There is great news for companies advertising on the Web: People are spending more time and money online than ever before – despite the recession!

More time spent online means more opportunity for reaching potential customers and generating valuable leads. Despite the current economic conditions, according to online data tracking site ComScore, U.S. commerce conducted over the Internet grew to $214.4 billion in 2008, a 7% increase compared to the previous year, and Internet retail sales grew 6% to $130.1 billion.

A recent poll conducted by Harris Interactive showed that the average amount of time U.S. adults spend online per week has doubled since 2001. And that’s more great news if you’re an online advertiser!

Harris Interactive’s annual telephone poll revealed that average Internet hours grew slowly between 2001 and 2006, but took off in 2007 and increased even more rapidly in 2008. That number is projected to reach new heights as we move through 2009 and the economy continues to struggle.

According to TNS Global, China actually leads the world in the amount of leisure time spent online, whose population spends an average of 44% of their free time online. The US comes in 5^th with 30%, with Canada tied in 8^th with France, Australia and the UK with 28% leisure time spent in online activities.

According to the Center for the Digital Future’s annual survey, US Internet users spent an average of 15.3 hours/week online in 2007, compared with only about 9 hours the year before.

The 10 most popular online purchases last year were books, clothes, travel arrangements, gifts, CDs, videos, electronic goods, software/games, products for hobbies, and computers/peripherals.

The number of online purchasers increased 16% to the highest level in the history of the Digital Future Project. Sixty percent of Internet users, age 18 and older, bought online and spent under $100 a month. The average number of annual online purchases for those same purchasers increased to more than 36 purchases per year.

According to projections from Forrester Research, despite the current recession U.S. online retail sales are expected to continue to rise to $156 billion by the end of 2009. As users increase the amount of time they spend online, they also increase the amount they spend while there.

What this means for Your Business:

The bottom line for online advertisers is that your customers are out there, now more than ever. All signs indicate that 2009 will be a big year for online sales, so be sure that your company and website are ready to meet the demand, and can be found when those customers come calling!

Contact me for an honest, no-obligation evaluation of your current website and marketing activities.