Let’s look at the facts
WE all know that ecommerce is growing and the Internet is becoming accessible by more and more people on a daily basis. But sometimes we should look at the actual figures to make sure that we have a clear overview of the picture.
There are now over 35m people online, 68% of the total GB Adult population
15.8m households now online in the UK. A surprising fact is that women between the ages of 25 and 34 now spend more time online than men in the same age group. 12.8m people accessed the Internet whilst at work in the last month.
Sites where people can buy products or services are still showing that they are the most popular online destinations with 20.7m people doing so in the last month
The most well-liked online activities are; Using email 29.9m, Sourcing info on activity/interest 24.5m, site of a particular brand or product 22.6m, comparing prices 20.8m, making travel plans 17.8.
14.2m households in the UK have a broadband connection. This accounts for 92% of all Internet users, up from 90% a year before. Almost three quarters (70%) of home broadband user services are now above 2MB. Broadband penetration is expected to continue rising, it is predicted that broadband will be in 98% of all homes by 2012.
76% of Internet users are currently going online every day or most days. UK Internet users are spending an average of 23 hours a week online. The average length of each user session is almost I hour.
The UK online advertising industry is valued at £1,682.5m for the first half of the year, taking an 18.7% share of the UK advertising industry. Search accounts for 58.3% of all online advertising; display 19.8% and classifieds 21.5%. Search revenues grew by 28.7% year-on-year, display by 16.3% and classifieds by 30.2%
£48.6bn was spent online. 23.3m people now shop online in the UK. By 2012 32m UK consumers will be shopping online. The value of goods they buy online in 2012 will add up to almost £52bn.
Although figures are a little dry they are pretty impressive I would say. And they show that it’s not too late to start your own ecommerce enterprise…the growth is still there.