Good news for online marketers: ActivMedia’s FutureScapes
study shows that 70% of respondents expect to replace catalog shopping with
online shopping.
The study also indicates that the Internet is becoming a way of life for many,
with 80% saying it has improved relationships, nearly 20% ordering more
take-out food, and more than two-thirds saying their worklife has improved.
FutureScapes polled 5,800 users of online services on how they use the Net
today, how it has affected their lives. and the impacts they expect it to have
tomorrow.
Other results: Television viewing is down significantly. Bar/club
visits, going out to movies, and to a lesser extent exercise and book
reading are all being replaced by Internet activity.
Senior Research Analyst Jonathan Honiball said: “Respondents gushed about the
Net like a teenager over his/her first car. For some the Net was a means to
pursue their love life. Others found the Net allowed them to keep working into
their retirement. Others talked about how the Net improved their worklife;
others pursued hobbies. Seniors talked of the freedom and power the Internet
provides to extend their useful lives, to keep in close touch with remote
family members and to feel less isolated.”
FutureScapers averaged 60% more time using the Internet than watching
television, and, interestingly, the longer they had been online, the greater
the gap between television viewing and Internet use.
The study was conducted from July to October 1997. About 5,800 online
respondents described how the Internet has affected their work and personal
lives and how they hope to use the Internet in the future. Respondents include
professional, technical, managerial, production, service, and more from
industry sectors, including information, communications, transportation,
services, education, social services, government, manufacturing, and retail
and wholesale.
A sample spreadsheet showing all 150 FutureScapes questions and the 103
subgroup data tabulations is available online.
The complete study is available for $2,995. ActivMedia is a market research
firm on the Web specializing in Internet markets and impacts. It has global
affiliates in Europe, Japan, and other parts of Asia.
