85% Of World's Online Population Shopped On The Web
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:
Internet Users Who Have Ever Purchased Online | |
Location | % of Internet Users |
Europe | 93% |
the UK | 97 |
Germany | 97 |
North America | 92 |
the US | 94 |
Asia Pacific | 84 |
Japan | 97 |
Latin America | 79 |
EEMA | 67 |
Global Total | 86 |
Source: ?The Nielsen Company, 2007/Marketing Charts, January 2008 |
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.
Popular Online Purchases(Global Average, % of Online Purchasers in Past Three Months) | |
Purchase | % of Online Purchasers |
Books | 41% |
Clothing, Accessories, Shoes | 36 |
Video, DVD, Games | 24 |
Airline ticket, reservations | 24 |
Electronic equipment | 23 |
Music | 19 |
Cosmetics, nutrition supplies | 19 |
Tours, hotel reservations | 16 |
Event tickets | 15 |
Computer software | 14 |
Groceries | 14 |
Toys, dolls | 9 |
Sporting goods | 8 |
Automobiles & parts | 4 |
Sports memorabilia | 3 |
Other | 20 |
Source: ?The Nielsen Company, 2007/Marketing Charts, January 2008 |
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.
Shopping Site Selection Method(Global Average, % of Online Purchasers in Past Three Months) | |
Selection Method | % of Online Purchasers |
Regular purchase site | 60% |
Surfing | 33 |
Search engine | 31 |
Special offer | 30 |
Recommendation | 23 |
Shopping comparison | 23 |
Regular offline store | 20 |
Online review | 18 |
Online advertising | 14 |
TV, print or other advertising | 11 |
Other | 6 |
Source: ?The Nielsen Company, 2007/Marketing Charts, January 2008 |
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."
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