Internet Commerce To Top $30 Billion In Western Europe By 2001

Total Internet commerce revenues in Western Europe will grow
from $1 billion in 1997 to $30 billion in 2001, according to a new research
study published by International Data Group (IDG).

Carsten Hejndorf, project manager of IDC’s European Internet program, said:
“Germany and the United Kingdom are currently rivals for the spot as the
largest Internet market in Western Europe, each with a 1997 Web population
of more than four million individuals. Germany alone is expected to drive
one-third of the World Wide Web user growth in Western Europe and dominate
the market between 1998 and 2001 with more than 17 million Web users
projected by the end of 2001.”

IDC’s report, entitled “The Western European Forecast for Internet Usage
and Commerce,” covers sixteen countries. It is split into five end-user
segments: home, small business, medium/large business, government, and
education. The report includes data for the years 1995, 1996 and 1997, and
contains forecasts up to the year 2001.

According to the report, nearly 4.3 percent of all inhabitants of Western
Europe are now World Wide Web users. The penetration varies from 0.8
percent to 12.2 percent, with Nordic countries showing the highest
penetration, followed by Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and
Germany–all of which are above the average for Western Europe.

The report, based on the latest version of IDC’s Internet Commerce Market
Model, also states that the average transaction size per buyer will show
dramatic growth, especially in the business-to-business segment. It will,
say the authors of the report, “drive total Internet commerce revenues to
astonishing levels.”