Over 85 percent of the world’s online population has made an online purchase; representing an increase in online shopping of over 40 percent in the past two years.
The last Nielsen Global Online Survey found approximately 10 percent of the world’s population (627 million) had shopped online and this number has increased bto 875 million). The survey also found over half of Internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month.
The biggest online shopping population in terms of those with Internet access:
South Korea - 99%
UK - 97%
Germany - 97%
Japan - 97%
Interesting that the USA only came in at 8th, although it was fifth in relation to users having shopped in the past month at 56%
The most popular purchases:
Books - 41%
Clothing/Accessories/Shoes - 36%
Videos / DVDs / Games - 24%
Airline Tickets - 24%
Electronic Equipment - 23%
The biggest increase has been in Clothing / Accessories / Shoes; up from 20 percent to 36 percent
60% of online consumers used a credit card for a recent online purchase, while 25% chose PayPal. The most popular credit card used was Visa; at 53%
The top online retailers were eBay with a massive eBay 36% active reach, followed by Amazon at 29% and Target at 11%
More fascinating ecommerce tidbits can be viewed in the Nielsen Global Online Survey report.
Related:
Beginners guide to building an ecommerce web site.
It seems that trust is the biggest factor in what gets purchased online, with books being sold since the web began, most people trust the web for this type of purchase. Good to see clothing and apparel breaking in on the action.
Comment by Ecommerce Guy — January 31, 2008 @ 10:27 am