Internet Access Statistics: UK Households with home access to the Internet, July to September

In the third quarter of 2004, 52 per cent of households in the UK (12.9 million) could access the Internet from home, compared with just 9 per cent (2.3 million) in the same quarter of 1998.

In October 2004, 61 per cent of adults in Great Britain had used the Internet in the three months prior to interview. Just over half (55 per cent) of these adults had bought or ordered goods, tickets or services. A higher proportion of men (62 per cent) than women (48 per cent) had used it for purchases.

Of those adults who had used the Internet for personal or private use, in the 12 months prior to interview, the most common purchases were travel, accommodation or holidays (49 per cent), tickets for events (35 per cent), videos or DVDs, music or CDs (34 per cent) and books or magazines, e-learning or training material (33 per cent).

In October 2004, 34 per cent of adults had never used the Internet. Of these, 43 per cent stated that they did not want to use, or had no need for, or no interest, in the Internet; 42 per cent had no Internet connection; and 37 per cent felt they lacked knowledge or the confidence to use it. These adults were also asked which of four statements best described what they thought about using the Internet. Fifty-four per cent of non-users chose the statement 'I have not really considered using the Internet before and I am not likely to in the future'. This core group of non-Internet users represented 19 per cent of all adults in Britain. Source: Individuals accessing the Internet – National Statistics Omnibus Survey Access to Internet from home – Source - Family Expenditure Survey (April 1998 to March 2001); Expenditure and Food Survey (April 2001 onwards)

The data table on Internet Access shows information about both households with home access to the Internet and about individuals' access to the Internet. This information comes from two different data sources. The main source for households is the Family Expenditure Survey (July 1999 to March 2001) and from April 2001 onwards, the Expenditure and Food Survey. The most recently available information from this survey covers the July to September 2004 quarter. The National Statistics Omnibus Survey is the source for individuals' access to the Internet. These data were last collected in October 2004

The Expenditure and Food Survey (formerly the Family Expenditure Survey) is carried out by interviewing a nationally representative sample of households in the United Kingdom. About 1,700 house...

Comprehensive overview of all aspects of household expenditure and income for the year 2002-2003 derived from the Expenditure and Food Survey of around 7,000 households in the UK

Provides detailed analysis of household expenditure broken down by age, income, composition, socio-economic characteristics and geography. The result is one of the most accurate pictures available of what households in the UK spend their money on today.

Includes: food & drink, housing, clothing & footwear, goods & services, transport, recreation, ownership of durable goods and more.

The EFS is a continuous survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics. These figures are based on information collected in the period April 2002 to March 2003.

The following internet statistics and forecasts were collected during the month of December 2001.
US Online users forecast 2002 - 2006 (millions)
2002 - 157.6
2003 - 173.1
2004 - 187.5
2005 - 200.5
2006 - 210.8

US Online retail revenue projection ($billion) 2002 - 2006
2002 - 47.8
2003 - 63.9
2004 - 82.9
2005 - 104.4
2006 - 130.3
Source: Jupiter Media Metrix(( http://www.jmm.com )

E-Commerce information: The latest statistics from such E-Commerce luminaries as Forrester Research and CommerceNet make exciting reading for businesses about to launch their E-Commerce sites:

There are now around 170 million internet users world wide, with that figure set to increase to one billion by the year 2005 (IDC Research). Over 42 million of current users are in Europe alone, and the Internet is attracting nearly 11,000 new adult users in Britain annually. As a result of this acceleration in Internet use, global internet revenues are doubling every 3 to 4 months.

Online shopping is the fastest growing area of Internet use this year. It is estimated that 30% of all web sites are used as a means of trading, rather than just as an advertising medium. Of these sites however, only 10% are fully 'commerce enabled', though this figure is set to increase to 30% by the year 2002. Giga tell us that 2002 will also see 20% of all trade revenues being Internet based, and Forester tell us that US revenues alone will exceed $300 billion in that year.

These statistics are not hard to believe when you know that 30% of all current internet users already purchase goods online. These purchasers have also very quickly become 'net savvy' in that they seek bargains world wide, rather than just from local outlets. It goes without saying that with a customer base as large as the internet, the existing take up of the new medium for shopping, and the reduced costs associated with trading online, the internet is definitely the approach for new businesses or those hoping to expand their activities.

It is very apparent from the above that internet awareness has now become deeply embedded in the public consciousness. Web site advertising is commonplace and the use of digital television and mobile telephones to access facilities only available previously via computer can only increase general acceptance of a medium that didn't even exist ten years ago. Business has now taken the lead on the internet, and companies are beginning to push the boundaries of existing technology in order to exploit the new trading medium more fully. online banking and electronic mail are only two of the other ways in which the internet has allowed 'virtual' life to encroach upon the traditional.