Thursday, February 14, 2008 - Page updated at 06:42 PM
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
Study: Generation Gap With Net Shopping
AP Internet Writer
Convenience and bargain-hunting tend to drive younger Americans to online shopping, while all adults share concerns about security and other drawbacks, a new study finds.
According to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 62 percent of Web users under age 30 consider the Internet to best place to find good deals, while only 32 percent of users age 65 and older do.
Likewise, younger Internet users are far more likely to find online shopping convenient.
John Horrigan, the study's author, attributed the generational gap to the force of habits.
"Older Americans have for a long time been doing shopping the old-fashioned way," Horrigan said. "They've adopted subtle patterns of shopping that are sensible to them and therefore fairly convenient for them. Younger folks never had to learn those tricks like getting to the mall early to avoid crowds or knowing when the sales are."
The generational gap is less pronounced when it comes to giving credit and other personal information online. Seventy-one percent of younger users do not like doing so, almost as high as the 82 percent of older users.
And older users were only slightly more likely _ 34 percent vs. 24 percent _ to find online shopping complicated.
The telephone-based study of 1,684 Internet users, conducted Aug. 3 to Sept. 5, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
Sunday Buzz: Expedia, Intelius, Classmates slapped by Senate report
Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
UPDATE - 08:56 PM
Senate Democrats at odds over health care bill
Your Funds: Money for nothing: Some investors pay for advice they never get

nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Tugboat sinks on Seattle's waterfront
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Mariners Blog | A Mariners-Tigers swap makes a whole lot of sense for both teams
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'




