• by August 3, 2001

According to a new study by InsightExpress, reported by The Buzz, as the Internet has grown in popularity, the profile of the average adult American Internet user increasingly has resembled the profile of the average American. Lee Smith, COO of InsightExpress, said "The most common criticism of the Internet as a marketing vehicle is that it does not reach the average consumer. Our profile of the online consumer should silence that notion as it demonstrates the online consumer is now very similar to the average American."

Five years ago, the average Internet user was typically young, relatively wealthy and predominantly male, and users of technology products. Today’s demographic shift validates the Internet as a mainstream marketing, advertising and research platform.

  +------------------+------------+------------+------------+   |                  |       1996 |       2001 |       U.S. |   |
|     Online |     Online | Population |   |                  | Population | Population |      (2000 |   |                  |            |        (a) |    Census) |
+------------------+------------+------------+------------+   |                  |            |            |            |   | Male             |        62% |        49% |        49% |   | Female
|        38% |        51% |        51% |   | Household Income |    $62,700 |    $49,800 | $40,816(b) |   | Adults 18-49     |        88% |        76% |        63% |   | Adults 50+       |        12% |
24% |        37% |   +------------------+------------+------------+------------+   (a) InsightExpress sample (b) 1999 U.S. Census  

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