A study by the American Teleservices Association (ATA) shows that 41% of American consumers made a purchase by phone in the last year, compared to 45% who did so online.
“The phone is still a favorite way for Americans to do business,” said Jason Clawson, executive director of the ATA. “Unfortunately, this study cannot account for the ways in which telephone communications assist Internet purchases. Many of ATA’s members assist e-commerce companies with handling phone, e-mail and Internet inquiries.”
According to the study, women are more likely to initiate a purchase over the phone (45%) than men (37%), yet seem almost as likely to purchase online (43% for women compared to 45% for men).
Of respondents from the West, 51% purchased over the Internet, compared to just 34% by phone. The Northeast continues to favor the phone – 55% of respondents purchased over the phone, compared to 47% online. Internet purchases, however, did increase from 40% to 47% in the Northeast from 2001 to 2002; phone purchases remained constant at 55%. Phone purchases were more common in all regions, except the West.
The study also asked consumers about their use of Caller ID. According to the survey, 41% of Americans currently subscribe to a Caller ID service. The South led all regions, with a 48% subscription rate. The Midwest saw the largest growth subscriptions from 33% in 2001 to 42% in 2002. The youngest age groups seem most likely to subscribe to the services; 57% of respondents age 18-24 and 54% of respondents age 25-34 subscribe, compared to 26% of respondents age 65 and over who subscribe. Income levels seem to have very little effect on overall subscription rates.
“The vast majority of Americans do not even subscribe to Caller ID, yet there are still calls for legislation to regulate it. I hope Congress and state legislators realize what a small impact Caller ID legislation would have,” said Matt Mattingley, director of government affairs for the ATA.
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