 |
- "E-Commerce:
How The Internet Will Affect You"
|
GEORGE MATYJEWICZ
- is
Chief Marketing
Officer and Managing Partner at
GAP Enterprises, LLC a
management and marketing Solutioning (tm) firm. He has over
three decades of expertise in the business world, and has
started and/or partnered many companies in his career.
-
- He is a columnist
with
- Gifts & Decorative
Accessories magazine (since March, 1996) and moderator of
E-Tailer's Digest, a discussion forum for retailers in
47 countries.
-
- For answers to your
questions, e-mail
George Matyjewicz
- or call him at
- (201) 866-8199
- or write him at
- GAP Enterprises, LLC
- Harmon Cove Towers
- Suite 1504
- Secaucus, NJ 07094
- Or visit their Web
site at
http://www.gapent.com/
|
|
Internet
population.
Nobody knows
how many people are online. Respected research
firms have estimated 83 million -- up from 62
million in May (Intelliquest) and 106 million --
up from 78 million in May (Nielsen/Commerce Net).
The largest reported is from NUA Surveys (an
international consultancy based in Ireland), who
recognizes that estimating online users is an
inexact science. They perused the many surveys and
give an educated guess' as to how many are on
line as of September, 1999.
What's interesting is the growth from May, 1999
when I spoke to Gift Retailers at the National
Stationery Show in the Javits Center in NYC to
now.
| |
Sept. |
May |
Growth* |
% |
By Day** |
| USA and
Canada |
112.40 |
90.63 |
21.77 |
24.0% |
178,443 |
| Europe |
47.15 |
40.09 |
7.06 |
17.6% |
57,869 |
|
Asia/Pacific |
33.61 |
26.97 |
6.64 |
24.6% |
54,426 |
| Latin
America |
5.29 |
|
|
|
|
| Africa |
1.72 |
1.14 |
0.58 |
50.9% |
4,754 |
| Middle
East |
0.88 |
0.88 |
|
|
|
|
WORLDWIDE |
201.50 |
165.0 |
36.05 |
21.8% |
295,453 |
* Growth in
millions ** Actual count by day
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/
So, your universe is between 83 million and 201
million.
Shopper profile.
There are many Net-based surveys where they try to
determine the profile of Net surfers or shoppers.
Every six months (April and October), since April
1994, the Graphics, Visualization, & Usability (GVU)
Center at Georgia Institute of Technology in
Atlanta does a very thorough survey of the Net
population which has become the de-facto
standard.
In their latest survey they profiled the typical
user to be:
37 Years old (with most between 21-25 and 51-55)
Average income $69,000
88.8% have some college
47.6% married
87.2% Caucasian
87.0% have been on Net 1 year or more
88.7% purchased on Net in last 6 months
87.5% Visited store sites
84.6% Search to buy at least once month
http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/user_surveys/
Why Shop The Net?
Why are these people shopping on the Net? And why
don't they shop at my store?
You will be surprised that many (51% according to
Find/SVP study) who search the Net do look for a
local store to purchase the merchandise. So, to
paraphrase the New York State Lottery statement
"You have to be in it to win it." According to GVU,
the reason folks shop on the Net (in order of
importance) are:
21.0% Convenience
18.8% Save time
18.7% Vendor information
16.0% No pressure
8.4% Product reviews
8.3% Other or N/A
4.6% Customer opinions
4.2% Personalized information
Many people are asking others on discussion lists
and chat rooms about their experience with a
product or service or a company. And smart
executives will listen the Net is really a small
community! Disgruntled customers can put you out
of business even if you are not online!
* http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?service=view_survey&survey_number=386&rel=no
What information are
shoppers looking for?
The Net is an excellent way to learn all about
your company, your products and services. So, it
behooves you to provide as much information as
possible to help shoppers make a decision to buy.
And it must be easy for them to purchase. Shoppers
are looking for:
30.7% Detailed information on products or
services and your company
26.6% Compare price
25.5% Availability of merchandise
8.9% Store location (yes they do look for a
store near them)
8.3% Other
As a supplier, just like a retailer, you need to
tout your business and products and make it easy
for your customers to purchase.
What sells on the
Net?
Three or four years ago I would have said anything
under $100. Today the answer is anything! Folks
are purchasing high-ticket items like real estate,
automobiles (17% of all autos purchased are
purchased online) and jewelry, as well as low- to
medium-priced goods and services. The most popular
items sold on the Net are:
Earlier this
year:
PC hardware & software
Travel & entertainment
Books
Music
Gifts
Toys
Flowers & greetings
Clothing (biggest increase)
Groceries & pharmacy
September, 1999
Books, 26 percent up from 10 percent in 1998
CDs, 24 percent up from 10 percent last year
Computer Software, 21 percent, up from 11
percent
Computer Hardware, 13 percent, up from 7 percent
in the last 12 months
Airline tickets, 12 percent up from 5 percent
last year
|
|
|
