The latest Internet usage statistics

Written on the 10th of June 2008

We all know that the popularity of the Internet is sky-rocketing, but what are the actual numbers?  Here are some of the most recent statistics about Internet usage in Australian households:

• Australia has 11.3 million Internet users
• 64% of Australian households have Internet access
• Australians spend more time online than watching TV – 22 hours per week for the web compared to 14 hours for TV
• In NSW, QLD, WA, ACT VIC, more than 50% of of Internet users log on every day and users in TAS (43%), NT (42%) and SA (43%) aren't far behind

And what about online spending?

• 52% of people research a product or service online before they buy it instore
• 61% of Australian Internet users regularly purchase goods and services online
• Australians aged between 25-34 shopped online the most (71%), followed by 35-44 year olds (66%)
• The 4.4 million Internet users that don't shop online say they have no need to (34%), have security concerns (20%) or prefer shopping in person (19%)

To learn some great startegies for using the Internet in your business to take advantage of these huge numbers, check out our case studies and our article library.

These statistics are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Use of Information Technology 2006-07 report, Forrester research 2006 and ABC News 2008.