It is estimated that world wide over 6,700,000,000 people regularly use the internet, with Europe accounting for over 800.000.000 of these.
European on-line growth rate is a staggering 297.8 % over the last decade, making the World Wide Web the number one resource for products, services and information searches.
New research from the EIAA highlights that 80% of European internet users have bought a product or service online, double the 2004 figure.
Online European shoppers made 1.3 billion purchases in just one six month period in 2008, spending an average of €747.00 each online.
The top three products bought online are:
Books
Holidays
Music, DVD's & Video Games
What actually persuaded someone to buy online in the first place? top three results being:
Search Engine
Previous knowledge (used before or well known brand)
Recommendation
The top three usages for the internet:
E-mail
Buying products and services
General browsing