Electronic Commerce Update

• Privacy advocates have long-argued that consumer fears about the security and confidentiality of their personal information would hold back online commerce. A quarterly survey of America's Internet use and attitudes reveals that privacy concerns are still a major issue for Internet users. The survey is a joint effort of The Interpublic Group's NFO Worldgroup, Forrester Research and the Conference Board. Among the findings, about one-in-four Web users do not trust that their personal information is safe while doing either online research or communication tasks. Only 22% think their online purchasing transactions are secure.

  Nevertheless, the percent of Americans online at least once a month rose to 61% during the third quarter of 2002, up 2 percentage points from a year ago. About 31% of online purchasers spend more than $250 during the quarter, up from 28% in the fourth quarter of last year.

• Forrester Research expects online sales to top $20 billion for the fourth quarter of this year, although spending per shopper will decline to $433 from $463 a year ago. GartnerG2 is forecasting fourth quarter U.S. online sales of $15.66 billion. Europeans are expected to spend $15.77 billion online, the first time that Europe will lead all global regions in online sales.

• Shopping on the Web has become standard procedure for car buyers. The annual Autoshopper.com study by J.D. Power and Associates found that 88% of new vehicle buyers have been to an automotive Web site before they take a test drive. Kelley Blue Book remains the most popular auto site, for the fifth year. Edmunds.com was rated "most useful." Autobuytel.com generates more sales than any other site.