Members who shop online use the Internet an average of 7.8 hours per week from home, compared to 5.3 hours for non-shoppers. In an interesting test of the extent to which consumers view various media as necessities, the survey asked respondents which medium they would prefer to have available if they were stranded alone on a desert island. Fully 62 percent chose an Internet-connected computer over a telephone or television, comparable to the 69 percent in the most recent U.S. survey. While the survey shows a strong correlation among countries in the growing importance consumers place on the Internet, it reflects differences in how UK, French and German consumers put the medium's convenience to work. French online users are more likely than UK and German users to look up local entertainment information, use instant messaging and meet people with like interests online.
French users are also more likely to suggest that their friends and family go online.
German online consumers engage in more finance related online activities than their counterparts in the UK and in France. Thirty-one percent of German online consumers track their portfolio online, while only 14 percent of French and 13 percent of UK online consumers do so. UK online consumers are more likely than their French and German counterparts to engage in e-commerce related activities. Forty-six percent of UK online consumers book travel reservations and buy tickets online, compared to 29 percent of German and 36 percent of French online consumers. The medium's development is not only tracking, but in some cases outpacing the U.S., as consumers everywhere respond to the kind of convenience that the Internet offers.