Internet businesses in the UK could boost revenues by an additional £14 million a month by charging for information according to a new study by Mondex.
More than half of those questioned said they would be willing to pay a small amount for internet searches, archived news material, music downloads, weather reports, railway timetables, online directory assistance, horoscopes and financial advice.
Head of Business Development Alison Greensmith, said: “The £14 million a month prediction was conservative considering the typical Internet user conducts 19 online sessions a month and is ready to pay 63p per session.” These figures are based on Nielsen NetRating/ICM Research guageing UK online population (22 million) multiplied by the average amount people are prepared to pay for the items listed in the survey (63p).
“That equates to over £2.6 billion a month in revenue for the UK” Greensmith continued. (Amount derived by multiplying the £14 million per session by the average number of sessions [19] per month)
“The trouble is that up until now it’ s been impractical to collect micro-amounts. Today, the opportunity for these companies is immense if they are set to take on an e-cash payment solution that suits the small amounts consumers are willing to pay. We estimate that an industry such as publishing could offer consumers an easy way to pay for small online purchases pay per view for example – for approximately £10 per user. It’ s obvious that the ROI is huge.”
Of the items asked in the survey, Brits would pay the most for financial information (£1.12) followed very closely by the convenience of pre-paying for mobile airtime via the Internet (£1.11) and playing an internet game (£1). Further down the list was tailored travel advice, music downloads and internet searches – up to 69p per search.
