Ecommerce activity to triple in 1999, but no brand dominates yet

The electronic commerce market place is set to explode in the next 12 months fuelled by consumers eager to buy online.

According to latest research by Intelliquest Information Group, ecommerce activity will triple as early as next year, however while merchants are jockeying for consumer attention clear leaders have yet to emerge.

Intelliquest surveyed over 10,000 Internet users quantifying their online shopping and buying habits and brand perceptions. Over 4,000 different branded sites and products with head-to head comparisons were measured for consumers? awareness.

Nearly four fifths, 81 per cent, of respondents said they intend to shop or buy online in the next 12 months. In the past 90 days, 63 per cent have shopped, and 23 per cent bought goods or services online.

According to the company nearly 73 million US citizens are currently accessing the Internet, with more than 45 million using the Net to shop and nearly 16 million buying online.

The survey looked into specific product categories and found Amazon.com lead the book market, CDnow the music market, and not surprisingly Microsoft and Dell topped the computer software and hardware categories. When looking for a new car or holiday, Net users tended to turn to portal sites such as Yahoo and AOL.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
•  
•  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Web