Nearly 40 per cent of Irish adults have Internet access, according to a new survey by Amárach Consulting.
Amárach's TrendWatch Technology survey for the second quarter says 38 per cent of adults have Internet access, equivalent to an estimated 1,065,000 adult users - an increase of 5 per cent on figures recorded last year.
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"The rate of growth in Internet use has slowed down and Amárach expect this to continue," Ms Bettina MacCarvill, a consultant at Amárach, said.
"We forecast that an additional 5 per cent of Irish adults will go online within the next 12 months and that by mid-2004 almost half the adult population will be Internet users".
In international terms, Ireland's relative Internet population is similar to that of Britain but lags behind the United States where Internet penetration is over 60 per cent. In Europe, the Nordic countries continue to have the highest levels of Internet penetration, the report says.
Research by Amárach also showed the slowdown in Ireland’s economy is impacting significantly on the consumer online market.
After months of continued growth, the numbers buying online fell for the first time in a year. An estimated 188,000 Internet users made an online purchase in the last three months compared to 238,000 at the start of the year.
"The slowdown may reflect slower domestic economic conditions," Mr Michael McLoughlin, director of Amárach said. "It may also reflect seasonality not evident in the offline market. The fact that travel services are a very significant component of online purchases may also be affecting the timing of online purchases".
Travel services, specifically airline tickets, continue to account for the bulk of online purchases. Books, CDs and tickets for events also continue to be big online sellers.
The report is based on in-home interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults (aged 15-74) conducted during April and May 2002.
