More than half of American adults - about 106 million people - use the Internet on a regular basis, creating a diverse user community for companies doing business online, according to a semiannual study released today by the Strategis Group in Washington, D.C.
The study found that the number of active Internet users grew 27% last year, from 83 million people at the end of 1998 to 106 million at the end of 1999. Much of that usage is from home, with 47% of American households now having Internet access. The number of wired homes grew from 64 million in 1998 to 91.5 million in 1999 - a 43% increase.
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The Internet user base includes more women, diverse ethnic groups and lower-income households than ever before. During the last year, 60% of new users were women, who now represent half of all Internet users. In fact, the number of adult American women who use the Internet has tripled in the two-and-a-half years since the Strategis Group began conducting this survey.
The Internet user community will continue to diversify, according to the Strategis Group, which predicts that another 35 million to 40 million American adults will go online in the next two years. The group expects that 60 % of these new users will be women and 50 % will be from households that make less than $40,000 per year.
"We're seeing a broadening of the use of the Internet," says John Zahurancik, vice president of broadband studies at the Strategis Group. "Internet users are increasingly representative of the general American population."
For users with access at home, the Internet is becoming a part of daily life. About 56 million Americans use the Internet at least once a day, and about 28 million go online more than once a day.
"This represents a fundamental change in how people interact and get news and information," Zahurancik says.
The study found that more Americans are shopping on the 'Net. At the end of 1999, 54 million Americans made purchases online, double the number from a year earlier. On average, these users spend $68 a month on purchases made over the Internet.
"We're seeing a substantial shift towards e-commerce," Zahurancik says. "What it means for the future is that the Internet is going to be a very major channel for shopping."
Zahurancik also predicts a big market for broadband access in the home because about 75% of American Internet users are getting access at the maximum speed for dial-up lines: 56K bit/sec.
The Strategis Group survey was based on interviews with 1,500 households, including in-depth surveys with 500 Internet users and 500 nonusers.
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Contact Senior Editor Carolyn Duffy Marsan
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