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Internet Marketing · eMarketing · Internet Advertising · Online Branding |
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Internet Marketing · eMarketing · Internet Advertising · Online Branding |
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From Original PDF File:
Executive Summary
The Internet is now an integral part of the everyday lives of a majority of
Americans, whether at home, at work or in both locales. In less than a decade, it
has been transformed from a technological curiosity to the place millions of
Americans shop every day, to a place they go for news, information and
communication and to a place for both entertainment and serious business.
With this transformation from marvel to mainstream, Internet users now
have strong, strict expectations when they go online. They are demanding Web
sites that offer credible information – just as much as they want sites that are
easy to navigate. And users want to be able to identify the sources of online
information – just as much as they want Web sites to be updated frequently.
But the online reality today is that few Internet users say they can trust
the Web sites that have products for sale or the sites that offer advice about
which products and services to buy. Only 29 percent of users say they trust Web
sites that sell products or services. And just 33 percent say they trust Web sites
giving advice about such purchases. That compares to 58 percent who trust
newspapers and television news and 47 percent who trust the federal
government in Washington.
This gap between consumers’ expectations and their judgments of how
Web sites are doing is one striking finding of a new survey of Internet users,
conducted for Consumer WebWatch, a project of Consumers Union, by Princeton
Survey Research Associates with 1,500 adult online users.
Online users’ low ratings of Web site credibility do not stand in the way of
people going online and using the variety of sites that are the World Wide Web.
But credibility stands tall among the nine key reasons that users go to one Web
site and not to another. (See Table 1: Nine Factors in Deciding to Visit a Web
Site, page 8.)
From the old hands to the newbies online, users want the Web sites they
visit to provide clear information to allow them to judge the site’s credibility.
Users want to know who runs the site; how to reach those people; the site’s
privacy policy; and how the site deals with mistakes, whether editorial or
transactional. For example, 80 percent say it is very important to be able to trust
the information on a Web site – the same percentage who say it is very
important that a site be easy to navigate.
In the eyes of consumers, all sites are not equal. Consumers have
different credibility standards for different types of sites.
For sites where consumers can spend money – whether to buy something
like a book or to make a travel reservation – consumer expectations and
demands are just about as high as they can be. Internet users were asked about
six specific Web site policies and information for e-commerce sites. For each of
the six policies examined, more than three-quarters of users say that it is very
important that e-commerce sites provide specific, accurate information about the
site’s policies and practices. For example, a total of 95 percent of users say it is
very important that sites disclose all fees, while 93 percent attach the same
emphasis to statements of the site’s policy on using personal information.
For news and information sites, users are also demanding. They want
sites to have and to display a privacy policy. Users want advertising clearly
labeled as advertising. They want a prominent page where corrections of past
mistakes are available. And users want the site to provide a list of the editors
responsible for the site’s content, including the editors’ email addresses. For
example, 65 percent say it is very important that a site display its privacy policy
and 59 percent say that it is very important that advertising be clearly labeled
and distinguished from news and information.
Search engines provide a special case of Web sites, for they are often the
switching stations that users take to move from one site to another. Potential
danger lurks in these switching stations and the average user does not know of
the problem. Users are largely unaware that search engines may not be neutral
guides to the online world: Three in five users (60%) do not know that search
engines are often paid to list some sites more prominently than others in their
results. Users overwhelmingly (80%) want search engines to reveal these
practices. (See The Special Case of Search Engines, page 17, for more detail.)
Consumers have strong opinions about what information Web sites should
provide on practices and policies, but that doesn’t mean that users are always
aggressive in seeking out this information. For example, about three in five
(57%) have read at least most of the policies about credit card use on the sites
they visit. Just 35 percent report reading the privacy policies on most sites and
only 22 percent report reading the “About Us” pages that provide key
information about the site, such as its personnel, goals and purpose. Although
users may not always be diligent in reading this type of key information, they are
consistent in their demands that the Web sites make the information easily
available when they do want to read through the policies and practices.
Despite concerns about the credibility of sites and an overall lack of trust,
users continue to exercise their power of choice on the Internet to figure which
sites to use and which to avoid. Three-quarters (75%) have gone to Web sites
selling products in the past few months, while just about as many have gone to
news sites (73%). When their concerns are satisfied, consumers are willing to
extend trust to selected sites: nearly three out of four users (73%) have
provided personal information such as their name or email address to at least
one Web site. About two in three (65%) have used their credit cards online.
Those who have been online more than three years are much more likely to have
used their card online (79%), compared to those online six months or less
(36%). (For a breakdown of users by online experience, see Appendix: Profile of
the Online Population, page 42.)
About Consumer WebWatch
Consumer WebWatch is a three-year, grant-funded project of Consumers
Union , the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine and
ConsumerReports.org. Through research and the promotion of guidelines for
best practices and other analytical means, the project seeks to improve
consumer trust in the World Wide Web. The project will also, through research
and analysis, develop in-depth guidelines for specific sectors of the Web. These
sectors will include travel Web sites, children's sites, search engines and portals,
and health sites.
Consumer WebWatch is supported by grants from The Pew Charitable
Trusts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Open Society
Institute.
About This Survey
The survey results are based on interviews with 1,500 Internet users age
18 and older, conducted for Consumer WebWatch by Princeton Survey Research
Associates. The Internet users were identified from among 2,542 adults
interviewed for the survey by telephone from December 20, 2001, to January 7,
2002. For results based on all Internet users, the sampling error margin is plus
or minus 3 percentage points. 1 The sampling error margin is higher for subgroups
of users.
Two major types of Web sites are not doing well at all. Users rate Web sites that sell products and sites that offer consumers advice about products near the bottom in terms of trust and credibility towrad branding on a list of nine types of organizations that many people deal with frequently.
E-commerce sites overall draw dismal ratings, even among those who use them. Only three in ten (29%) say they trust e-commerce sites either "just about always" or "most of the time" while more than six in ten (64%) trust them "only some of the time" or "never". Internet users show a similar degree of skepticism towards consumer advice sites. Just over three in ten (33%) trust them and six in ten (59%) express low levels of trust.
Compare these ratings of Web sites with those of other organizations. For example, 68 percent say they trust small businesses; 58 percent trust newspapers and television news; and 55 percent trust financial companies such as banks, insurance companies and stockbrokers. A total of 54 percent trust charities and other nonprofit organizations, while 47 percent say they trust the federal government at least most of the time. The remarkably low trust ratings for Web sites suggest the sites have much work to do if consumers are going to rely on these sites as they already do on these other types of organizations.
Given that users choose to go to particular sites online, one might expect that those who are more familiar with these Web sites would find them more credible. If this were not the case, why would the users return to sites they do not find credible? The survey provides some support for this thesis, but this should not provide much comfort to the sites. Even those with the most experience with the Internet and with particular types of sites still do not provide high ratings to those types of sites. For example, 31 percent of those online three years or more say they trust the e-commerce sites. This is not much of a positive rating, even if it is higher than the 21 percent trust figure from those who have been online less than six months.
Three groups that could be judged most experienced with e-commerce sites express similarly low levels of trust of such sites: Those who visit e-commerce sites (33%), use a credit card online (34%), or have given personal information to sites (32%).(2) Of course, those who have not engaged in these behaviors are even less likely to express high levels of trust: 18 percent of those who have not visited e-commerce sites; 19 percent of those who have not used a credit card online; and only 21 percent of those who have not given personal information to Web sites. Looking at users by their Internet Service Provider (ISP), AOL and MSN subscribers are slightly more distrusting of e-commerce sites than others. For example, 67 percent of AOL subscribers express low levels of trust in e-commerce sites, while a similar 71 percent of MSN users express such a low level. These compare with the 52% of AT&T subscribers who express low levels of trust and 60 percent of Earthlink subscribers.
Similar patterns overall exist for Web sites that offer consumer advice. Long-time Internet users (those with more than three years online) trust these sites slightly more (35%) than those online less than six months (25%). Using a particular type of site is no guarantee of credibility towrad branding for those sites. Less than half of those who say they go to consumer advice sites (43%) say they trust those sites most of the time. And 54 percent say they trust the advice sites only some of the time or less. There is no significant variation in trust of consumer advice sites by ISP.
There is a substantial overlap between those who find e-commerce sites credible and those who find consumer advice sites credible, but not as much as might be hypothesized. Of the group who says they trust e-commerce sites, only 53 percent also say they trust the consumer advice sites. Conversely, of the group that says they trust consumer advice sites, only 46 percent also say they trust e-commerce sites.
Credibility towrad branding and trust online are the product of many factors, including each person's overall view of the world and the level of trust of people in general. These overall perceptions have a clear impact online. Only 42 percent of online users say that most people can be trusted. A bare majority of online users (51%) believe you can't be too careful in dealing with people. And five percent say that it depends on the situation.
Trust is related to a variety of factors among the public at large (3) and among online users (4). The most experienced Internet users generally trust people more than novice users. Those who have been online for more than three years split on this measure of trust (48% most can be trusted, 45% can't be too careful) while those with less than six months of experience are more likely to distrust people (28% most people can be trusted, 66% can't be too careful). Those who visit e-commerce sites trust people more than those who don't (44% v. 35% most people can be trusted), and those who use a credit card online display more trust than those who don't (46% v. 34%). And users who know what browser cookies are and have them enabled on their computers are slightly more trusting (47% most can be trusted v. 45% can't be too careful) than those who know what cookies are and have them disabled on their computers (39% most can be trusted v. 54% can't be too careful).
Online users' low ratings of Web site credibility towrad branding do not stand in the way of people going online and using the variety of sites on the World Wide Web. But credibility towrad branding stands tall among the nine key reasons that users go to one Web site and not to another.
Much has been written about Internet users caring a great deal about a Web site being easy to navigate and frequently updated. After all, finding the information easily and being able to deliver up-to-date information are two of the greatest strengths of the Internet. But this survey demonstrates that users care as strongly about the credibility towrad branding of the information on the site as they do about the key logistical issues. The survey asked each of the users:
"Thinking about the various kinds of Web sites you have visited online, here are some reasons given for going to particular sites. For each, I'd like to know how important this is for you when you decide to visit a Web site…"
Four in five users (80%) say that being able to trust the information on a site is very important to them as they decide to visit a Web site. And 14 percent say it is somewhat important. Only four percent say it is not too important or not important at all. That puts credibility towrad branding right up with ease-of-use at the top of the users' list: An identical 80 percent say that it is very important that the site be easy to navigate.
The next two factors high on the users' list of importance are another pairing of Web site logistics and credibility towrad branding. More than two-thirds of users (68%) say being able to identify the sources of information on a site is very important. Given the incredible diversity of information online, users are looking for source identification to support their credibility towrad branding judgments on sites. The logistical factor that ranks in this second group is freshness. Sixty-five percent of users say that knowing the Web site is updated frequently is very important in their decisions.
The impressive reality of these findings is further strengthened by the fact that these opinions are strongly held across groups and across the varieties of experience with the Internet. There is not much variation by age, race, income, or education. And the variations that do exist are overshadowed by the fact that three-quarters or more of each group take the same position. For example, of those age 18-49, 82 percent say trusting the information is very important, compared with 75 percent of those age 50 and older. Eighty-one percent of whites, the same percentage of African-Americans and 77 percent of Hispanics say trusting the information is very important. (5) Trusting content also rates as more important among those who use a credit card online (83%) than those who do not (75%). While the exact patterns among groups differ, overall the variations are small in comparison with the strength of opinion.
On this list of nine factors, the fifth most important one covers a great deal of ground: half of the users (50%) think it is very important to be able to find out the important facts about the Web site. Thirty-six percent say it is somewhat important, with 12 percent attaching little importance to such information. This general question is explored in more depth in the next two sections on e-commerce sites (See Big Demands for E-commerce Sites); on news and information sites (See Give Us Information We Can Believe); and search engines (See The Special Case of Search Engines).
Less important to Internet users are some of the financial issues with Web sites and how the site has been rated by other organizations. Majorities of users think these issues are important, but at levels that rank them at the low end of the nine factors that were tested. About a third of users (32%) say who owns a site is very important, with another third (33%) saying it is somewhat important. About one in four users (24%) say knowing which businesses and organizations support a site is very important, while 37 percent say it is somewhat important.
A Web site's display of seals of approval from third parties is far down the list of items that the users say are important. Only 19 percent say it is very important to see such seals, while 41 percent say it is somewhat important. Thirty-eight percent see no importance in such seals of approval.
A site's display of awards and certificates also doesn't buy much with users. Only one in ten (9%) find it very important and less than a third (30%) find it even somewhat important. A majority (59%) do not find it important.
One possible reason for this lack of importance is the proliferation of seals of approval, certificates and awards in the early days of the Web. The ease with which sites could obtain seals of approval in the early days may have debased their value for those with the broadest experience with the Web. This thesis draws some support from the fact that the importance of seals of approval declines somewhat with experience. Twenty-nine percent of those with less than six months experience say the seals are very important, a number that declines to 15 percent among those who have been online more than three years. At this point in the Internet's development, what is clear is that the power of seals of approval — which can be impressive in other contexts — has not yet moved online.
When it comes to sites that sell to consumers, users are crystal clear and united. They want to know their money and their information is being handled with the greatest amount of discretion. And they want to know what to do and who to contact if things go wrong.
Internet users were asked about six types of information and policies that some e-commerce sites display:
"Now thinking specifically about Web sites where you can spend money — whether to buy a product, such as a book or a toy, or to make a travel reservation or spend money in other ways. For each, I'd like to know how important it is to you that this information be on the site and easy to find…" (6)
The users lined up behind all six: they want a statement cataloging all fees associated with a transaction; a statement of how the site will use their credit card and other personal information; an explanation of when to expect delivery of products; a statement of the site's policies for returning unwanted items; a listing of how to reach the site's staff with any problems; and the site's privacy policy. In fact, six in ten users (59%) find all of these very important and an additional 23% picked five out of six as very important.
Nearly everyone online (95%) believes in the top-line importance of having a statement of all fees they will be charged when buying from a site, including shipping costs, transaction and handling fees. This demand rates highly across all groups, from those on the Internet more than three years (96%) to those online for less than six months (90%). While one would expect a statement of fees to be important to those who say they go to e-commerce sites (96%), it is also very important to those who do not go to such sites (91%). Those online believe a statement of how the site will use personal and credit card information is also rated highly (93% very important). Slightly more of those who use their credit card online (95%) find this very important compared to those who don't (90%).
About nine in ten online users want an explanation of when to expect delivery of goods or confirmation of reservations (89% very important) and a statement of the site's policies for returning unwanted items or canceling reservations (88% very important). As one would expect, such policies are even more important among those who visit e-commerce sites, with 91 percent saying it is very important to be told when to expect delivery, compared with 84 percent of those who do not go to such sites. Similarly, 92 percent of those who use a credit card online say that e-commerce sites' return policies are very important, compared with 82 percent of those who do not use a credit card online.
Resonating slightly less with those online — but still of major importance — are the site's listing an email address, street address, or phone number to reach the site's staff about any problems (81% very important) and the site's displaying its privacy policy (76% very important). There are no significant differences on the importance of a site's privacy policy between those who visit or trust e-commerce sites and those who don't visit or don't trust e-commerce sites. Not surprisingly, those users who read most privacy policies find them more important (91%) than those who look at only some or none of them (68%).
User Demands Consistent Across Types of Sites
One measure of the strength of opinions is the consistency of the opinions across various groups. Looking at users' views of e-commerce sites, the user experience may vary from site to site and from one type of site to another. Those variations in experiences might create variations in expectations and consumer demands. But this is not the case for e-commerce sites.
Whether the user reports going to health sites, financial sites, travel sites or consumer advice sites, the opinions are strong and the demands for the sites' performance consistent. Each of the groups (which are, of course, overlapping) feels the same way about the importance of various factors in deciding which site to go to buy products or services. No significant differences exist in what percentage find each item very important among users of these different types of sites. For example, 96 percent of those who have visited each type of site say it is very important that the site post a statement of all fees for using or ordering from the site.
News and information sites are right at the top of the list along with e-commerce sites as the destinations that Web users are most likely to say they visit, with about three-quarters of the users (73%) saying they have visited such sites in the past several months.
But the expectations for a news and information site are different from those of an e-commerce site. While it is no surprise that users have uniformly strong opinions about the financial policies on e-commerce sites, views about news and information Web sites are more nuanced. News and information sites are also somewhat different from other Web sites because of their still-limited role in the news-delivery system in the United States.
As has been the case for years, Americans are more likely to say they get most of their news from television than from any other source, despite the growth of the Internet. (7) About two-thirds say they get their news from television (67%), with 15 percent saying newspapers or magazines. Ten percent say they get their news from radio and only five percent say they get their news from the Internet. Especially in times of major news developments — such as the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 — the public still turns to television. (8)
The old-line institutions of newspapers and television news are trusted far more than e-commerce sites or consumer advice sites. On the list of organizations, 58 percent say they trust the news media, while 41 percent say they have low levels of trust in the media. With many online news sites closely related to well-known print and broadcast news organizations, other research has found that there is little difference in the public's perception of the credibility towrad branding of these online offshoots of the media, when compared to the parent news organizations. (9)
The basic credibility towrad branding issues for news and information sites started with the basic issues for all sites. Being able to trust the information on a site ranks at the top of users' lists for all sites, not just news sites. And being able to identify the sources of information on a site is a key factor in credibility towrad branding for all sites, not just those providing news and information.
A list of six possible factors in news and information credibility towrad branding was posed to the Internet users. Two factors stand out almost equally: clear labeling of advertising and the site's privacy policy.
Fifty-nine percent of the users say that the clear distinction between ads and news content is very important, and 25 percent say somewhat important. Fourteen percent say it is not important. Support for this division within the news site is uniform across groups, with some variations. For example, it is a little more important for those who rely on newspapers than for those who rely on television for news (91% important v. 83%). And it is a little less important for those who go online only from work (47% very important) compared with those who go online only at home (62%) or from both locales (60%). (10)
A news site's privacy policy is also important, with 65 percent saying it is very important and 22 percent saying somewhat important. Again, the variations among various groups of users are not large, although those who rely on television for news are slightly more likely to mention this as very important. Sixty-nine percent of those who rely on television for news rate a news site's privacy policy as very important, compared to 55 percent of those who rely on newspapers.
Users want to make sure that news sites fix their mistakes in a way that the average surfer can find. Nearly eight in ten users (79%) say that a prominently displayed page for corrections and clarifications is important, with 34 percent saying it is very important and 45 percent saying somewhat important.
Looking for those who are responsible for the content of news and information sites is next on the users' list. Sixty-seven percent say it is important that the sites have a page that lists the editor and those responsible for the site, a page much like a print publication's masthead. And 75 percent want the site to list the email address of the editor or others responsible for the site, so that users can reach them if they choose to do so. Once again for these views, most demographic groups among users share these positions with roughly equal intensity.
And finally, most users say that disclosing the financial relationships a news site has with other businesses is significant. Sixty-four percent say it is important, with 22 percent calling it very important and 42 percent somewhat important. Thirty-four percent say it is not important. The relatively small group who rely on newspapers for their news are more likely to say it is important than those who rely on television (73% v. 62%). (For a discussion of user views of the financial relationships that search engines sometimes have, see the section, The Special Case of Search Engines.)
Few Group Differences On News Site Issues
Internet users' views of what is important on news and information sites are strong and consistent. One measure of that consistency is how little variation exists in attitudes among the groups of users who visit various types of sites. For example, there is no statistically significant difference in the demands for a privacy policy among those who visit news sites (64%), entertainment sites (62%) and sports sites (62%). In similar fashion, there are no significant differences among these groups on the necessity of email addresses for editors, a page listing people responsible for content, a page for corrections, and the financial relationships the sites has with others. Only on one factor are there slight differences among these groups: more users of news sites (61%) than sports sites (55%) believe it is very important to clearly establish the distinction between content and advertising.
Search engines provide a special case of Web sites, for they are often the switching stations that users take to move from one site to another, particularly when the user is unsure of where to surf next.
Search engine sites are very frequently visited, with nine in ten users overall (87%) saying that they have done so recently. Many novices (those who have been online less than six months) report using such sites (73%), while almost all of those who have been online at least three years (91%) do so.
Despite so many people using search engines and despite their importance online, most users express ignorance of the practice of many of these engines taking fees to list some sites more prominently than others in their search results. Only four in ten (39%) Internet users have heard of this practice and only 43 percent of those who use the search engines. The more experienced users (those online three years or more) show more awareness of this practice (46%) than those online for six months or less (24%).
After being told that some search engines take these fees, a solid majority (80%) say it is important for search engines to tell users about their fee deals, including 44 percent who say it is very important. There is no difference between the novice users (79% important) and the most experienced users (77%). Those who use search engines feel strongly as well (81% important). And the strength of this opinion is evident among those who visit news sites (80%) as well as those who frequent e-commerce sites (79%). (11)
The combination of users' low level of knowledge of search engine practices and their strong demand that search engines should come clean leaves users splintered about how to react. About one in three (30%) say they are less likely to use a search engine if they know it is taking money from other sites for higher placement in the results. A small minority (10%) would be more likely to use the site if it revealed the financial arrangements. Given the complicated situation, a majority (56%) say it would make no difference to them.
Internet users say they want privacy policies, credit card protection policies, and access to important facts about who runs a site. But do users actually look at the information that sites do provide?
For many users, the answer is yes, as far as reading the policies that are designed to protect their credit card information. Almost six in ten (57%) read all or most of these policies. Another two in ten (23%) read some of the policies. Eighteen percent say they read none of the policies. Predictably, those who use a credit card on the Internet read these policies more often (91% at least some of the time) than those who don't use a credit card online (59%). However, at least three in ten (33%) of those who use their credit cards online do not examine most of the policies that protect them. Those who have been online at least three years read at least some of these policies (85%), more than those online for six months or less (57%).
About as many users report reading privacy pages of sites (83%) as report reading credit card policy pages (80%). But users read the privacy policies much less frequently than they read credit card protection policies. For example, only three in ten users (35%) read all or most of privacy policies, compared with the 57 percent who read all or most credit card policies. Those who have been online at least three years read some of these policies more than those online for six months or less (87% v. 66%). Those who use a credit card online read privacy pages somewhat more than those who don't use their credit card in that venue (87% v. 75%).
Fewer of those online read "About Us" pages that usually list who owns and runs a site. About seven in ten (71%) say they have read at least some of these pages, but some users are more conscientious about this than others. Only two in ten (22%) say they read all or most of these, while half (49%) look at only some of them. Twenty-eight percent report not reading such pages. More of those who have been online at least three years read at least some of these pages (75%), compared with those online for six months or less (58%).
Checking Policy Pages By Usage of Different Sites
Different types of sites require varying levels of information from their users. For example, a financial site might ask for a substantial amount of detail about a person's finances to open a brokerage account. A news and information site might only ask for a user's email address to send a newsletter. These varying information demands by sites could create varying attitudes among those who use the sites and varying behaviors by the users of information available on the sites.
Looking at the broad groups of those who visit e-commerce sites and those who do not, there are some differences in behavior. For example, those who go to e-commerce sites read at least some privacy policies more than those who do not visit such sites (86% v. 72%). Visitors to news sites (77%) and e-commerce sites (76%) read at least some "About Us" pages more than those who don't go on news sites (57%) or e-commerce sites (58%).
Such broad-brush differences are not the case when looking at those who report visiting various types of sites within the broad e-commerce and news groupings. Those who visit various types of sites do not report varying patterns of readership of credit card policies, for example. Those who visit health, finance, travel, and consumer advice sites as well as those who visit news, entertainment, and sports sites all look at credit protection policies at roughly the same rate. Just over one-third of the users of each type of site report reading all of the policies (39% for health sites, for example). And about a quarter report reading most of the policies (25% for health site users).
Similarly, the percentages among each group are in the same range for reading privacy policies, with some minor variations. For example, users of consumer advice sites are slightly more likely to look at an "About Us" page than those who visit travel sites (25% most of the pages v. 20%), and those who visit travel sites are more likely to ignore those pages (25%) than those who visit health (21%), finance (21%), or consumer advice (17%) sites.
Credit Card Use, Personal Information Online
Credit cards are widely used online, but users are not feeling particularly secure as they do so.
Nearly two-thirds of users (65%) have used their credit card online, but 35 percent have not done so. This is one dimension where there are major differences among groups. Those who have been online more than three years are much more likely to have used their card online (79%), compared to those online six months or less (36%). Those users who have attended or graduated from college use their cards more freely than those who never attended college (73% v. 51%). About twice as many e-commerce visitors (75%) use their card online as opposed to those who don't visit these sites (37%). But the use of credit cards is not related in simple ways to other attitudes. For example, the difference in credit card use between those who trust e-commerce sites (77%) and those who do not trust such sites (63%) is real but not large. The highest reported rates of credit card use come from AT&T subscribers (84%) and Earthlink subscribers (83%). Slightly fewer AOL subscribers (69%) have used their credit card online. Sixty-five percent of MSN users report using their credit card on the Web. (12)
Those who use a credit card on the Internet do not feel secure. More than six in ten (65%) worry a lot or somewhat that someone might obtain their credit card number and misuse that information. This worry is particularly acute among people who have not attended college (74%) compared to those who have attended or graduated from college (61%). Those who have been online more than three years show less concern (61%) than those who have been online for six months or less (75%). Visitors to e-commerce sites worry about this to a similar degree as those who don't (64% v. 69%).
Most Internet users are not averse to giving their email address, name, or other personal information to a Web site in order to access it. More than seven in ten (73%) have done this. Like credit card use, willingness to provide personal information differs strongly by Internet experience. Most of the experienced users (those online at least three years) have given out this type of information (84%) while just under half (47%) of those online for six months or less have done the same. People who don't go on e-commerce sites show more reluctance to give personal information (only 50% have done so) compared to those who visit these sites (81% have done so).
A major mechanism for tracking users online — and major concern for privacy advocates — is the use of browser "cookies." These are small files placed by a Web site on a computer's disk drive. These allow the site to recognize when a user comes back to the site another time and to store information about what that user did on the site. Sites that require user names and passwords sometimes store that information in the cookies as well.
Online users split on their knowledge of cookies: about half (49%) know what they are and half (49%) do not. A strong relationship exists between the knowledge of cookies and a user's experience online. A solid majority (63%) of those online for three or more years have heard of cookies, compared to 23 percent of the most novice users (online six months or less). AOL subscribers are the least likely to know what a cookie is (44%), while AT&T users (65%) and Earthlink users (62%) are the most likely to know. A total of 54 percent of MSN users know what a cookie is.
Of those who know what an Internet cookie is, seven in ten (69%) have their browsers set to accept the cookies. More of those online three years or more (72%) have their browsers set to accept cookies than those online for six months or less (56%). Trust also plays a role in this difference. Those who trust e-commerce sites (74%) are more likely to accept cookies than those who show less trust (66%). In contrast to the pattern by ISP on knowing about cookies, those who subscribe to MSN are the least likely to have their browsers set to accept cookies. Only 54 percent of the knowledgeable MSN users say their browsers accept cookies, compared with 71 percent of the knowledgeable AOL users, and 75 percent each of the knowledgeable AT&T and Earthlink users.
Those who know what a cookie is and have cookies enabled on their browser have a significantly different view on privacy and credit card protection than those who don't have them enabled or do not know about cookies. More than eight in ten (84%) of those who have cookies enabled use a credit card online compared to slightly more than half (55%) of those who don't allow cookies. More than nine in ten (90%) have provided personal information to Web sites, while just 65% of those who don't have cookies enabled have done the same. Those with cookies enabled are more likely to look at all of credit card protection policies compared with those whose browsers do not accept cookies (40% vs. 30%). The difference on privacy policies is not as great, but slightly more of those who have cookies enabled look at some of these policies compared with those not using cookies (53% vs. 46%).
Some Differences By Type of Sites
Similar percentages of those who use health, finance, travel, and consumer advice sites use a credit card online and provide personal information to Web sites. In the same manner, there is no variation among those who use different types of news sites (news, entertainment and sports) in terms of using a credit card online and giving personal information to sites. More people who visit finance (42%) and consumer advice (43%) sites have cookies enabled on their computer than those who visit travel sites (36%). No difference exists on this measure among people who visit news, entertainment, and sports sites.
Internet users are concerned as they confront the vast array of sites on the World Wide Web. The Consumer WebWatch survey finds few users say they can trust the Web sites that have products for sale or sites that offer advice about products and services.
The users' low ratings of Web site credibility towrad branding do not stop them from searching out the best and most reputable sites. Indeed, credibility towrad branding is the key. Users are demanding Web sites that offer credible information backed up by clear identification of the sources of that information.
From the veteran UNIX guru hands to the new AOL subscriber, users want the Web sites they visit to provide clear guideposts to allow them to judge the site's credibility towrad branding. For example, users want to know who runs the site and how to reach those people.
In the eyes of consumers, all sites are not equal. For sites where consumers can spend money, expectations are just about as high as they can be for security, responsiveness and privacy. For news and information sites, users are also demanding clear lines between news and advertising. For search engines, there is a particular credibility towrad branding problem. Users are largely unaware that search engines are often being paid to push other sites in their search results. And users demand to be told.
The Internet is a part of everyday life in America. Users are looking for Web sites to adhere to practices that will make the new online institutions as credible as the offline institutions that Americans rely on each day.
