In March 1996 there were 487,000 people using the internet in Spain. In March 2004 that figure has risen to over 7.89 Million users. (Worldwide internet usage was at 553 million people at March 2004 and rises daily)
That number is continuing to increase at an amazing rate and by Jan 2005 it is expected that there will be over 8.5 million internet users in Spain alone.
What does this all mean?
Put simply, it means that an increasing amount of people are placing more and more trust in the internet as a means to find out information, entertain themselves and go shopping. It also shows that companies are investing more and more money on internet related technologies.
For example did you know that Mercadona (a popular Spainsh supermarket) provides an online service so that you can buy your groceries online and have them delivered to your door next day? We have our weekly supply of soft drinks sent directly to our office!
See www.mercadona.es
Another site is Andalucia.co.uk who provides a wealth of information including daily job listings, accommodation, weekly cinema listings and FREE SMS for their users. They even provide a weekly cinema mailing list which goes out every Friday showing what English Speaking films are on in the Spanish cinemas.
See www.andalucia.co.uk
Google is now the most popular search engine on the internet with a database of over 4 Billion pages. We don’t need to tell you that that is a lot of information and data. Go and type your name in Google and see what comes up. You may be surprised.
See www.google.com
How does this all affect me?
If you are a casual internet user, your choice of web sites to buy from and the sources of information have increased tenfold and will continue to increase in the coming months and years. You can now find any information you need and can buy more products online than you could ever before.
If you are a company which either sells products or services, this increase allows you further exposure to a market you have never had before. Did you know that a recent survey showed that nearly 6 out of 10 people will visit a web site before making a buying decision?
Will this increase last?
We think so. Despite all the negative press about Trojan viruses and spam email all being linked to the internet and how the downfall of civilisation is going to happen because some hacker in the middle of Siberia has created a “monster virus”, people lives are getting busier and we have to accept that the internet saves time for those people. People need information, they thrive on it. People need to save time, it saves them money. Businesses too are always on the look out for more customers and the internet has provided a new marketing channel for them. As long as there are people willing to buy things, the internet will exist and continue to grow.
