Access for
What?
How are these millions of
users putting the Internet to work? What do they use it for? At one time,
casual observers expected the Web to be a playground dedicated to games
and entertainment. Some generously noted its potential as a general
information resource. But the Internet has far surpassed such notions.
Fast and inexpensive communication via e-mail has become a major use, as
has the buying and selling of goods and services, or “e-commerce.”
Based on an analysis of
multiple research sources, eMarketer (http://www.emarketer.com) concluded
that 3.4 trillion e-mail messages were delivered in 1998. This equates to
9.4 billion messages exchanged every day of the year in the U.S. alone. In
1998, 81 million Americans used e-mail. The average American sends or
receives 26.4 e-mail messages every day.
This, according to eMarketer, equates to 9.4 billion messages
exchanged every day of the year in America alone.13
Consumers have grown to
trust—and expect—online commercial resources. eMarketer estimates U.S.
online sales for 1999 as high as $18.6 billion14
and predicts that worldwide e-commerce revenues will grow from $98.4
billion in 1999 to $1.2 trillion by 2003.15
The number of small
businesses with Web sites has nearly doubled since 1998 and quadrupled
since 1997, according to research by Prodigy Biz Corporation (http://www.prodigy.com).
In November 1999, Prodigy reported that approximately one-third of small
businesses in the U.S. were online.16
The December, 1999, eAdvertising
Report from Advertising Age reported estimated that U.S. Web
advertising spending will grow from $3.1 billion in 1999 to $4.82 billion in 2000 and to $13.3 billion by 2003.17
While that sounds like a lot, eMarketer says that this amount will only
represent 4.7 percent of the total advertising media spending for the
respective years.
A January, 2000,
ABCNEWS.com poll found that 44 percent of Americans plan to buy online
during year 2000. That’s three times the number who did so in 1999.
Furthermore, these online shoppers fit a real estate agent’s dream: They
tend to be better educated and earn higher incomes. Among people who earn
more than $75,000 in household income, for example, 72 percent say
they’ll buy online in the future.18
How much do they buy? Ernst & Young’s Third Annual Online Retailing Report, December, 1999, predicted 1999 holiday-time shopping revenues
of $12 to $15 billion, a figure representing
nearly half of the online retail revenues for the entire year.19
This puts 1999 online
spending at $24 to $30 billion—and the year 2000 projection at $72 to
$90 billion.
What does Internet use
have to do with real estate professionals? Plenty. These Internet users
are potential homebuyers or sellers in your marketing area. Never before
could you reach so many prospects so easily and inexpensively.
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