Heading
into Holiday Season, Hostway Survey Finds: Online Shoppers
Say They'll Buy From Small and Large E-Businesses Alike
[November 22, 2004]
CHICAGO,
Nov 22, 2004 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- As the holiday
shopping season begins in earnest, consumers say they're
just as willing to buy from small online retailers as
they are from large, national e-commerce providers.
In addition to this key finding, a new
national survey of approximately 2,500 consumers discovered
extremely high levels of consumer participation in --
and satisfaction with -- shopping on the Internet, despite
continuing concerns for security and privacy.
According to the survey, sponsored by
Hostway Corp., a global leader in Web hosting and managed
services, more than three-fourths of consumers who have
shopped the Web sites of both large and small companies
said company size is not a factor in having their online
shopping needs satisfied. Only 15 percent of respondents
expressed a strong preference for dealing with large
companies online, opening the door for small- to medium-sized
businesses to get in the e-commerce game.
"These survey results provide very
encouraging news: The Internet 'Gold Rush' is far from
over for small businesses," said John Lee, Hostway's
vice president of marketing. "The Wal-Marts of
the world may be hurting sales for Main Street retailers,
but consumers are telling us size doesn't matter on
the Information Highway.
"Our message to small retailers
is this," Lee continued, "You clearly have
an opportunity to succeed in e-commerce. Consumers are
able to find you online. They're willing to buy from
you. But it still takes a lot of work, and you should
get help from the experts in building and promoting
a successful e-commerce Web site."
Overall, nearly nine of ten survey respondents
reported buying products online, and of that group,
94 percent said they are satisfied (30 percent) or very
satisfied (64 percent) with their overall experience.
Participating consumers ranked the following attributes
as being the most important factors in shopping online:
-- Assurance of security (97 percent)
-- Promise of privacy (96 percent)
-- Prices (95 percent)
-- Web site ease of use (94 percent)
-- Availability of desired products and services (94
percent)
Market research firm TNS conducted the survey for Hostway
between November 10 and 13, questioning approximately
2,500 adult consumers nationwide about their online
shopping experiences.
About Hostway
Hostway Corporation provides Web hosting
and managed services to more than 300,000 customers
worldwide. Hostway helps individuals, small businesses
and large enterprises achieve more value from state-of-the-art
Web-based technologies by reducing their complexity
and cost. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the five
largest Web hosting companies in the world with offices
in North America (Chicago, Tampa and Vancouver), Europe
(London and Amsterdam) Asia (Seoul) and Australia (Sydney).
For more information about Hostway Corporation, please
visit http://www.hostway.com or call 1-888-290-5170.
About TNS
TNS is one of the world's leading market
information groups, providing market measurement, analysis
and insight through its operating companies in 70 countries.
Working with national and multi-national organizations,
TNS helps its clients develop effective business strategies
and enhance relationships with their customers. In July
2003, the group merged with NFO WorldGroup, Inc. For
more information about TNS, please visit http://www.tns-global.com
.
Survey Methodology
TNS conducted the survey online on behalf
of Hostway Corporation between November 10 and 13, 2004
among a nationally representative sample of 2,507 U.S.
adults, aged 18 and older selected from TNS-NFO ACCESS
panel. For more information on survey methodology, please
contact Tina Janczura at Tina.Janczura@slackbarshinger.com
.
Contact: Tina Janczura, Tina.Janczura@slackbarshinger.com,
312.970.5841
Lauria Locsmondy, Lauria.Locsmondy@hostwaycorp.com,
312.994.7720
SOURCE Hostway Corporation
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