Britons Spending More Time Online Than Ever

According to new research 85 percent of home internet users spend at least six hours per week online, with 5 percent claiming to spend more than 80 hours a week online.

Point topic’s most recent broadband consumer survey revealed that 86.6 percent of internet users spend at six hours, if not more, surfing the net, per week. This figure is a 3.6 percentage increase from the end of 2006 and 33 percentage increase in 2005.

The latest research shows that 16 percent watch TV or streaming video, while the other 40 percent of broadband users spend their time downloading music. 90 percent of broadband subscribers go online to send emails with over 60 percent going online to access auction sites such as eBay. The study also shows a decrease in the money being spent online by Britons.

In late 2006 less than 65 percent of people said they had purchased online with this number increasing by 5 percent come June 2007. However, interestingly, the weekly spend decreased during this period, and this was matched with an increase in user spending at the bottom end of the scale (£1-£20 per week).

Research Director at Point topic, Dr Katja Mueller, says there are a number of causes for the change. One reason could be the fact that the fastest growing group of online-shoppers are people from the lower income end of the scale. The other reason, which is perhaps a direct result of the first reason is that there is an increase in the number of smaller items being purchased online.

Unfortunately there aren’t any easily obtained comparable figures for time spent online by residents in Ireland. However, according to Aileen O’Toole, managing director at Amas, an internet consultancy firm, there is a significant link between broadband uptake and a rise in the number of hours that users spend surfing the internet.

O’Toole told ENN that as broadband makes its way into more homes in Ireland, the percentage of purchasing online will increase.

"The more people spend time on the internet, the better experience they have, which makes them more confident about buying online."