Online shoppers still want privacy

More shoppers continue to log on to the World Wide Web, but many are still leery of giving out too much information. According to a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project report privacy issues are still a huge stumbling block for American online shoppers.

by Kristina Knight

The report found that about 78% of online shoppers do so because it is convenient and 68% do so to save time. However, an overwhelming 75% of current online shoppers said they are still uncomfortable with giving out personal information on the Internet.

"Even as e-commerce matures, people’s confidence in the security of online shopping remains as an issue,” said John B. Horrigan, Associate Director of the Pew Internet Project and author of the report. “If people’s worries about security of personal information were eased, the pool of online shoppers would be greater.”

If e-commerce hubs could ease the privacy fears of consumers, the report estimates that the overall online shopping pool would increase by more than 5%, bringing the percentage of Americans shopping online to nearly 75%.

Currently about two-thirds of Americans, or 66%, have purchased at least one item online in the past. Low income Americans (those with household incomes of $25,000 or below) are the most wary of sending personal information over the Internet (about 44%) while about 25% of high-income Americans (household incomes of $100,000 or more).