Gen Y Busiest Online ShoppersGen Y Busiest Online Shoppers

Most online shoppers buy as much on the Internet as they do in real stores and most are confident in their online purchases, but Generation Y shoppers are most active and comfortable with online and mobile activities, a recent report showed.

Sixty-nine percent of consumers who buy mostly online visit social networking sites, while 50% have listened to podcasts and 49% have blogged, according to figures released by PriceGrabber.com this week. Sixty-seven percent of consumers who buy mostly in stores have never listened to a podcast, while 63% have never blogged and 38% have never joined a social networking site. The survey of more than 2,400 online respondents revealed that 52% of Generation X consumers are very confident about buying online, while 53% of Baby Boomers are very confident about buying goods on the Internet. Twenty-seven percent of online buyers said that they buy on the Internet sometimes but mostly in stores. Of those, 35% said they are very confident about buying online, while 19% said they are somewhat confident. The survey, conducted in July and August, also showed that Generation Y online consumers are more inclined to have entrepreneurial ambitions than online shoppers in other age groups. Forty-three percent of online consumers from that generation said they want to work as entrepreneurs, while just 31% of all online consumers aspired toward entrepreneurship. The survey also confirmed that Generation Y consumers are more active online and on mobile phones. Ninety-six percent of Generation Y respondents use text messaging, while 85% use social networks. Fifty-seven percent listen to podcasts and 50% listen to blogs.