• by Masha Geller , September 12, 2002

Recently, several research studies found that the best way to reach people during the workday is via online advertising. Add another research report to that list. Yesterday, Nielsen//NetRatings reported that the active Internet population at work grew 17% in August as compared to a year ago. Nearly 46 million American office workers logged onto the Web, the highest peak since Nielsen//NetRatings began measuring the at-work audience in January 2000.

Additionally, NetRatings says that while men still outnumber women, female office workers were the primary drivers of traffic growth, as the group grew 23% year-over-year to 20.4 million, outpacing the growth rate for men. The number of men logging onto the Internet from work rose 12% since last August, increasing to nearly 25.3 million surfers.

In addition, men spent more time, accessed more sessions and viewed more pages than women. Men averaged nearly 31 hours time spent in August, as compared to nearly 27 hours for female office workers. They initiated an average of 54 sessions a month, compared to 50 for women, while viewing more than 1900 pages. Women accessed fewer than 1700 page views last month.

According to hour-by-hour analysis from Nielsen//NetRatings, online usage at-work begins at 8 a.m. and tailors off around 4 p.m., with peak hours between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m., and overall usage climbing to 86%. In contrast, the primetime hours of surfing at-home increase in the afternoon and hit a peak at 8 p.m., reaching 58% of Web usage.

"Web marketers are beginning to realize the consumer reach potential at work, as online usage at the office gains traction," said Charles Buchwalter, VP of client analytics at Nielsen//NetRatings. "The strong presence of the Internet within the workplace makes the Web a powerful complement to traditional media buys, where morning and evening consumption often dominates."