E-commerce Boom Continues, Says BRMB International

E-commerce has boomed in the last 12 months, according to a report by BRMB International. A three-fold increase in the number of online shoppers and a four-fold increase in spend has been reported despite the fact that the percentage of people who worry about credit card fraud has remained static since last year.

A year ago only 38% of internet users felt that credit card use on the Net was secure; this has increased to only 39% in the last twelve months. However e-commerce continues its rapid increase with a total £1.25 billion spent on the net in the six months to December 1999.

E-banking is a rapidly increasing sector with the number of internet users accessing their bank accounts online increasing by nearly 400% over the same period; 1.5 million people now bank online. Three million people still have security concerns when it comes to online banking however.

Paul Milsom, associate director at BRMB International and author of the report, said: “Growth in e-commerce has been enormous, exceeding most expectations. However, the challenge still facing providers of e-commerce and e-banking services is to increase user confidence in providing financial information such as credit card details.”

The choice of sites visited by online shoppers is largely affected by banner advertising. Over half of web-users say ads influence the sites they visit, with more than two-fifths having clicked on banner ads in December.

A synopsis of Internet Monitor can be found at www.bmrb.co.uk

BMRB: 020 8566 5000