Online Consumers Outpace Offline Consumers
the Internet over the past 30 days are outpacing offline Americans in terms of activity and influence, according to a new study.
Called “America’s New Consumers: How Internet Use is Redefining the Marketplace,” the report is the first of four to be issued in 2001 as a joint project between Roper Starch Worldwide and Yahoo! Internet Life.
According to the report, close to two-thirds of online consumers bought something over the past 90 days without going to a retail outlet, as opposed to approximately one-third of the offline consumers. Half bought by direct mail as opposed to three out of ten with offline preferences. One third bought from a catalog, with a two to one margin if the catalog were sent by a department store or a book or music club.
The report also found that online consumers are a decade younger than their offline counterparts, three times more likely to have an income over $50,000 and have graduated from college, and almost four times more likely to hold executive or professional jobs.