InformationWeek: The Business Value of Technology

Just Browsing

When it comes to purchasing products on the Internet, the majority of consumers are still only window shopping, according to a report released last week.

About two-thirds of all Internet users are surfing the Web to research products, but only 32% of them are actually buying products, according to the Internet Commerce Briefing, a reference guide about Internet companies, including eBay, Amazon.com, and Travelocity, from business publishing company Intermarket Group Inc.

Why not go the distance? A common complaint among both browsers and buyers was difficulty searching online merchants' Web sites. Consumers also cite concerns over pricing, potential return hassles, credit-card security, and personal privacy.

Sixty-one percent of online merchants report a shopper-to-buyer conversion rate of up to 2%. That's about the average for traditional direct-mail responses. But marketing helps, the report says. Among the publicly traded online merchants, the most successful invested an average of $23.94 to acquire each new customer in the first quarter of 1999 and achieved a 6% conversion rate.