Use of Internet keeps growing
By Brian Carroll -- Furniture Today, February 25, 2002
WASHINGTON — Still think the Internet is a fad? A new report from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the first time estimates the portion of Americans using the Net at above 50%.
The report also estimates that more than two million people go online for the first time each month, a remarkable record of sustained growth in Internet use.
The future looks even more wired. About 90% of children ages 5 to 17 have access to computers either at home or at school, according to the report, "A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet."
In one of several findings relevant to furniture makers, sellers and marketers, the report puts e-mail use at 45% of the population, up 10 percentage points in a single year. Of those now wired, 36% use the Internet to search for product and service information, also a 10-point increase over 2000. And well over a third — 39% — use the Net to make online purchases.
Video, audio and multimedia options in marketing should increase, too, since residential use of high-speed, broadband Internet service is still growing fast. Between August 2000 and September 2001, broadband subscribers increased to 20% of Internet users from the previous 11%.
The 100-page report, which covers through September 2001 and is based on U.S. Census figures, is available in full at http://www.esa.doc.gov/508/esa/nationonline.htm.
"The survey reflects much of what we see every day," said Mitch Russo, chief executive officer of FurnitureFan.com, an Internet marketing services company. "Our own independent survey results show that 20% of all registrants with FurnitureFan are making a store purchase within 30 days, 30% within 90 days."
The rapid growth in Internet adopters has held steady despite a recession and a sharp slowdown in the high-tech segment. For the 13 months preceding September, the number of Americans using the Net leaped by 26 million to 143 million, or 54% of the population and one-third more than in 1998.
The flip side of the coin, however, is that nearly half the population either can't obtain Internet access or chooses not to.
Internet use has been rising fastest among lower income households, according to the connectivity report, with 25% annual growth in households earning less than $15,000 per year. For the highest income households, the growth was 11%.
Russo said FurnitureFan.com is in the midst of a major site redesign as a result of research into site visitor patterns. The new look will be unveiled in March.
