Research and retrieval of news articles by:
Bennett Gold LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants

SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL VISITORS:
Effective December 31 2012, articles are no longer being updated on this web site.
The site is now maintained as an historical archive, covering notable e-commerce news articles from the period 1999 to 2012.

MORE USERS BUT LESS TRUST

Posted on October 24, 2002

      Internet users are becoming a study in contradictions, according to research from Consumer Internet Barometer that compares U.S. consumers from Q4 2001 to Q3 2002. The comparative data found that more Americans are going online (61 percent) according to the current measurements as opposed to 59 percent at the end of 2001 with more also surfing the Internet daily (35.3 percent versus 33.7 percent), yet fewer Internet users express overall trust, which declined from 26.7 percent at the end of 2001 to 25.5 percent in the current survey.

      However, satisfaction showed a one-point increase (40.1 percent to 41.1 percent). Surprisingly, with the exception of financial transactions, fewer Internet users trust that their personal information will be safe when engaging in specific online activities.

      The research, culled from a quarterly mail survey of 5,000 male and 5,000 female heads of household and conducted by NFO WorldGroup, also found that there are fewer online consumers who reportedly made at least one online purchase in Q3 2002 compared to 2001's holiday season. But there was an increase in the amount of money spent, particularly in the $251 to $500 range where there was a gain from 14.8 percent to 16.3 percent and the $1,001+ category (from 4.9 percent to 6.8 percent).

      The study also found that there was an increase among consumers who primarily used the Internet for personal research (19.2 percent in Q3 2002 compared to 18.7 percent in Q4 2001); purchasing products (2.8 percent in Q3 2002 compared to 2.6 percent in Q4 2001); and work-related activities (18.1 percent in Q3 2002 compared to 17.3 percent in Q4 2001).

      A decline was measured in personal communication (36.4 percent in Q3 2002 compared to 39.2 percent in Q4 2001); and playing games (4.0 percent in Q3 2002 compared to 4.1 percent in Q4 2001).

E-Commerce Alerts are issued by Bennett Gold LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants as situations develop. Bookmark this site and check back often. Our e-mail address is: info@BennettGold.ca

In accordance with United States Code, Title 17, Section 107 and Article 10 of The Berne Convention on Literary and Artistic Works, the news clippings on this web site are made available without profit for research and educational purposes.

ALERT
ARCHIVES
Final Entries
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999