1st In Video - Music World, Inc.

• As of January 2008, the US accounted for 21% (173 million) of the 824 million Internet users worldwide, according to comScore. This figure does not include users accessing the Internet from public computers or mobile phones.
• Google is the dominant search brand in most countries
• The number of worldwide visitors to social networking sites has grown 34 percent in the past year to 530 million, representing approximately 2 out of every 3 Internet users. MySpace and Facebook are in a tight battle for the global leadership position, each attracting more than 100 million visitors per month.
• Online video has become the dominant online entertainment format, led by the global popularity of YouTube with more than 250 million visitors in January.
• The Internet has become an important source of news for most Web users.

Read More: comScore “Digital World: State Of The Internet” Report Highlights Growth in Emerging Internet Markets

E-commerce sales in 2007 grew 19% to $136.4 billion, up from $114.62 billion in 2006 according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.  U.S. Retail sales only grew 4%.

Source: Internet Retailer Magazine - March 2008

 African Americans and Hispanics still lag the general population, while Asian Americans are more heavily represented.

Percentage of Shoppers vs 2002:

• 40.6% of African Americans (up from 25.1%)
• 41.8% of Hispanics (up from 27.7%)
• 70% of Asian Americans (up from 55.8%)
• 55% of Adults Overall (up from 44%)

Read More: More Minorities Shopping Online - eMarketer

• Almost 2/3’s of the US population is online
• The aveage US Interet User spent 15.3 hours per week online in 2007
• “The US Internet population differs from the general population in age, race/ethnicity, income and education levels.”

Source/Read More: Now US Is Online, And How! - eMarketer

• 80% of US adults use the Internet
• Average time  spent online per person was 11 hours per week
• 70% of US adults have internet access at home
• Higher education and income levels still go hand-in-hand with Internet usage

Read More: eMarketer: Web Users Up, Demographics Broader

A recent DoubleClick study, “Searcher Moms – A Search
Behavior and Usage Study,” in partnership with Microsoft and ROI Research found that a high percentage of mothers use the Internet for planning online and offline purchases, vacations and more.

• 89% use the Internet at least twice/day
• 90% have been online 7+ years
• 70% use search engines before buying online
• 57% use search engines before buying offline
• Reasons for using search engines:
  • To compare prices: 72%
  • To find retail locations: 71%
  • To gather product information: 71%

Source: DoubleClick Performics unveils data resulting from a search usage study targeting the “moms” segment and completed in cooperation with Microsoft and ROI Research, “Searcher Moms — A Search Behavior and Usage Study. - 91K PDF

US retail e-commerce sales for the second quarter of 2007 was estimated at $31.8 billion, according to the Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. That is up 20.7% from the second quarter of 2006. E-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2007 accounted for 3.1% of all retail sales.

Source: Retail E-Commerce Sales Strong in Q2 - eMarketer

2006 was the first year that Americans spent more online for clothing than they did for computers. This year, 10 percent of clothing sales are expected to occur via the Internet.

Source: Online shopping can become addictive- NewsOK

Current demographics show that broadband users are more likely to be more educated and wealthier.

Source: eMarketer

Burst Media recently found that the more complex the travel product, the more likely it will be researched online, but booked offline.   Customers were much more likely to book airfare and car rentals than hotels and travel destinations.  The travel industry still makes booking vacation packages too complex for the consumer.  When a customer is booking a complex  vacation involving airfare, hotels, transfers and/or cruises, it makes sense to book through a Travel Agent to make sure everything connects properly.  Help from live customer service agents was a major incentive to travelers who booked offline.

Read More: Online Travelers Bargain-Hunt on the Web - eMarketer