Browsing Turns to Shopping

70% of the people who browsed online for products or services in the UK in the third quarter went on to make a purchase, the highest conversion rate of the ten major markets studied in the Nielsen//NetRatings Third Quarter 2002 Global Internet Trends Report.

'eCommerce continues to gain momentum in many countries, as the adult population has increasingly browsed for and purchased products online in the past six months,' said Richard Goosey, international chief of measurement science, NetRatings. 'In Q3, the UK was well ahead of all other Internet markets in the rate at which its browsers converted to purchasers, with a nine point lead over Sweden, the country with the second-highest conversion rate. But Internet shopping attracted a higher percentage of the total Swedish Internet audience in Q3, with 42% of Swedes with Internet access browsing online.'

'Internet shoppers in the UK and Australia have an inherent advantage in that their English-speaking populations can easily access and use the large US eCommerce providers,' Goosey said. 'As a result, not only are the current conversion rates high for those markets, but they've also shown healthy growth over the same quarter last year, at nine and six% respectively.'

Goosey also noted that Hong Kong, where 75% of the Internet population uses high-speed Internet access, ranked one of the lowest conversion rates for online purchases this quarter, despite the ease and speed that cable or fast telephone connections bring to the shopping experience. 'The dense, urban environment in Hong Kong lends itself to easy physical shopping, suggesting that Internet users there use the Web to learn about products, but then purchase in person.'

'Websites in the Multi-Category Commerce sector attracted a record proportion of European users in both August and September of this year,' Goosey continued. 'More than 44% of European surfers visited a site in this sector in September. The sector growth continues to suggest that European eCommerce might still enjoy a record-breaking Christmas despite the economic downturn. Europeans are using online eCommerce sites at nearly the same rate as their US counterparts, as Multi-Category Commerce websites attracted just over 49% of the active US Internet audience in September.'

The Global Internet Trends survey also found that the number of people worldwide with access to the Internet via a home PC increased from 553 million in Q2 2002 to 563 million in Q3 2002. The US continues to have the largest Internet population, with 30% of the global audience attributed to that one market. Europe accounts for 23% of the world's Internet population, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 13%, Latin America with 2% and markets not measured by Nielsen//NetRatings with the remaining 32%.

The findings are from the Nielsen//NetRatings Global Internet Trends service, a quarterly subscription service reporting information on worldwide Internet access and usage trends. The Q3 Global Internet Trends report is drawn from surveys conducted in July 2002 using consistent research methodology.

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

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