Shock survey results: People are doing more things online!

The dot-com economy is long gone, but that hasn't curbed the public's appetite for shopping, banking and generally amusing themselves on the web, according to a recent study.

Significantly more people are using the web to send pictures and videos, shop, download music, play games and do their banking, according a study by Ipsos-Reid, a consumer marketing research firm, that compares last year's habits with those of 2000.

Online shopping has increased dramatically, according to the report. Nearly two-thirds of the 2,900 web surfers surveyed said they had bought something online at some point, up from 36 per cent of those surveyed in 2000. The biggest markets for online shopping, according to the 12 country study, are in the United States and the UK, where 77 per cent and 68 per cent of web users surveyed, respectively, have made purchases online.

That surge came too late, however, for many now defunct internet start-ups that tried to capitalise on people's urge to spend online.

"In spite of the dot-com meltdown, the internet is still going strong and is advancing steadily," said Gus Schattenberg, vice president of global research at Ipsos-Reid. "There is no sign that we've reached any kind of a plateau, and the internet is becoming a more important part of everyone's daily lives."

The percentage of respondents who manage their finances online has nearly doubled, from 20 per cent in 2000 to 37 per cent last year. Online banking is most prevalent in Canada, the UK, Germany and the United States.

Downloading music files has also increased in popularity, to the chagrin of the music industry. The percentage of web surfers downloading music files online increased to 44 per cent last year, up from 38 per cent in 2000. The largest jump in music downloading took place in China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil.

Also, more than two-thirds of respondents reported sending or receiving pictures or video clips online in 2002. Ipsos-Reid hadn't measured that activity in previous surveys, so no comparison data on that particular trend was available.

The growth in internet use will continue apace, the study predicted, with the advent of wireless phones with picture- and video-swapping features, the growing demand of digital cameras, falling prices for personal computers and web access, and the introduction of new internet-surfing devices.

The research firm did point to a potential downside to the upswing in web use.

"There may be some social consequences - things such as information overload," said Schattenberg. "Surfing the internet can be a solitary activity instead of a social activity, and it's one more demand on people's time."

Ipsos-Reid, a North American division of Paris-based Ipsos, has been tracking internet use since 1999. The latest study was based on interviews with 2,900 active internet users in 12 countries in May and June 2002.

By News.com's Alorie Gilbert