Update on Web Usage

Consumer familiarity with the Web, and E-commerce in particular, continue to grow. Here are some recent statistics.

• Online retail sales totaled $10.04 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Online sales were up 34.3 percent from the third quarter 2001, while all retail sales were up only 9.5 percent. For all of 2001, online retail sales (excluding the sale of travel-related products) were $32.6 billion, exactly 1 percent of all retail sales.

• According to the U.S. Commerce Department, 143 million Americans (54 percent of the population) had access to the Internet as of September 2001. That number was 24 percent higher than a year earlier. On average, about 2 million new users went online each month during 2001. Commerce Department research reports that 45 percent of the U.S. population aged 5 and older uses the Internet regularly, compared to only 35 percent in 2000.

• A sign that branding is beginning to drive Web surfing, 52 percent of Internet users arrive at Web sites directly (by using bookmarks or typing in Web addresses directly) rather than being directed via search engines or other websites. By comparison, in 2000 only 42 percent of users visited websites directly, according to Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket (a division of WebSideStory), which conducted the study.

At least some Internet users are football fans (or, at least, Super Bowl party fans). According to Internet research firm ComScore Networks, the number of U.S. Web users was off 23 percent during the Super Bowl game on Sunday, February 3rd, compared to the same time period the previous Sunday. Online purchasing transactions fell 24 percent, compared to one week earlier. Interestingly, the Web sites of Super Bowl advertisers experienced a surge of activity during the halftime and post-game periods, compared to the previous Sunday evening. E-Trade Group's site had a 26 percent jump in traffic during the half-time break. Monster.com visitors rose 30 percent in the hour after the game. GM's Cadillac.com site saw a rise of 54 percent during the game.