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By 2008, The Percentage of Broadband Users Will Increase to 83% of Total US Internet Users - Retail E-Commerce: Future Trends

Posted on: Tuesday, 24 January 2006, 12:00 CST

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31364) has announced the addition of Retail E-Commerce: Future Trends to their offering.

While both the number of new Internet users in the US and the number of online buyers are only growing at single-digit rates, e-marketer estimate that online sales in 2005 increased a hefty 25%. Baby boomers and digitally literate young adults, coupled with the spread of broadband access, are changing the way people shop online--and how Web merchants market to them.

Attention: Marketers, Advertising Agencies, Retailers, Online Content Sites, Portals and Financial Analysts.

The Retail E-Commerce report tracks the trends that are invigorating B2C marketing and sales, including unprecedented consumer involvement in product comparison sites, peer opinions, social networks, discussion boards and blogs. At the same time, higher broadband penetration is empowering Web merchants to experiment with product visualization tools that give customers a greater sense of products that have traditionally only been evaluated up close in stores.

Key questions the "Retail E-Commerce" report answers:

-- Which consumer segments are driving US retail e-commerce growth?

-- How are young shoppers changing e-commerce?

-- How are consumers and Web retailers using virtual communities to aid the buying decision process?

-- Which online shoppers make the greatest use of visualization tools--which product categories?

-- And many more...

A sample of the content from e-marketers "Retail E-Commerce" report:

The Broadband Effect:

The continued spread of broadband Internet access is another factor driving the growth of online shopping in the US. Nearly 43% of the online merchants who responded to a survey by Internet Retailer in June 2005 cited the spread of broadband Internet access as the key driver of online shopping growth. The improvement in Web retailing solutions was ranked as the second most important driving force in online shopping, at 31%.

According to estimates, 2004 was the year when broadband overtook dial-up as the predominant connection speed for US Internet users. In 2005, 60% of Internet users went online via a high-speed connection. By 2008, the percentage of broadband users will increase to 83% of total US Internet users.

Broadband penetration is a widely recognized enabler of a range of Internet activity. In October 2005, the Pew Internet & American Life Project examined the digital divide between broadband and narrowband users across a variety of Internet activities. The biggest difference in uptake between both populations was for transactional activities such as online banking (a 24-point differential), online buying (a 22-point differential) and online auctions (a 20-point differential).

Delving deeper into the broadband effect on retail e-commerce, Nielsen//NetRatings found that broadband consumers are likely to spend more dollars online, convert from shoppers to buyers at a higher rate, visit retail Web sites with greater frequency and spend more time online.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31364

Source: Business Wire

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