and then a commercial online service.
The survey found that the home continues to be the most
popular access location, with nearly 70 percent of users
accessing from their homes, although some 46 percent of the
online population reported that they access from work at
least some of the time. The most popular activities
online include sending and receiving e-mail, obtaining
information about hobbies, gathering information on products, and/or
accessing general news. According to the
survey, nearly half of all users attempt ten or more
activities online while spending at least five hours per week online.
Nearly 25 percent, or some 15 million, of the current online
population first began accessing the Internet in 1997, the
study found, reflecting a growth in usage by "middle
America," generally consisting of older age groups, less
highly educated and less frequently from the upper income
groups typical of users who have been online for several
year.
And although online purchasing remained relatively stable in
overall numbers, 17 percent in the fourth quarter of 1997,
against 15 percent in the same 1996 period, the actual number of online
purchasers has increased by 3.5 million
over the past year. Dollar values of purchases also
increased, according to the survey, with a median of $100
spent online in the last 30 days of 1997, compared to $40
one year ago.
The survey found the Internet, however, still is more
"window shopping" than purchasing, with 60 percent shopping
online, but only 17 percent purchasing online. The most
popular shopping activities include finding information
about a product's price or features, checking on product
selection, and determining where to purchase a product.
Results of IntelliQuest's Worldwide Internet/Online Tracking
Service are available on a subscription basis. For more
information on the full subscription of IntelliQuest's
Worldwide Internet/Online Tracking Service and the Internet
Trends Report call 1-800-711- 3753 or visit IntelliQuest at
intelliquest.com on the World Wide Web.
Reported by Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com
(19980206/Press & Reader Contact: Ursula Tally, IntelliQuest, 512-329-
0808; e-mail
utalley@intelliquest.com /WWWBIG/PHOTO)
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