Growth of the US online population slowed in 2001 to 6%, reaching around 105 million ‘active’ users by year-end, according to the Year In Review report released at the end of March by Nielsen//NetRatings. Growth of the overall at-home users also slowed – to 10% – with the population reaching 174 million.
A mature market The report says the days of double-digit growth in internet users in the US are now over, although Europe and the Asia Pacific region are still forecast to show substantial expansion over the next several years. Nielsen//NetRatings describes the US as a ‘mature’ market.
This maturity has been reached as penetration of the net has reached an average of around 55%. In the UK, by way of comparison, internet penetration is now around 45%, suggesting that the market here may also be heading towards maturity.
The report shows that whilst growth of the internet population in the US may be slowing, usage of the web amongst those online is increasing. Usage across a number of categories was up 14% year on year in December 2001.
Broadband takes off Broadband, high-speed internet access has begun to take off in the States (as well as in the UK). The market for at home broadband rose by 80% from 11.7 million users in December 2000 to 21.2 million in December last year. This equates to around 10 million active broadband homes, says Nielsen.
The report notes that there were multiple challenges threatening the development of broadband last year, including economic instability; relatively high prices; middling customer service and inconsistent service availability. Despite this, 20% of home internet users now employ some mode of high-speed access device – DSL, cable satellite, cable modem and so on.
Ecommerce looks strong The report says that ecommerce ended the year on a high note, with spending up 14% on the previous holiday season and up 44% for the whole year.
