Nielsen: 85% of consumers shopped online in 2007

Over the past two years, online shopping has seen a 40% surge in growth. According to a recent Nielsen Online report, more than 80% of online consumers shopped online in 2007, bringing total use over the past two years to the 40% growth mark.

by Kristina Knight

Nielsen conducted their first global study in 2006. At that time 10% (627 million) of the total world population had shopped online. This year, that number grew to more than 870 million. The study further found that more than half of the global online population has bought at least one product online in the past month.

The highest concentration of shoppers is in Japan, where 97% of online consumers have made an online purchase. In the UK, also, 97% of users have made an online purchase and in Germany 97% of consumers have purchased something online. About 94% of US users have shopped online. Things are slightly different in Latin America where only about 79% of online consumers have made an online purchase.

The most popular online purchases are books (41%), clothing/apparel (36%) and tech products like games and DVDs (24%).

Perhaps the most interesting finding, though, is that 60% of those surveyed said they frequented the same online stores time after time.

"This shows the importance of capturing the tens of millions of new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money," said Bruce Paul, vice-president of customized research for Nielsen Online.