Report: 77 Percent of Net Users Will Shop by 2003

According to a report released Tuesday by New York-based eMarketer, three of four Internet users will be shopping online by 2003, and 68 percent of all U.S. Web users will be online shoppers by the end of this year.

The study, the eConsumer Shopping Report, also predicts that U.S. revenues from online shopping will reach $37 billion (US$) by year-end 2000 and will grow to $104 billion in 2003.

“E-commerce growth will be driven primarily by new users and buyers for the next few years. After 2003, however, most growth will come from increased spending per individual user or Internet-using household,” said eMarketer Senior Analyst Darren Allen.

Wired America

The survey showed that almost 34 million U.S. households are actively using the Internet, and purchases have been made in 23.5 million U.S. households. By 2003, eMarketer predicts that 52 million households will be online and more than 42 million households will be shopping online.

Correspondingly, the number of individual Americans shopping online is set to increase from 63.4 million by the end of this year to 106 million by 2003.

Ready to Spend

Not only will more Americans be shopping online in the coming years, the survey also showed that they will be spending more. By the end of this year, the average Internet buyer will purchase $627 worth of goods online, up from $500 in 1999. By 2003, the number is expected to reach $1,033.

Confirming a report on senior Internet use released by Greenfield Online earlier this week, eMarketer predicts that older users are taking to the Web in ever increasing numbers and are set to become the second-largest untapped customer base after minorities.

Teens Not Shopping Online

The report also shows that only 53 percent of Internet-using teens, or 5.8 million, will be shopping online by the end of 2000.

Because most teens do not have access to a personal credit card, online spending by teens represents just 0.15 percent of their total expenditures on products and services, and less than 1 percent of total U.S. online spending.

However, as more and more companies come forward with parentally controlled debit cards and other alternative methods of paying for online purchases, the number of teens shopping online is expected to grow to 9.8 million or 74 percent of wired teens.