Consumer Internet Barometer

Press Release

Internet Usage on the Rise, With More Consumers Logging
on Daily
Consumer Internet Barometer™ Tracks Who's Doing What on the Internet

July 2, 2003 - More people continue to flock to the Internet, and a greater number are doing so on a daily basis. But while the overall levels of usage and trust have improved from a year ago, consumers' overall level of satisfaction continues to fluctuate, according to The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly measure of who's doing what on the Internet and how they feel about it. The Barometer is produced by TNS NFO, Forrester Research and The Conference Board.

The latest survey reports some primary shifts in why people go online and how often they do so. While about 43% said last year that their major reason for going online was to engage in a variety of personal communication activities, only 38% say that's true today. But 17% are now going online to do personal research, up from about 15% a year ago, and nearly 20% are using the Net to conduct work-related projects, up from 18% a year ago.

The frequency with which consumers are logging on has also increased over the past year. Now, 39% say they log on daily, up from 36% a year ago. More than 71% of users who primarily log on to conduct work-related activities do so daily. Close to 64% of consumers engaged primarily in personal communication go online every day, while only 49% of those using the Internet primarily for personal research log on with the same frequency.

"The Internet is not only attracting a greater number of users, but a greater number are becoming daily users," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "And this trend is expected to continue despite fluctuations in satisfaction and trust."

While satisfaction is down moderately, the overall rate of satisfaction remains above 40%. The fluctuation was primarily due to a dip in satisfaction with email and other kinds of personal communication, which fell to 37% from 42% last year. The level of satisfaction with other Internet activities was down only slightly. Greater confidence in conducting work-related activities led to an overall rise in consumers' confidence that their personal information will be safe when they use the Internet. This was sufficient to offset the slight trust dip that most other activities experienced.

Online Buying Remains Unchanged

The Barometer finds that online retail sales were weaker in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2003, but remained relatively in-line with year-ago levels. Since purchase figures are based on activity over the past three months, the quarter-to-quarter slowdown was likely seasonal, as purchases reflected in the Q1 report included holiday sales.

Among recent buyers, young consumers (those under 35) and the affluent (those with earnings in excess of $85,000) had the highest purchasing incidences, each at 58 percent. Buying intentions are much higher among consumers who have bought online in the past three months compared with those who have not—approximately 88% versus 24%.

About This Survey:

The Consumer Internet Barometer is based on a quarterly survey of 10,000 households. A unique sample is surveyed each quarter. Return rates average 70 percent, which ensures highly representative data. Data is weighted as well to reflect the latest U.S. household demographic information. We conducted this survey during the second quarter of 2003.

For more detailed information, please e-mail tortorici@conference-board.org.

The next quarterly survey will be released on Oct. 2, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. ET.

TNS NFO (www.nfow.com)

TNS NFO is one of the world 's leading providers of research-based marketing information and counsel. "Marketing minds specializing in research"™, NFO provides in-depth knowledge and understanding of businesses, consumers, and brands through research. TNS NFO is one of TSN group of companies (LSE: TNN).

Forrester Research, Inc. (www.forrester.com)

Forrester Research enables companies to understand the impact of technology on business. Forrester's WholeView™ Research, Strategic Services, and Events help clients understand how technology change affects their customers, strategy, and technology investment. Giga, through its Giga Advisory®, Giga Consulting™, and Events, provides objective research, pragmatic advice, and personalized consulting to global IT professionals. Established in 1983, Forrester is headquartered in Cambridge, Mass.

The Conference Board (www.conference-board.org)

The Conference Board is the leading global business knowledge network for the world's largest corporations. The Conference Board is dedicated to helping companies improve performance and strengthening the role of business in society. More than 2,000 companies in 61 countries are members of The Conference Board, which produces the Consumer Confidence Index, the Help-Wanted Index and Business Cycle Indicators for nine countries worldwide.

Past Releases

April 3, 2003 - Consumers Continue Flocking to the Internet

January 2, 2003 - More Consumers Trust That Their Online Transactions are Safe

October 16, 2002 - More Consumers Going Online, But Trust is a Major Concern

© 2004. All rights reserved. Consumer Internet Barometer is a joint trademark of TNS NFO and The Conference Board. TNS NFO and the TNS NFO logo are trademarks of TNS NFO. The Conference Board and The Conference Board logo are registered trademarks of The Conference Board, Inc.