The Online Publishers Association attributes $986.8 million in content purchases to continued strength in entertainment purchases like music, and this is only for the first half of 2005.
A comScore Networks study used by the OPA shows that online consumer spending in the US continues at a robust pace. Entertainment was the top draw for content seekers, and digital music had the biggest share of that category.
In the report, OPA president Michael Zimbalist noted how two characteristics show that the same people spend the same amount of money online:
Oddly, the only figures that don’t yet seem affected are Market Penetration (the percentage of online users who make purchases online) and Average Spending Per Consumer, which has been stuck near the $100-per-year mark for the last three years.
A bit over two-thirds of online spending went to three categories, out of the eleven covered in the survey: Entertainment, Personals & Dating, and Business & Investment. The study does not track adult-oriented or business-to-business sites.
While many categories saw consumer spending go up, news sites saw it drop, and drop big. The report cited a 13.8% fall in revenue for general news as a category. Sports also had a slight drop of 4.3 percent; it will be interesting to see if it goes back up for the second-half of the year, when fantasy football is going on.
Yahoo’s price increase for its Unlimited subscription service may not fare well. The study noted how consumers have continued to shift from subscription to single purchase sales for paid content.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
