Marketer Online

Nearly two-thirds of Internet users in France ages 11 and over said they had purchased something online, according to a Q1 2008 survey by Médiamétrie. That was up from the six out of 10 respondents who said they were online buyers in the previous year's study.

In comparison, eMarketer estimates that nearly 68% of Internet users in the US ages 14 and older will buy something online this year.

Why are the numbers so close for the two countries? For one thing, broadband is closely associated with online purchasing. eMarketer estimates that 58.2% of households in France will have broadband by the end of 2008, compared with 62.7% for the US.

Online buyer demographics are similar in both countries as well. The main difference is that in France, male Internet users are more likely to be online buyers than females. In the US, online buying is nearly equal by gender.

E-commerce in the US remains the province of young and affluent consumers, according to a February 2008 online shopping report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Individuals ages 50 and older accounted for only 29% of adult online buyers, and affluent Internet users were more likely to be online buyers than were users from lower-income households.

To learn how online merchants in the US will fare this year, read eMarketer's US Retail E-Commerce: Slower But Still Steady Growth report.