Strong Growth Continues In Electronics And Internet Uptake
The continued adoption of consumer electronics and internet access is predicted to enjoy significant growth over the next five years, with new research from Forrester claiming that by 2010, 62% of US households will have broadband access to the internet.
Forrester found that in 2004, 39.5 million US households shopped online, an increase of 3.5 million from 2003. Broadband, laptop and home networking adoption will help drive online research and purchasing to more than 55 million households by 2010.
According to eMarketer, broadband penetration for all households will rise to 56.3% in 2008, up from 23.1% in 2003.
The new technologies are already reported to be changing consumer behaviour, with the Forrester survey showing, of nearly 69,000 people in the US or Canada, broadband internet users watch just 12 hours of television per week, compared with 14 hours of those who are offline. Dial-up users watch 12.5 hours of television.
The study concluded that in the competition for consumers’ time, the biggest loser is television, while newspapers and magazines will also suffer somewhat from internet competition, radio and video games will not.
A survey conducted in May by BURST Media! shows that internet users are spending more time online than with any other media, with 35% of US respondents watching less television and nearly as many spending less time with magazines (see Internet Consumes Most Users Time).
Meanwhile, a Carat Insight analysis of data, from Mediamark Research Inc and Multimedia Scan, revealed that US adults who go online most frequently watch more television and read more newspapers, compared to their non-internet-using counterparts (see Frequent Internet Users Consume More Multi-Media).
