The latest study by Taylor Nelson Sofres for internet intelligence specialist NetValue paints an upbeat picture of UK web growth, claiming nearly 900,000 new home users since August – a sharp contrast to the marginal decline (from 40% of all UK households to 39% ) reported by Oftel/Mori last week [WAMN: 06-Nov-01].
Highlights from the NetValue survey, conducted quarterly, are …
• People now spend 7.3 hours per month online – an increase from last year when the average Briton spent 6.1 hours online.
• A 53% increase in new home internet users during the past twelve months (September 2000 to September 2001).
• The number of home internet users hit 15 million in September 2001, up from 14.2 million in August - a month-on-month increase of just under 900,000 unique users.
• Since September 2000, the UK home internet universe has grown by 53 per cent.
• The number of domains visited per internet user has decreased, down from an average of 58 to 44 – but time spent at each domain has increased, as has the number of pages displayed per domain. This is [claimed to be] evidence that internet users are becoming loyal to a select number of sites.
• The percentage of young and old people online is growing: surfers aged 24 and below have increased by 18% in the last year, whilst ‘silver surfers’ (50+) have grown by 16%. The percentage of users aged between 25 and 49, however, has decreased by 15 per cent.
• Scandinavian countries remain ahead of the European pack with the highest percentage of their populations wired to the web, followed respectively by the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
News source: Media Week (UK); NetValue
