The Direct Marketing Association has issued a report this month on the results of a 2005 consumer trust survey. The report states that of the 78 percent of American Internet users that plan to conduct some on-line shopping this year, 69 percent will limit those purchases because of fears associated with misuse of personal information. The report also revealed that, due to privacy concerns, 40 percent would steer clear of smaller on-line retailers. One observation voiced in the report was that consumers are uncomfortable with sites that do not clearly show privacy as a priority.

According to an article in Marketing VOX, an S.G. Cowen study, released last week, found that Google is the engine of choice for U.S. searchers, with 52 percent of respondents considering it their primary engine for general searches. Yahoo was second with 22 percent; MSN and AOL tied for third with 9 percent. Ask Jeeves accounted for 5 percent.

Those who prefer Google’s search engine tend to be richer and have more Internet experience than others, according to the study. Their average household income is above $60,000, Marketing VOX writes.

One might extrapolate from this data that if your site gets a lot of Google traffic, you are dealing with a lot of streetwise consumers. These consumers have cash to spend, but won’t be impressed with a site that plays silly games.

According to a new report by America Online and the National Cyber Security Alliance, advertising that relies on pop-ups is likely to be less effective this year. Seventy percent of respondents reported they now block pop-up ads. This is up from 47 percent in the previous year.

According to a report “State of the Consumer Streaming Market,” released last Thursday by comScore Networks and StreamingMedia.com, mainstream consumers between the ages of 35 and 54 accounted for 45 percent of all online video watched in August. The report also states that 60 percent of the U.S. online video population, or more than 100 million surfers, take in online digital media each month, writes ONLINE Media Daily.

In a related article, VOX Marketing writes that ages 35-54 were 20 percent more likely than the average to watch online video, and those age 25-35 were 12 percent more likely than the average to do so.

Nearly two-thirds of internet users who streamed audio or video did so via major portal sites, 50 percent from an entertainment site, more than 17 percent via a music site, and 15 percent from a retail site, VOX also wrote.

Although this study looked at mainstream consumer activities, it’s still worth noting. Studies that look at, or include, adult consumer behavior are rare. This forces the adult industry to extrapolate from broader industry studies.

A few days ago I decided to research how many people are accessing the Internet with a broadband connection as apposed to those still holding onto dialup. What I found was that, while the numbers very from one country to the next, dialup users remain dominant. This suggests that adult sites should be designed to accommodate the dialup user.

But wait just a second. What I really wanted to know was how many surfing porn are still using dialup. So I did some more digging, and what I discovered was the answer to an even better question, or at least strong indications of an answer. What I really wanted to know was how many people spending money on porn are still using dialup. While the answer I got was not definitive, it was eye opening.

One study reported that 6% of all broadband users surf porn, as compared to 1% of all dialup users.

A study of European consumers concluded “Sites that draw the majority of their audience from broadband surfers include file-sharing sites, music sites, film sites and adult sites.”

Another European study revealed, “Almost one in four people with broadband Internet admit signing up in order to download pornography, according to a survey published today.”

A very recent study shows “More than 94 million people in the U.S. - 56 percent of the domestic Internet population - viewed a streaming video online in June 2005.”

An older US Dept. of Commerce report states, “The use of the Internet for entertainment is substantially more likely among those with broadband.”

A study released September 2005 concluded, “Compared with their narrowband counterparts, broadband users spend more time and money online because their surfing experience is faster, more persistent, and ultimately, more satisfying. This is good news for consumers, publishers and advertisers alike.”

Now I’ll be the first to admit this is not conclusive, and I’m not sure we will ever get a definitive answer. But the indicators are noteworthy, and if nothing else I discovered what the real question is we should be asking.

According to The Online Publishers Association (OPA), a recent study of online video viewing concluded that consumers have a strong positive reaction to online video ads. Seventy percent of respondents said they had seen a video advertisement online, and 44% said they had taken some action as a result of seeing that ad. Specifically, 34% checked out a Web site, 15% requested information and 14% went to a store to check out a product. Most significantly, 9% said they made a purchase and 3% said they bought a subscription as a result of an online video ad.

Could this be the next hot tool sponsor programs put in the hands of their affiliates, or will we only see it being used for things like promoting the XBiz Awards? We already see video ads being used a lot in mainstream. The first time I saw it used at CNN I immediately compared it to the middle page ads used at some AVS programs.

The most recent findings from Pew Internet & American Life tracking surveys and consumer behavior trends from the comScore Media Metrix consumer panel show that about 60 million American adults are using search engines on a typical day. The report stated that the number of those using search engines on an average day jumped from roughly 38 million in June 2004 to about 59 million in September 2005 – an increase of about 55%.

PEW/Internet concludes these findings have considerable consequences for the way people gather and use information online and the way e-commerce is conducted. “The evolution of search engines as everyday consumer Web tools has made them a vital resource for marketers,” said James Lamberti, vice president of comScore Networks. “Search engines are obviously a critical vehicle in reaching consumers during the buy cycle, but they also offer a rich source for consumer profiling, segmentation, and measurement of product demand. To-date, we have only witnessed the preliminary impact of search engines on e-commerce.”

A new survey conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) for hosting company Hostway reveals consumer reaction to annoying characteristics of web sites. Over 75% of respondents (18 and older) said they were “extremely” or “somewhat” likely to NOT visit an offending site again. The study also found that over 70 percent were “extremely” or “somewhat” likely to NOT purchase from an annoying web site.

Read the E-Commerce Times article