Gartner: Verbraucher nutzen das Internet hauptsächlich für Email und Suche

Laut einer Studie des IT-Marktforschungs- und Beratungsunternehmens Gartner, nutzen die meisten Endverbraucher das Internet nur für Emails und Informationssuche, trotz der großen Anzahl an neuen Anwendungen wie Internet Video und sozialen Netzwerken.

Gartner befragte im vierten Quartal 2007 4.770 Endnutzer aus 18 Ländern, drei Regionen sowie drei Bildungs- und Einkommensgruppen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der dritthäufigste Grund für Internetnutzung Online Banking ist. Ausnahmen sind die Märkte der Schwellenländer. Jedoch gibt es laut Gartner eine gesellschaftliche Gruppe, die diesen Trend durchbricht. 13-18 Jährige haben die größte Bandbreite an Interessen im Internet. Sie reichen von Musikdownloads und Online Gaming bis hin zu Blogs und sozialen Netzwerken.

Gartner Survey Shows Consumers Predominantly Using the Internet for E-Mail and Search

13 to 18 Year Olds Show the Most Divergent Internet Interest From Playing Games Online to Social Networks Stamford, Conn., April 30, 2008 — Despite the huge growth in new applications such as internet video and social networking, most consumers indicate the main reason for accessing the internet is to use e-mail and gather information, according to a survey by Gartner Inc.

The survey of 4,770 consumer Internet users in the fourth quarter of 2007 — which encompassed 18 countries, three regions, three educational levels and three income levels — found that the third internet interest worldwide was online banking, with emerging markets being the only major exception.

Sharing photos, videos and files came in fourth, with all respondents worldwide ranking geographic navigation services — for example Google Earth — and shopping online as fifth and sixth in importance, respectively.

However, Gartner found that there is one demographic group that is bucking the trend, with 13- to 18-year-olds enjoying the most divergent internet interests, ranging from downloading music and playing games online to blogging and social networks.

“Rather than being considered as contrarians, this group should be regarded as the precursors of what is to come,” said Elroy Jopling, research director at Gartner. “The internet has become a utility for most consumers, who use it for communicating, gathering information and performing financial transactions. However, a new ‘trickle down’ phenomenon, where teenagers lead the evolution of consumer internet applications, heralds a new era where Internet applications will mimic life — communicating, entertaining, socialising, informing, transactional, either in a fixed location or on the move.”

Mr Jopling said that the next Internet frontier will be mobile devices and that to succeed here, technology and service providers will need to incorporate the utilitarian applications of e-mail, search and geographical navigation services on all their fixed-line applications, as well as nimbly porting them to their mobile services. “Successful business plans will be those that are able to maximise utility on each of the mediums. The applications that teenagers spawn will require a similar fixed and mobile component,” he said.

However, Gartner predicts that few technology and service providers will be able to address every element of internet applications and the need to partner with other providers will increase. Equally, the need to viably assess what market a provider can address with its brand and the agility of its infrastructure will become paramount.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Consumers' Value Perception of the Internet." The report is available on Gartner's Web site at