Thursday, November 4, 2004
Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Ranking a Stream of News - University of Pisa
In the last year there has been a surge of interest aboutnews engines, i.e. software tools for gathering, indexing,
searching, clustering and delivering personalized news information to Web users.
According to a recent survey made by Nielsen NetRatings, news browsing and searching is one of the most important Internet activity with more than 26 millions of active U.S. users in July 2004. For instance, Yahoo! News has an audience which is roughly the half of Yahoo! Web Search, a third of Google Web Search and a bit more than AOL Web Search, according to NetRatings. This is surprising enough if we consider that, for instance, Yahoo News had an audience of about 13 millions of users in the 2002.
“The Internet complements television for news coverage as it provides a different perspective and greater depth of information - statistics, pictures, interactive maps, streaming video, and analyst comments,” said Peter Steyn of Nielsen/NetRatings. Certainly, recent events such as SARS, War in Iraq, Terrorism Alerts and other similar dramatic events contributed to diffuse the use of on line news search engines.
The huge amount of news available on line reflects the users’ need for a plurality of information and opinions. News engines are, then, a direct link to fresh and unfiltered information.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Online Shopping Takes Off in HK, Says Nielsen//NetRatings
October 12, 2004 (HONG KONG) -- Nielsen//NetRatings reported that the most popular Hong Kong shopping websites received 20% more visitors in the quarter ending August 2004 compared with the corresponding period a year ago.
An audience of 1.6 million people, representing 50% of all at home Internet users in Hong Kong, hit the shops from behind their computer, bringing visitor growth to online shopping sites beyond the overall at home Internet traffic surge level of 14%.
Figures released from Nielsen//NetRatings' Global Internet Trends survey show users are not just visiting the sites, but they are also buying items. The number of Internet users who have purchased something online grew from 5% a year ago to 14% today.
Yahoo! Auctions is the top ranking online shopping Website and saw its audience increase from 325,000 unique visitors during the quarter ending August 2003 to 753,000 in the same period of 2004. YesAsia.com takes second position and earns itself the most popular mass merchandising site with a 16.5% reach among active Internet users between June and August 2004. Its monthly visitor numbers increased from 91,000 users in August 2002, to 110,000 last year, to 237,000 at the end of August 2004.
Peter Steyn, managing director, Nielsen//NetRatings Hong Kong, said, "Yahoo! Auctions, YesAsia.com and eBay have all experienced phenomenal growth. This shows that Internet users have more faith in Internet security for online payments. They have started to realize how convenient and practical online shopping can be."
Possibly unlike its offline counterpart, online shopping is very popular among men, with 57% of the shoppers being male. Interestingly, figures released suggest the younger the user the more likely they are to visit a shopping Website. 66.5% of Internet users in the 12 to 17 year old age bracket visited a shopping site, compared with 60.5% of those aged between 18 to 34 and just 38% of those aged 35+.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
A Global Audience for a Global Medium - A look at the online news and information audience
Presentation by Peter Steyn, Nielsen//NetRatings
The Internet has changed the way we communicate en masse as well as how we communicate one-on-one. People are increasingly flocking to the Internet, and spending a substantial part of their day online, surfing. The average Internet user in developed countries spends slightly more than 11 hours a month surfing the Internet from home — with Asians known to be substantially heavier users of the medium.
When events of major international significance occur, both locally and around the world, people are turning increasingly to the Internet as the most up to date and comprehensive news source. While television remains an important medium as a source for news, viewers are increasingly relying on the Internet to complement their television coverage — providing more in-depth analysis, statistics, and other interactive features such as chat rooms, instant messaging, streaming videos, pictures, and 3D rotation animations. Most often, television and the Internet are consumed simultaneously. This "dual" and "simultaneous" usage, in particularly during breaking news events, is more prevalent among the younger generation, who are spending much of their free time on the Internet, and not all of them just for the fun of it. The recent Iraq war and outbreak of SARS attracted a significant number of young Internet users to current affairs and news sites.
As an interactive medium, the Internet offers a plethora of opportunities to engage the reader and communicate news in a creative way.
Over the past three or four years, a number of news sites have faded into oblivion, while others have flourished and are now considered leaders in their respected fields. A key ingredient for the successful ones has been access to timely, accurate and comprehensive data that has given them a thorough understanding of their target audience and provided a measure of how successful they have been in reaching them. In addition, collecting competitor intelligence on the Internet has proved easy, accurate and comprehensive.
Data has been available for media such as television, print and radio for many years. In contrast, Internet audience measurement is still in its early phases. The Internet allows for several measurement approaches, including survey research, panel data, server log data, ISP data, and ad-network data, to name a few. This presentation will address some approaches to Internet audience measurement, with the focus on audience panel data. A global "status report" on the internet around the world in major markets will be presented, including the growth of online audiences to news sites with a specific focus on Hong Kong. And as technology allows us to collect comprehensive data about Internet usage, we can now more accurately track ad exposure and interactivity. The final part of the presentation will address ad tracking and online campaign planning through the use of panel data.
The Internet has changed the way we communicate en masse as well as how we communicate one-on-one. People are increasingly flocking to the Internet, and spending a substantial part of their day online, surfing. The average Internet user in developed countries spends slightly more than 11 hours a month surfing the Internet from home — with Asians known to be substantially heavier users of the medium.
When events of major international significance occur, both locally and around the world, people are turning increasingly to the Internet as the most up to date and comprehensive news source. While television remains an important medium as a source for news, viewers are increasingly relying on the Internet to complement their television coverage — providing more in-depth analysis, statistics, and other interactive features such as chat rooms, instant messaging, streaming videos, pictures, and 3D rotation animations. Most often, television and the Internet are consumed simultaneously. This "dual" and "simultaneous" usage, in particularly during breaking news events, is more prevalent among the younger generation, who are spending much of their free time on the Internet, and not all of them just for the fun of it. The recent Iraq war and outbreak of SARS attracted a significant number of young Internet users to current affairs and news sites.
As an interactive medium, the Internet offers a plethora of opportunities to engage the reader and communicate news in a creative way.
Over the past three or four years, a number of news sites have faded into oblivion, while others have flourished and are now considered leaders in their respected fields. A key ingredient for the successful ones has been access to timely, accurate and comprehensive data that has given them a thorough understanding of their target audience and provided a measure of how successful they have been in reaching them. In addition, collecting competitor intelligence on the Internet has proved easy, accurate and comprehensive.
Data has been available for media such as television, print and radio for many years. In contrast, Internet audience measurement is still in its early phases. The Internet allows for several measurement approaches, including survey research, panel data, server log data, ISP data, and ad-network data, to name a few. This presentation will address some approaches to Internet audience measurement, with the focus on audience panel data. A global "status report" on the internet around the world in major markets will be presented, including the growth of online audiences to news sites with a specific focus on Hong Kong. And as technology allows us to collect comprehensive data about Internet usage, we can now more accurately track ad exposure and interactivity. The final part of the presentation will address ad tracking and online campaign planning through the use of panel data.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Battle for offering better content and package deals heats up in travel sector:
Hong Kong, August 18, 2004 – Hong Kong Internet users are increasingly turning online to plan that perfect vacation or hassle-free business trip, according to the latest information from Nielsen//NetRatings.During the second quarter ending June 2004, most of the top five travel websites showed an impressive increase in Hong Kong at-home users compared with a year ago. The fastest growing site, China Travel Net Hong Kong* (ctshk.com) increased by 103% to reach 158,000 users. Yahoo! Travel remains the most popular online travel site among Hong Kong's at-home surfers, attracting more than 271,000 unique visitors, a growth rate of 20%.
However, there is no clear answer as to whether increased surfing on popular websites is translating into a significant increase in tickets purchased over the Internet, or whether consumers are simply conducting research online before purchasing offline from their favourite travel agent.
"Hong Kong's travel industry boom in the post-SARS period presents an excellent opportunity for the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong, just as online ticketing has been driving recent Internet business growth in the US," said Peter Steyn Managing Director, Nielsen//NetRatings Hong Kong. "For this to happen, travel industry players must continue to improve their online service in order to encourage more local surfers to take advantage of the convenience of the Internet – not just to browse but also to purchase goods and services".
Citing the convenience of face-to-face shopping in Hong Kong and the continuing reluctance of people to trust the Internet with their credit card number, Steyn added: "E-commerce faces some additional challenges to building momentum among local consumers, however the latest report shows that traditional travel agencies are boosting their efforts online with positive results"
The Nielsen//NetRatings quarterly review of Hong Kong's at-home Internet users showed that Cathay Pacific clinched the top ranking airline spot with its site receiving 157,000 unique users, an 8% increase compared to the same period last year. China Travel Net Hong Kong (CTN) was ranked number one among travel agencies followed by Wing On Travel and Hong Thai Travel. Hong Thai Travel, which ranked in sixth place, increased its audience by a healthy 19% over the past year. Zuji, the increasingly popular online travel-booking site that didn't even exist a year ago, now has an audience of 149,000 unique for the quarter ending June 2004. Other travel websites that have performed well over the past year include Cathay Pacific Holidays, Airticket.com, Dragon Air, Evergloss Tours, and Morning Star Travel.
Among the top ranking local transportation sites were Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB), MTR Corporation, Citybus, Hong Kong International Airport, KCRC, and New World First Bus.
In addition Steyn pointed out that the number of at-home Internet users increased by 34% over the past 3 years while the amount of time people spent online almost doubled during this period. On average, at-home Internet users now spend 35 and half hours online per month.
"Internet audiences have reached significantly higher levels after the travel sector was badly affected early last year," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term and convert shoppers into purchasers.
| Qtr Ending June 04Unique Audience | Qtr Ending June 03 Unique Audience | Change | |
| TOTAL TRAVEL | 1,281,000 | 1,170,000 | 9% |
| Yahoo! Travel | 271,000 | 226,000 | 20% |
| China Travel Net Hong Kong | 158,000 | 78,000 | 103% |
| Cathay Pacific Airlines | 157,000 | 146,000 | 8% |
| ZUJI | 149,000 | NA | NA |
| Wing On Travel | 136,000 | 100,000 | 36 |
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Use of Digital Marketing Is On the Rise
Hong Kong, July 23, 2004 - According to a survey conducted by the Asia Digital Marketing Association (ADMA) with the support of MEDIA Magazine, and recent data released by DoubleClick and Nielsen//NetRatings, use of digital marketing is on the rise in Asia Pacific and online activity by users and businesses remains at all time high levels. However, it is clear that businesses still have not tapped the medium's full potential, and it underscores the need for marketers to follow responsible guidelines for online behavior to protect privacy and the ongoing effectiveness of the medium.77% of the ADMA survey respondents say they utilize digital marketing, 20% spent at least 15% of their total marketing budgets online, and 4 in 10 respondents indicate they have increased their budgets over last year. It's clear that businesses are a long way away from tapping the medium's full potential, with most companies focusing on their websites (80%), e-newsletters (66%) and e-mail marketing (66%), while making less use of search engine marketing (26%) and online advertising (38%). Companies also underutilize their customer databases as a marketing resource: 94% maintain databases, but 50% communicate with their customers only on an occasional basis. 20% of businesses don't seek permission or offer an opt out option for their e-mail marketing, which raises privacy concerns.
"The ADMA survey paints a picture of a medium in development," said Douglas Khoo, who led the ADMA research effort. "There is a large gap in the activity level between the most enthusiastic users of digital marketing, and those companies that are just getting started or are underutilizing their online marketing resources. The growth is strong, but the real potential is for companies to make more sophisticated and comprehensive use of this developing medium."
"It is very encouraging that more and more traditional advertisers are adopting online advertising to reach their targeted audience," said DoubleClick's Managing Director Asia Pacific, Ralf Hirt. "Internet media consumption is up and therefore advertisers want to reach consumers where they actually are. Smart tools and reports make this extremely effective. Online ads are becoming both larger and richer. Online advertising is an important part of every integrated advertising strategy and in fact it is significantly increasing as the advantages are so obvious."
Over the past three years, the number of Hong Kong people using the Internet at home has increased by 34%, while the amount of time spent surfing has almost doubled from an average of 11 hours 46 minutes per person in June 2001 to 22 hours and 38 minutes in June of this year. When time spent using Internet applications such as Instant Messaging or Media Players is included, the average time spent in June 2004 was a phenomenal 35 hours and 26 minutes.
"While some advertisers remain hesitant to utilize digital marketing, in particular search engine marketing and online advertising, the Internet is undisputedly the best medium to reach audiences below the age of 35 living in above average income households," said Peter Steyn, Managing Director, Nielsen//NetRatings Hong Kong/Singapore. "The latest figures also indicate that eight out of ten people use a search engine, which can prove to be a very effective marketing tool."
"The fact that digital marketing has earned a place in the collection of integrated marketing tools is exciting," said David Ketchum, Chairman of the ADMA. "However, continued growth without responsible use of the medium can potentially impinge on consumers privacy and ultimately cause a decline in its effectiveness. The ADMA urges all marketers to follow industry guidelines for responsible online marketing."
The ADMA guidelines for marketers, as well as anti-spam tips for consumers can be found at www.asiadma.com.
The survey's purpose was to establish the state of digital marketing in the Asia Pacific region and was conducted amongst marketers from varied industries. Questionnaires were emailed to a pre-qualified list of respondents who had opted-in to receive communications. The sample size of the survey is 111 respondents and the survey was conducted in June 2004.
Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Asian broadband : Is there a business out there yet?
Whatever the future of broadband might be, Asia is the place it’s surely being written. From near-saturation of Korea to the fast growth of China, it has markets in every stage of evolution.The one common thread is that operators in all these markets are looking for applications beyond connectivity: Wi-Fi roaming, IP TV, VoIP, games and security packages are all part of the mix.
But in a tough and often over-competitive business, the new services are not necessarily bringing home the bacon.
Research house Ovum points out that DSL deployment can reverse the long-term decline in ARPU “but [carriers] should not expect high margins.”
The plus for telcos is that the mass takeup of broadband is changing the way people behave online.
Hong Kong users – of whom 60% have access to broadband – are spending 21 hours per month online, according to Peter Steyn of Nielsen//Netratings. A year ago, that was 16 hours. “Broadband has a huge impact on customers’ behavior,” he says. P2P downloads, video and audio streaming and Internet radio are the big improvers.
The problem with broadband, though, is that it is flexible, scalable and highly efficient: 111 times more efficient than private network options, per megabit per second, according to the ITU.
So while large carriers are focusing on residential customers and apps, smaller competitors are chasing the business market. The combination of IP and DSL could be a lethal one yet for incumbents.
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Internet shopping surges in popularity in Hong Kong
Oct 7, 2003 -HONG KONG: Internet shopping in Hong Kong has surged in popularity in the past year but most people appear to be only window-shopping, a survey published Friday found.
The most popular shopping sites, such as Yahoo and Amazon, have seen a 47% rise in visits by Hong Kong people, according to Internet market research company Nielsen/NetRatings.
A total of 823,000 Hong Kong people visited the top 100 shopping sites this year compared with 562,000 this year, researchers found.
The number of people using the Internet in the territory has risen from 1.7 million to 2.1 million over the same period.
Nielsen/NetRatings director Peter Steyn told Friday's South China Morning Post that despite the rise in visits to shopping sites, Hong Kong people were using the Internet to compare products and prices.
Hong Kong consumers are wary about spending money online, thinking the technology unsafe, and prefer to browse the Internet for price comparisons before buying in shops. - dpa
Saturday, October 4, 2003
E-government shows steady gains in Hong Kong
E-government in the HKSAR is showing signs of life with the number of people visiting gov.hk domains from home growing 46 percent year on year, compared to only 24 percent growth in the total number of people using the Internet in Hong Kong over the same period, according to latest information from Nielsen//NetRatings. "Year on year, the growth of audiences to each of the top 10 gov.hk domains outstripped overall Internet user growth in Hong Kong. In August 2002, no less than 34 percent of at-home surfers visited a gov.hk site," stated Peter Steyn, sales and marketing director, Nielsen//NetRatings Hong Kong in a press release.
The general Hong Kong government information at info.gov.hk made it the top-ranking domain within the gov.hk property, recording a total of 407,592 unique visitors in August. The site contains comprehensive information about the Hong Kong SAR, including government services and news, and attracts a heavy 18 to 34 year old following.
"The second and third ranked -- lcsd.gov.hk and hkpl.gov.hk -- have consistently recorded increases in audience numbers since they were launched in Hong Kong. Lcsd.gov.hk provides information on leisure and cultural services, museums, performing arts, recreation and sports. Hkpl.gov.hk, the Hong Kong public libraries site, is an increasingly popular site in Hong Kong and offers the convenience of online library browsing, as well as reserving and renewing of library books," noted Steyn.
The fourth ranked hko.gov.hk and seventh ranked weather.gov.hk, both directing to the Hong Kong Observatory site, had a combined unique audience (unduplicated) of 190,000, which would place them at rank number two. The site carries comprehensive information about the current weather and forecasts, up-to-date tracking of cyclones, and a wealth of statistics and weather related information and news.
The fifth ranking domain, jobs.gov.hk, had the second highest year on year growth among the top 10 gov.hk domains, with unemployment in Hong Kong currently sitting well above seven per cent
"Jobs.gov.hk now ranks number one in the overall job search category in Hong Kong, up from number three a year ago. While audiences to the site grew by 154 percent, page views on the site more than tripled, to make it the top ranking gov.hk site based on page views. Its August 2002 audience is slightly lower than its all-time high audience in May, June, and July 2002," added Steyn.
The general Hong Kong government information at info.gov.hk made it the top-ranking domain within the gov.hk property, recording a total of 407,592 unique visitors in August. The site contains comprehensive information about the Hong Kong SAR, including government services and news, and attracts a heavy 18 to 34 year old following.
"The second and third ranked -- lcsd.gov.hk and hkpl.gov.hk -- have consistently recorded increases in audience numbers since they were launched in Hong Kong. Lcsd.gov.hk provides information on leisure and cultural services, museums, performing arts, recreation and sports. Hkpl.gov.hk, the Hong Kong public libraries site, is an increasingly popular site in Hong Kong and offers the convenience of online library browsing, as well as reserving and renewing of library books," noted Steyn.
The fourth ranked hko.gov.hk and seventh ranked weather.gov.hk, both directing to the Hong Kong Observatory site, had a combined unique audience (unduplicated) of 190,000, which would place them at rank number two. The site carries comprehensive information about the current weather and forecasts, up-to-date tracking of cyclones, and a wealth of statistics and weather related information and news.
The fifth ranking domain, jobs.gov.hk, had the second highest year on year growth among the top 10 gov.hk domains, with unemployment in Hong Kong currently sitting well above seven per cent
"Jobs.gov.hk now ranks number one in the overall job search category in Hong Kong, up from number three a year ago. While audiences to the site grew by 154 percent, page views on the site more than tripled, to make it the top ranking gov.hk site based on page views. Its August 2002 audience is slightly lower than its all-time high audience in May, June, and July 2002," added Steyn.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
Thursday, August 7, 2003
Meer internetters door Sars-crisis
Gepubliceerd door Godius op woensdag 6 augustus 2003 12:48
Het internetgebruik in Hong Kong blijft ook na de Sars-crisis stijgen. Steeg het gebruik van met name sites met medische informatie, nieuws, webwinkels en banken gedurende de Sars-epidemie van eind maart tot en met mei van dit jaar fors, ook na het sein 'all-clear' blijft het gebruik van online-diensten toenemen. Dat meldt onderzoeksbureau Nielsen/NetRatings. Tijdens de 'crisisperiode' zetten veel inwoners van Hong Kong hun activiteiten buitenshuis op een lager pitje. Veel zaken, zoals boodschappen en bankzaken, werden in die periode online geregeld. In april steeg het aantal internetgebruikers met maar liefst 13 procent ten opzichte van de maand ervoor. Gemiddeld waren zij die maand 22,5 uur online, tegen zestien uur in de maanden voordat de Sars-epidemie uitbrak.
In juni, de eerste 'Sars-vrije' maand na de uitbraak, daalde het internetgebruik weliswaar licht ten opzichte van de twee voorgaande maanden, maar het schommelt nog altijd aanzienlijk boven het niveau van voor de crisis. Zo lag het aantal surfers naar sites van banken in juni 26 procent hoger dan in de maand februari. "Het is de vraag of deze groei op de lange termijn vastgehouden kan worden", zegt Peter Steyn van Nielsen/Netratings.
Het internetgebruik in Hong Kong blijft ook na de Sars-crisis stijgen. Steeg het gebruik van met name sites met medische informatie, nieuws, webwinkels en banken gedurende de Sars-epidemie van eind maart tot en met mei van dit jaar fors, ook na het sein 'all-clear' blijft het gebruik van online-diensten toenemen. Dat meldt onderzoeksbureau Nielsen/NetRatings. Tijdens de 'crisisperiode' zetten veel inwoners van Hong Kong hun activiteiten buitenshuis op een lager pitje. Veel zaken, zoals boodschappen en bankzaken, werden in die periode online geregeld. In april steeg het aantal internetgebruikers met maar liefst 13 procent ten opzichte van de maand ervoor. Gemiddeld waren zij die maand 22,5 uur online, tegen zestien uur in de maanden voordat de Sars-epidemie uitbrak.
In juni, de eerste 'Sars-vrije' maand na de uitbraak, daalde het internetgebruik weliswaar licht ten opzichte van de twee voorgaande maanden, maar het schommelt nog altijd aanzienlijk boven het niveau van voor de crisis. Zo lag het aantal surfers naar sites van banken in juni 26 procent hoger dan in de maand februari. "Het is de vraag of deze groei op de lange termijn vastgehouden kan worden", zegt Peter Steyn van Nielsen/Netratings.
Friday, August 1, 2003
HK cybersurfers stay online
Posted:9:39 PM (Manila Time) | Aug. 01, 2003
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong residents who turned to the Internet for entertainment during the devastating SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak have continued surfing in cyberspace more than a month after the crisis passed, a survey found Thursday.
Peter Steyn, sales and marketing director for Nielsen//Netratings, said the outbreak of SARS had a profound effect on Internet audiences between late-March to May.
"Traffic to Internet sites for shopping, banking, news, medical information and education grew to record highs as people stayed at home and looked for ways to continue with their lives online," said Steyn.
At the height of the crisis in April, numbers of active Internet users rose 13 percent from the previous month, the fastest month-on-month increase in over two years, with Hong Kong users spending on average 22.5 hours online compared with about 16 hours a month in the six months prior to SARS.
Steyn noted that while Internet usage after the SARS crisis had decreased slightly from their peak, figures for June still showed a significant increase over February, the month before SARS struck.
"For example, websites in the banking sector saw a huge 26 percent increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points," he said.
Not all websites benefited from the increased Internet usage during the crisis with users avoiding travel sites, as they put off vacations for fear of contracting the deadly virus on board airplanes.
"However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37 percent compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals," he said.
"There is little doubt that Internet audiences post-SARS have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Hong Kong was the world's second worst hit SARS region with at least 297 deaths from nearly 1,800 infections. It was removed from the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected areas on June 23.
The 13-week outbreak battered Hong Kong's retail and restaurant businesses as many of the city's 6.8 million residents donned surgical masks and steered clear of crowded shopping malls to avoid contracting the deadly pneumonia-like virus.
Peter Steyn, sales and marketing director for Nielsen//Netratings, said the outbreak of SARS had a profound effect on Internet audiences between late-March to May.
"Traffic to Internet sites for shopping, banking, news, medical information and education grew to record highs as people stayed at home and looked for ways to continue with their lives online," said Steyn.
At the height of the crisis in April, numbers of active Internet users rose 13 percent from the previous month, the fastest month-on-month increase in over two years, with Hong Kong users spending on average 22.5 hours online compared with about 16 hours a month in the six months prior to SARS.
Steyn noted that while Internet usage after the SARS crisis had decreased slightly from their peak, figures for June still showed a significant increase over February, the month before SARS struck.
"For example, websites in the banking sector saw a huge 26 percent increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points," he said.
Not all websites benefited from the increased Internet usage during the crisis with users avoiding travel sites, as they put off vacations for fear of contracting the deadly virus on board airplanes.
"However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37 percent compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals," he said.
"There is little doubt that Internet audiences post-SARS have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Hong Kong was the world's second worst hit SARS region with at least 297 deaths from nearly 1,800 infections. It was removed from the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected areas on June 23.
The 13-week outbreak battered Hong Kong's retail and restaurant businesses as many of the city's 6.8 million residents donned surgical masks and steered clear of crowded shopping malls to avoid contracting the deadly pneumonia-like virus.
SARS stimulates ongoing growth in Internet usage in Hong Kong
IE Asia Team , 1-Aug-2003 www.intelligentasia.com
Hong Kong residents cut back on their outdoor activities during the critical months of the recent SARS crisis, preferring to head to the Internet for essential medical information, news, as well as for online shopping, banking and education. What's more, they appear to have continued to enjoy these online services even after the all-clear, according to the latest information from Nielsen/NetRatings Hong Kong.
"The SARS crisis had a profound effect on Internet audiences in Hong Kong over the period from late March through to May. Traffic to Internet sites for shopping, banking, news, medical information and education grew to record highs," said Peter Steyn, Sales and Marketing Director, Nielsen//NetRatings Hong Kong.
At the height of the crisis in April, the number of active Internet users increased by 13% compared with the previous month - the fastest month-on-month growth in more than two years.
Usage levels also spiked in April, when Hong Kong people spent, on average, 22.5 hours online, compared to an average of just under 16 hours per month during the six months preceding SARS. Pages viewed increased by 44% in April compared with February, while the average number of domains accessed per person increased from 61 to 73.
"While Internet usage declined slightly post-SARS following their peak levels during the outbreak, our June figures still show significant increases over February,” Steyn said.
For example, he pointed out that Web sites in the banking sector saw a huge 26% increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points.
Understandably, the travel category suffered during the crisis. However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37% compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals.
Among the categories analysed by Nielsen//NetRatings, online news sites experienced the highest growth (40%) in unique audience during April compared with February; followed by Education sites (36%); Bank sites (27%) and Shopping (15%).
Growth of the Shopping category was offset by a marked decline in movie/event ticket booking sites, and a drop in traffic to some travel sites. Several online shopping sites have, however, continued to increase their audience in June.
"There is little doubt that Internet audiences post-SARS have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Usage levels also spiked in April, when Hong Kong people spent, on average, 22.5 hours online, compared to an average of just under 16 hours per month during the six months preceding SARS. Pages viewed increased by 44% in April compared with February, while the average number of domains accessed per person increased from 61 to 73.
"While Internet usage declined slightly post-SARS following their peak levels during the outbreak, our June figures still show significant increases over February,” Steyn said.
For example, he pointed out that Web sites in the banking sector saw a huge 26% increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points.
Understandably, the travel category suffered during the crisis. However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37% compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals.
Among the categories analysed by Nielsen//NetRatings, online news sites experienced the highest growth (40%) in unique audience during April compared with February; followed by Education sites (36%); Bank sites (27%) and Shopping (15%).
Growth of the Shopping category was offset by a marked decline in movie/event ticket booking sites, and a drop in traffic to some travel sites. Several online shopping sites have, however, continued to increase their audience in June.
"There is little doubt that Internet audiences post-SARS have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Hong Kong cybersurfers stay online in wake of Sars crisis
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Friday, August 1, 2003 - Hong Kongers who turned to the Internet for entertainment during the devastating Sars outbreak have continued surfing in cyberspace more than a month after the crisis passed, a survey found on Thursday.
Peter Steyn, sales and marketing director for Nielsen Netratings, said the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) had a profound effect on Internet audiences between late-March to May.
"Traffic to Internet sites for shopping, banking, news, medical information and education grew to record highs as people stayed at home and looked for ways to continue with their lives online," said Mr Steyn.
At the height of the crisis in April, numbers of active Internet users rose 13 per cent from the previous month, the fastest month-on-month increased in over two years, with Hong Kong users spending on average 22.5 hours online compared with about 16 hours a month in the six months prior to Sars.
Mr Steyn noted while Internet usage after the Sars crisis had decreased slightly from their peak, figures for June still showed a significant increase over February, the month before Sars struck.
"For example, websites in the banking sector saw a huge 26 percent increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points," he said.
Not all websites benefited from the increased Internet usage during the crisis with users avoiding travel sites, as they put off vacations for fear of contracting the deadly virus on board airplanes.
"However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37 per cent compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals," he said.
"There is little doubt that Internet audiences post-Sars have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Mr Steyn.
"The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Hong Kong was the world's second worst hit Sars region with at least 297 deaths from nearly 1,800 infections. It was removed from the World Health Organization's list of Sars-affected areas on June 23.
The 13-week outbreak battered Hong Kong's retail and restaurant businesses as many of the city's 6.8 million residents donned surgical masks and steered clear of crowded shopping malls to avoid contracting the deadly pneumonia-like virus.
Staying online after SARS
Hong Kongers who turned to the internet for entertainment during the devastating SARS outbreak have continued surfing in cyberspace more than a month after the crisis passed, a survey found on Thursday.
Peter Steyn, sales and marketing director for Nielsen Netratings, said the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had a profound effect on internet audiences between late-March to May.
Record highs
"Traffic to internet sites for shopping, banking, news, medical information and education grew to record highs as people stayed at home and looked for ways to continue with their lives online," said Steyn.
At the height of the crisis in April, numbers of active internet users rose 13 percent from the previous month, the fastest month-on-month increased in over two years, with Hong Kong users spending on average 22.5 hours online compared with about 16 hours a month in the six months prior to SARS.
Significant increase
Steyn noted while internet usage after the SARS crisis had decreased slightly from their peak, figures for June still showed a significant increase over February, the month before SARS struck.
"For example, websites in the banking sector saw a huge 26 percent increase in users in June over February, translating into an increase in audience reach of three percentage points," he said.
Travel sites avoided
Not all websites benefited from the increased internet usage during the crisis with users avoiding travel sites, as they put off vacations for fear of contracting the deadly virus on board airplanes.
"However, with the all-clear signal in June, audiences to travel sites increased by 37 percent compared with April, as people took advantage of a variety of travel deals," he said.
"There is little doubt that internet audiences post-SARS have reached significantly higher levels than before the epidemic," said Steyn. "The question now is whether these gains will be sustained in the longer term."
Second worst hit SARS region
Hong Kong was the world's second worst hit SARS region with at least 297 deaths from nearly 1800 infections. It was removed from the World Health Organization's list of SARS-affected areas on June 23.
The 13-week outbreak battered Hong Kong's retail and restaurant businesses as many of the city's 6.8 million residents donned surgical masks and steered clear of crowded shopping malls to avoid contracting the deadly pneumonia-like virus.
AFP
Copyright © 2000 iafrica.com*, a division of Metropolis*
Thursday, July 31, 2003
SARS gunstig voor internet in Hongkong (Netherlands report)
HONGKONG (IPB) - Voor internetbedrijven in Hongkong heeft de SARS-epidemie van eerder dit jaar gunstig uitgepakt. Omdat mensen vanwege de longziekte de deur niet meer uit durfden, zochten ze hun toevlucht op het web. Dit meldt het internetbedrijf Nielsen Netratings donderdag.
Nadat de Chinese provincie op 23 juni SARS-vrij werd verklaard, bleef het internetgebruik hoog. ,,Het lijdt geen twijfel dat de SARS-epidemie goed is geweest voor internet in Hongkong'', meent woordvoerder Peter Steyn van Nielsen Netratings. ,,Nu is het vraag of dit op de langere termijn zo blijft.''
SARS zorgde in Hongkong voor een toename van 13 procent in het internetgebruik. Die stijging vond plaats in april, op het hoogtepunt van de SARS-epidemie. Zo'n 6,8 miljoen Hongkong-chinezen zaten tijdens de SARS-periode gemiddeld 22,5 uur per maand op het web. Voor de uitbraak van de ziekte was dat 16 uur.
,,Het bezoek aan websites van banken, kranten, medische informatie en onderwijsinstellingen groeide tot recordhoogten'', zegt Steyn. De pagina's van reisbureaus en luchtvaart hadden het heel moeilijk. Nadat de stad officieel SARS-vrij was, steeg het aantal bezoekers aan reissites met 37 procent.
Na China is Hongkong het zwaarst getroffen door SARS. De longziekte kostte daar aan minstens 297 mensen het leven.
Monday, June 23, 2003
SARS roztáčí asijské internetové obchody
www.idnes.cz, Prague
Strach ze SARS v asijských zemích prudce zvedl tržby internetových obchodů. Lidé se kvůli smrtícímu plicnímu viru bojí vycházet na ulici. Firmy, které jsou schopné prodávat zboží po síti, zaznamenaly obrat vyšší o polovinu, naopak "kamenné" obchody trpí. Stoupl i zájem o internetové bankovnictví.
Z výzkumu společnosti Nielsen/Netratings v Hongkongu vyplynulo, že počet uživatelů internetu v SARS nejpostiženější zemi světa v dubnu stoupl o třináct procent na 2,45 milionu.
"Jakmile v dubnu opanoval Hongkong strach ze SARS, lidé dali přednost surfování na internetu před bloumáním po ulicích a stáním ve frontách. Také své peníze raději spravují po síti," konstatoval marketingový šéf Nielsenu Peter Steyn.
Počet uživatelů hongkongského nákupního portálu, který patří největšímu maloobchodnímu řetězci Park 'n' Shop, stoupl o nečekaných 161 procent, on-line banking využívalo o čtvrtinu lidí více.
Rostly ale i jiné internetové stránky. Některé školy například na web přemístily část vyučování, stoupl zájem o zpravodajství a zdravotnické informace.
Podobně bouřlivý vývoj zájmu o nakupování on-line zaznamenala i Čína. Tamní trh je ale stále poměrně výrazně svázán potřebou lidí sáhnout si na kupované zboží a omezeným použitím platebních karet.
Lidé se obrátili hlavně na prodejce knih, filmů a ostatní zábavy, a také na internetové drogerie nabízející dezinfekční prostředky.
V Číně je téměř 60 milionů uživatelů internetu, za což jí patří druhé místo na světě. Tři čtvrtiny z nich od vypuknutí epidemie SARS navštívily internetový obchod. Těch je zemi zhruba tisíc, uvedla ČTK.
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Mua sắm trực tuyến ở Hong Kong tăng nhờ… SARS
Saigon, Vietnam
Theo công ty nghiên cứu thị trường Nielsen/NetRatings, từ tháng 2 đến tháng 4, khách hàng đi chợ trên mạng ở Hong Kong tăng từ 2,2 lên 2,4 triệu người. Nỗi lo sợ về bệnh viêm đường hô hấp cấp khiến cho dịch vụ mua sắm, giao dịch trên Internet nở rộ.
Peter Steyn, nhà phân tích của Nielsen, cho biết virus SARS đã làm cho nhiều hoạt động kinh doanh ở đây trì trệ, nhưng lĩnh vực thương mại điện tử lại khả quan do có nhiều người thích mua hàng và giao dịch ngân hàng qua mạng hơn là đến những nơi đông đúc.
Parknshop.com, website của loạt siêu thị do Hutchison Whampoa quản lý, có tới 78.830 khách hàng, tăng 161% so với 2 tháng đầu năm. Site nổi tiếng Yahoo Shopping/Auction đạt 429.710 người dùng trong tháng 4, tăng 16%.
Trong hai tháng 3 và 4, giao dịch ngân hàng qua mạng tăng 25% ở Hong Kong. Trong đó, site của Ngân hàng Han Seng có 229.130 khách hàng truy cập, tăng 41%, HSBC có 374.500, tăng 34%. Tuy nhiên, các trang web bán vé máy bay, du lịch, xem phim giảm mạnh. Ví dụ trang Cinema.com.hk giảm 24%, chỉ có 108.100 người.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Online sales hoped to outlive SARS
by Alan Low (iafrica.com)
Posted Wed, 28 May 2003
For the past two months, Hong Kong web portals have seen soaring usage and booming sales of everything from DVDs to bleach as fears over SARS made sure the only place residents visited was cyberspace.
But with signs that the worst of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak is over and as more residents venture into crowded streets and shopping malls, internet executives are hoping the killer virus has led to a permanent change of attitudes toward shopping on the web.
Peter Steyn, director of sales and marketing at Nielsen/Netratings, which tracks internet usage, said home online users rose 13 percent in April, the first month fully reflecting the impact of SARS, which struck in mid-March, compared to February.
"As worries over SARS gripped Hong Kong in April, consumers turned more to the internet to find shopping deals and check out their finances instead of walking in crowded places and standing in queues," said Steyn.
Grocery and banking websites recorded highest surge in hits
Grocery and banking websites were among those recording the highest surge in hits.
"Grocery store Parknshop.com experienced huge growth with visitor numbers up 161 percent since the SARS outbreak," said Steyn. Numbers of cyber surfers visiting the Bank of China's site soared 58 percent over the same period.
In addition to shopping, the net also proved hugely popular for providing up-to-date SARS news for homebound Hong Kongers with usage of news sites leaping 40 percent.
Surfing for SARS bulletins also proved popular among the estimated 60 million internet users in China, where SARS first emerged in the southern province of Guangdong in November.
Baidu, a Chinese language search engine based in Beijing, the world's worst-hit SARS city with 160 deaths and 2465 cases, reported an overall nine percent rise in daily hits last month.
Sohu.com also noted SARS was its most popular search item, generating some 30 000 entries a day.
It was estimated that at peak times, more than one million people in Beijing were trying to get online at the same time jamming connections so that even making a phone call proved difficult.
Is it sustainable?
However, with signs the outbreak is slowing in both Hong Kong and mainland China, industry executives have expressed doubts whether the surge in web use, and hence online sales, is sustainable.
The deadly SARS respiratory virus, for which no cure or vaccine exists, has killed 262 people in Hong Kong from more than 1700 infections, though there have been markedly fewer new SARS cases in recent weeks.
Steyn said it would be interesting to see how many new net users continued to use online services - particularly shopping portals. "It could end up being a silver lining on the SARS cloud.
"I doubt if usage will fall back to the pre-SARS January level ... but whether it will be as high as SARS-levels, I don't think so."
Yahoo! Hong Kong, the territory's number one website in terms of users and traffic, which in April reported a more than 100-percent surge in online sales revenue, expressed concern the rise was not sustainable.
"We are not sure what will happen once SARS is over, but we hope people who had fears about online security will now be encouraged to keep using online shopping services now they have tried them and found them to be safe," said Arthur Chow, Marketing Manager at Yahoo!.
Spokesperson for Park n Shop, Theresa Pang, said online sales had now "settled at around 20 percent higher since the onset of SARS, or 60 percent higher than for the same time last year".
"We hope it doesn't fall back to pre-SARS levels and hopefully we can sustain the 20 percent growth going forward."
Online sales for travel websites, which fell last month as residents shunned travel because of fears of contracting SARS from infected passengers, was expected to rebound after the World Health Organisation lifted an April 2 warning against travel to Hong Kong and neighbouring Guangdong last Friday.
The China Travel website, which saw a 24-percent fall in hits in April, has already recorded a pickup this month along with other travel websites as people rush to take advantage of cut-price travel deals.
AFP
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