MARKET COMMENT
New UK Internet Access Data

By David Kuo (TMFDragon)
March 28, 2001

Carburton Street, London --The Office for National Statistics has published its latest quarterly report on Internet access by individuals in the UK. As investors, we should try to look beyond the headline numbers and attempt to build scenarios that might help in understanding the environment that businesses now have to operate in.

To kick off with the figures, over a third of UK homes or 8.6 million households now have access to the Internet. This is four times greater than two years ago. Accessing the Internet is mainly through computers with over 98% preferring this method to all others. WAP phones have grown in popularity with 7% of those who have ever used the Internet having done so using a phone compared with just 1% in July 2000. Access via Digital TV has remained largely unchanged at 6%.

Over half the adult population has accessed the Internet at some time and men were more likely to use the Internet than women. Access among those aged between 16 to 24 continued to show the highest growth and almost two-thirds of adults who have accessed the Internet were aged between 16 and 44.

Two-thirds of those who had accessed the Internet use it for e-mail and to find goods and services. More than a third of those who have accessed the Internet have used it to buy goods and services. This is equivalent to 14% of the adult population of the UK.

Businesses need to accept that the Internet will become more pervasive. They also need to develop strategies to address the challenges that lie ahead. Internet strategies need not be as unsubtle as merely offering goods and services through a website. They must be coherent plans embracing a thorough understanding of how products and services need to be adapted for effective marketing through this exciting electronic medium. Why not check out this duel on Unilever (LSE: ULVR) to see whether you agree?