Net Surfing Becomes National Pastime Number Of Internet Users Has More Than Doubled In Past 18 Months

Nearly one-fourth of all people over age 16 in the United States and Canada have surfed the Internet in the past month, and they’re starting to put their money where their mouse is, according to a new Nielsen survey.

Continuing its strong growth, the population of Net users has more than doubled in the past 18 months, when the first CommerceNet/Nielsen Media Internet Demographics Survey was released. According to the latest results released last week, 23 percent of those surveyed have regular Internet access, compared with only 10 percent found in the fall 1995 survey.

In all, that’s 50.6 million people wired to the Internet, the figures show. And among the activities these Net users are pursuing is a “startling increase” in shopping online. The study found that 39 percent of all Web users surveyed have researched product information on the Net prior to making a purchase. That compares with 19 percent of respondents who said they browsed for goods online in 1995.

“The exciting thing about these numbers is that they show that electronic commerce is not a future or a maybe,” said Stacey Bressler, vice president of marketing for CommerceNet, a consortium of businesses seeking to spur online sales. “The World Wide Web and the Internet are shopping media. The vast majority of people on the Web do look for information about goods and services, and more than half the people are looking for information because they expect to buy the goods or services.”

However, the number of Net users who have actually made purchases over the Internet remains much lower, at only 15 percent. Jerome Sampson, director of strategy for Nielsen, said transactions over the Web amounted to only $5.6 million, indicating a lack of trust in the security of electronic payments. That number is expected to grow as standards go into effect this year on securing credit card purchases online.

The report also noted continued shifts in the demographic makeup of Net users, including a narrowing of the gap between male and female usage. Women now account for 42 percent of users in the past three months, compared with 34 percent in the 1995 survey.

Net users, while still considered upscale, are becoming more representative of the mainstream population. In 1995, 50 percent were professionals or managers; today, that figure has fallen to 39 percent.