Online Purchases from Home Soar

As further proof that people are becoming accustomed to shopping from home, a recent study conducted Odyssey L.P, an independent market research firm, has shown that 47 percent of online households have purchased something online within the past six months.

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According to the study, the total number of online purchases by U.S. households in the past six months exceeded 56 million, which is more than four times the number measured a year ago. Odyssey’s data indicates that the dramatic increases in electronic commerce in the past year are the results of online penetration — which has increased over the past year from 24 percent to 33 percent of U.S. households.

According to Odyssey, on average, the number of households that buy online has led to a twofold increase in the number of online purchases made in the preceding six months, up to 3.7 (accoridng to the most recent statistics) from 1.7 a year ago.

Although Odyssey reports sharp increases in online shopping, the industry has a long way to go. “Online retail is still in its infancy and the true potential of the Internet as a marketplace has yet to be tapped,” said Nick Donatiello, Odyssey’s president and CEO. Other statistics from Odyssey’s study show that 83 percent of U.S. households still have never purchased anything online.

Reprinted from internet.com’s E-Commerce Guide.