Americans spend $227.6 billion online in 2010 - report

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Americans spend $227.6 billion online in 2010 - report

2011-02-09 10:06:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

RESTON, VIRGINIA (BNO NEWS) -- Total U.S. e-commerce spending reached $227.6 billion in 2010, up 9 percent versus the previous year, while the popularity of smartphones continues to increase with one in every four mobile phones in the U.S. being smartphones, comScore's latest digital review, which was released on Tuesday, said.

'The comScore 2010 U.S. Digital Year in Review' annual report recaps key trends in the U.S. digital media landscape, including e-commerce, social networking, online video, search, online advertising and mobile, with an emphasis on how digital marketers can capitalize on these trends in 2011.

The report showed that following two years of depressed consumer discretionary spending, travel e-commerce spending grew 6 percent to $85.2 billion, while retail (non-travel) e-commerce spending jumped 10 percent to $142.5 billion for the year.

In addition, social networking continued to gain momentum throughout 2010, with 9 out of every 10 U.S. Internet users now visiting a social networking site in a month, while the average Internet user spends over 4 hours on social networking sites each month.

Furthermore, the report revealed that nearly 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook, and in December 2010, the average American spent more than 14 hours watching online video, a 12-percent increase from the prior year, and streamed a record 201 videos, an 8-percent increase.

"2010 was a very positive year for the digital media industry, highlighted by a strong rebound in e-commerce spending, significant innovation and increased demand for online advertising, and an explosion in digital content consumption across multiple platforms," said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.

On of the most significant increases in digital media was the use of 3G networks in mobile phones. Not only do smartphones account for 25 percent of cell phones in the U.S., 3G penetration crossed the 50 percent threshold.

Approximately 47 percent of mobile subscribers are now connected Internet media users via browsers, applications or downloaded content, which represents an 8 percent increase from the previous year.

"As we embark on a promising 2011, marketers must have a sound understanding of the digital media landscape and how it is changing if they hope to capitalize on key trends that can drive their business into the future," Fulgoni added.

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