The past year also saw rapid increases in households gaining access, mainly due to plummeting access costs and increased publicity. Datamonitor projects that one in five European households will have interactive TV by 2003. Abrams said Europeans will be 100 percent ahead of the U.S. in terms of digital TV penetration rates. He noted that more than 60 percent of European summer vacations are now being booked through TeleText, a text-based service offered via television. Britain, in particular, is expected to take to online commerce.
Some companies are ready for the future online shoppers.
Customers can select the order off-line and then place it via the Internet with delivery made to their homes. The program is currently available only to customers near selected stores in the London area, but Tesco plans to extend the service. Relatively high penetration of smart cards, digital wallets, and other secure payment methods is reducing security concerns. Customers in other regions of the world no longer have to order from e-tailers based in the United States. But with this new world comes a price tag.