U.S. consumers are more trusting when conducting online transactions than they were last year–especially with financial transactions, according to the Consumer Internet Barometer, a new quarterly measure of Internet activity.
The Barometer is produced jointly by NFO WorldGroup, Forrester Research and the Conference Board.
During the fourth quarter of 2002, more than 33% of the consumers surveyed said they felt their online financial transactions are safe, up from 27.5% a year ago. One fourth said they believed their personal information was safe when purchasing products online, compared with 21.9% a last year.
“Lack of trust has long been a major barrier to engaging in online transactions,” said Conference Board consumer research director Lynn Franco, in a statement.. “Consumers’ concern about privacy of their personal information has a significant influence on their willingness to engage in business exchanges online. But this trust barrier is beginning to erode.”
The results are based on a survey of 10,000 households during the fourth quarter of last year.
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