Rich
Rule Online Roost
'Mass Affluent'
Will Be Largest Online Group in 2002
 Households
which earn more than $75,000 a year will be the largest
online group in the US in 2006.
With an
estimated 21.8 million households online, the ‘mass affluent’
group will account for a quarter of the total US Internet population
in four years time, up from 17.6 million in 2002.
However,
Jupiter Media Metrix predicts that the fastest growing income segment
online over the next four years will be those under $15,000 a year in
household income. The
rapid growth of the lower-income bracket is expected because the majority
of the higher-income populations are already online.
However,
while lower-income groups are now getting online, the
research suggests households in this category are more likely to
connect to the Internet via a narrowband connection, while
higher-income groups are more likely to have high-speed access.
According
to the research findings, 27 percent of high-income
households have a broadband connection, compared to 12 percent of low-income
households.
The study
indicates that mass affluent households gravitate
overwhelmingly toward travel-related sites, such as hotel, airline and
rental car sites.
The mass
affluent group is also more relaxed in their attitude towards online
privacy and is more comfortable with technology than other groups.
Individuals
in this category are also less worried about the security of their credit
card information than other income groups.
Not surprisingly,
households with high-incomes tend to spend more online than those in
other groups. In 2001, mass affluent individuals spent, on average,
$554 a year online, while lower-income groups spent $204.
(Source:
NUA Internet Surveys)
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