Headline Feeds
Originally published on November 30, 1999 and brought to you today as a time capsule.
According to a just-released study by Internet marketing company Cyber Dialogue, the rate of new users coming to the Internet in the United States is slowing significantly.
The study concludes that e-commerce and other online businesses will now, more than ever, focus more attention upon luring visitors away from competitors and improving customer service in order to keep them.
This data comes at a time when the U.S. Internet user market is apparently approaching maturity. Online user demographics now closely match those of television viewers.
Consequently, many Internet companies are looking beyond U.S. consumers to the emerging markets of Latin America and the Asian-Pacific countries, where Internet use is beginning to rise rapidly.
Not a Fluke
The report also claims that the decline in audience growth is not a seasonal aberration, but rather the result of a series of constraints. The report describes a persistent barrier between those who can afford PCs and online access, and those who cannot.
The research identifies two other nonuser segments. The report estimates that about one-third of adult Americans believe that they have no need for the Internet. There is also a growing segment of users who have tried the Internet and then discontinued using it. This segment reached 27.7 million adults in September, up from 9.4 million in early 1997, according to the report.
The research shows that only a third of these past users expect to go online again any time soon.
More Competition
"Cyber marketers can no longer count on a rising tide of new users in the U.S. to float all boats," said Thomas Miller, vice president of Cyber Dialogue. "Some online marketers can feasibly target global markets to expand their audience, but most must begin to shift resources to better emphasize online customer retention, cross-selling and persuading customers to purchase more expensive products at their Web sites."
The report also suggests that successful Web sites will be those that can stimulate visitors to spend more time on the site, thereby increasing the likelihood of a purchase and boosting the dollar amount spent.
About The Survey
The findings come from Cyber Dialogue's random, in-depth
interviews with 1,000 Internet users and 1,000 nonusers. The results were
measured against earlier surveys that were conducted from 1995 through 1999.
