"Clicks" Spending Going Mainstream, Gen Yers and Seniors Flocking to Buy Online.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 2000

E-Tailers may want to sit down for the hottest, new findings about e-commerce...Not only is online purchasing growing by leaps and bounds, but the profile of the typical Web shopper is becoming more mainstream, according to Transactional Data Solutions (TDS).

In fact, during the first six months of this year the most dramatic increase in online shopping (187 percent) occurred among seniors aged 65 and over, which was followed only by a significant jump (141 percent) in the Web buying habits of Gen Yers aged 18-24, says the TDS study. These consumer groups are still behind most of the population in per-capita online purchasing, but they are quickly catching up to the avid Web shoppers.

"There's been a great deal of speculation among e-commerce pundits as to when and if mainstream consumers would adopt online shopping habits, but the transition has actually already begun," said Steve Carnevale, General Manager of Transactional Data Solutions. "The kind of dynamic growth among these extreme age ranges -- seniors and Gen Yers, in particular -- that we've seen in the past year suggests that clicks spending will become widespread across all age groups and demographics. This information is vital for retailers and e-tailers to keep in mind, especially as America launches into the lucrative holiday shopping season."

This TDS study, drawn from a national panel of 650,000 MasterCard holders, also found that online purchasing in the first six months of this year skyrocketed 84 percent over the same period last year.

Using a proprietary research system, TDS monitors the evolution of "clicks versus bricks" spending patterns across various retail categories, including books, music, apparel, computer software, department stores, discount outlets, home furnishings and sporting goods.

The research offers the most comprehensive picture of spending patterns online and offline by tracking up to 80 million anonymous, aggregated MasterCard cardholders and over 4 million transactions a day. Day-to-day spending at most of the major e-commerce sites -- including Amazon.com, 1-800-Flowers.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Buy.com, CDNow.com, Egghead.com and GapOnline.com -- is measured by total sales volume and volume of transactions.

"With the explosion in e-commerce, retailers are scrambling to understand consumers' new buying behaviors," said Carnevale. "Our research provides the marketing and corporate planning staff at major retailers, e-tailers and service industries with the latest tools to monitor 'clicks and bricks' transactions. With it, they can better evaluate the performance of their sales channels and track their share of industry spending on a daily, weekly and monthly basis."

For more information about this TDS study, contact Steve Carnevale at 212.373.8855 or [e-mail].

Founded in June 1998, Transactional Data Solutions (www.tds-mastercard.com), is a pioneer in market research that tracks consumer spending of anonymous credit card users. TDS offers a suite of unique marketing tools that provide the most accurate, in-depth analysis of consumer spending activity in the United States. Tracking more than forty retail categories across multiple customer segments, TDS helps retailers, e-tailers, advertising agencies and media companies to more effectively identify and reach their target customers. TDS is a MasterCard International company.