Online Activities Multiply

The latest round of the Ipsos Face of The Web study paints a picture of the global take-off of a broad range of Internet activities beyond simple browsing. Seven in ten Internet users in the 12 countries surveyed have purchased and half have banked online; two thirds have sent digital pictures or videos; and one in ten has already downloaded a feature length movie.

Online buying activity grew to 71% (of those connected to the Internet) in 2004 from 64% the previous year, driven by strong rises in markets including France and Urban China. Online banking continues to gain momentum in nations Ipsos defines as 'Leading' and 'Advancing', with the exception of Urban China: year-on-year this is up 30%. Brian Cruikshank, Senior VP of Ipsos-Insight and co-author of the study, believes that it 'may very well surpass online commerce activity globally.. as financial institutions continue to improve services'. Internet banking requires fewer resources than online retailing in terms of infrastructure, making it easier to adopt in 'Nascent' and 'Emergent' markets.

The report says that with two out of three Internet users globally reporting to have sent digital pictures or videos over the Web and continued growth in digital device ownership, both wired and wireless, such activities are likely to drive more and more people online. The growth in ownership of digital cameras, both standalone and on mobile phones, is a major driver for this: two out of five households globally own a standalone digital still camera, representing a 42% increase over 2003, and one in three mobile phones have a digital camera.

Nearly three out of every five Internet users report having listened to music online, representing the most dominant form of online entertainment with a 25% user growth compared to 2003. Online music listening is one of the most prominent online activities for Internet users in Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Urban environments of China, India and Russia. After substantial decreases in 2003, US music downloading made a comeback in 2004, returning to downloader population levels tracked in 2002. Overall, two thirds of the estimated 154 million music downloaders reside in the US, Japan and South Korea, with Japan showing the largest year over year prevalence growth.

On average, at least one in three Internet Users has downloaded a music file. Of those, over half have paid for at least one music download in the past, with 27% of music downloaders having paid for music downloading in the past 30 days. The report suggests that the boom in fee-based music downloading may provide the impetus for many studios, publishers, and other content providers to begin moving their business models towards digital distribution. Numbers downloading movies are high in Urban China and highest in the broadband leader South Korea where two in five Internet users have downloaded a movie.

The Face of the Web 2004 study was conducted in late 2004 among a random sample of 6,544 adults, including 3,304 active Internet users, in urban Brazil, Canada, urban China, France, Germany, urban India, Japan, urban Mexico, urban Russia, South Korea, the UK and the US. The Face of the Web 2004 study also examined household comms and networking technologies owned and used; wired and wireless activities; connectivity including broadband and Wi-Fi; global Internet awareness, trial, usage and barriers to usage along with future plans.

Ipsos-Insight is the global group's flagship US MR division and is online at www.ipsos-insight.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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