Online Bill Payment Popularity Increases, Not Spurred by Mail Scare
In contradiction to a Gartner study that indicated a 20 percent increase in online bill payment enrollment since the anthrax mail contamination scare immediately following the September 11 terrorist attacks, a Jupiter Media Metrix study released Monday concluded that there has been "no noticeable increase in traffic" to the Internet's largest online billing sites in the same time period.
Traffic to bill-paying sites rose a modest 2.8 percent in each of the last three weeks of October as compared to an average of a 2.5 percent per week increase in the previous three months.
The steady increase in popularity of these sites is more likely attributed to aggressive marketing campaigns by utilities, financial institutions and others.
"Consumers will steadily embrace online billing as they become more aware of the benefits and the bills become increasingly available online," Jupiter senior analyst Jim Van Dyke said.
Jupiter's study concludes there is and will continue to be a long-term trend of steady growth in the online bill payment sector, regardless of the anthrax situation.
Most Americans Aren't Anteing up for Broadband Access
A recent Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) report found that, of the nearly 70 million Americans with Internet access, only 13 percent have upgraded to a high-speed connection via DSL or cable modem services.
The ITAA report estimated that 70 percent of American households have access to cable modem broadband service and 45 percent have high-speed access via DSL technology. The major hindrances to mass adoption of broadband connectivity seem to be a lack of compelling content as well as the proliferation of service horror stories in getting the broadband hooked up in homes.
Harris Miller, ITAA president, observed, "We've believed that, 'If you build it, they will come.' That turns out to be wrong. The industry will have to convince people that this is a nice highway to drive on."
Microsoft will be closely monitoring the adoption of broadband services since their Windows XP technology was designed based on the assumption that broadband would continue to grow and many services offered by the software are not useful without it.
Fraud Rises in Online Purchases
A new report from the US National Consumers League (NCL) shows that consumers reported US$4.3 million in losses from online fraud in the first 10 months of 2001, compared to $3.3 million in all of 2000.
The NCL's Internet Fraud Watch has recorded an average of $636 per person in losses from fraudulent online transactions, with 63 percent related to online auctions. That's down from 78 percent of 2000's online fraud losses related to online auctions.
The average loss for general merchandise fraud is $845. Comparatively, the average loss for online auction fraud is $478, indicating that consumers are more likely to be defrauded through online auctions, but other fraud cases are more costly.
Italians Flock to the Internet
Traditionally, Italy is considered behind the times when it comes to the Internet and technology. But various reports released this year by leading research firms show that the country is one of the fastest growing Internet markets in terms of penetration rates.
Between September 2000 and September 2001, Nielsen NetRatings showed that the Italian online population grew by 3,540,970--about one user every ten seconds.
Jupiter Media Metrix found a new European growth record in Italy with a 40 percent rise in Internet users, from 10 million in 2000 to 14 million in 2001.
The Italian Web user is predominantly male, but 51 percent of new users are women. And, while teenagers between 14 and 19 only make up 11 percent of the total, they spend an average of five to six hours per month online, compared to the rest of the population at 30 minutes.
Lotteries in Peru to Grow 5 Percent or More Next Year
Tektron, the owner of the La Tinka lottery in Peru and holder of 90 percent of the lottery market share, is forecasting a 5 percent sales growth for next year, providing the economic forecast in that country remains stable or grows.
The Peruvian lottery market generates US$34 million in annual sales, a number that has been steadily increasing in recent years.
Hong Kong Tourism Focuses on Internet for Bookings
A new study released by the World Tourism Organization last month showed that one in four travel purchases will be made online by 2006. According to the report, the growth seen in the online travel sales sector has been so rapid that it may comprise nearly half of all e-commerce within the next two to three years.
Hong Kong's Tourism Board is planning for these statistics to become reality and putting much effort into their own website, which currently attracts about three million visitors a month. The site is offered in 12 languages and does not currently offer booking services, but links to travel sites through advertisers.
The board's assistant manager, Simon Clennell, said that the Internet targets customers who wouldn't otherwise be reachable via traditional marketing methods. "It takes Hong Kong straight into people's homes. It also gives us coverage in markets that would otherwise be too small for other types of marketing," he said.
According to the international market survey, 67 percent of North Americans use the Internet to research international travel. The same can be said of 45 percent of Australians, about 25 percent of travelers from England, Singapore and South Korea and 11 percent of mainland Chinese travelers.