Considerable Internet Browsing – including Online Shopping occurs at Work.

Today’s consumers spend significant time online, with 35.5% of all web users 18 years and older spending three or more hours per day on the Internet, and four out of every ten 18-34 year olds exceeding three hours daily. Interestingly, among web surfers 18 years and older an average of 15 minutes of every online hour is done from the workplace.

Burst Media conducted an online survey in November 2007 of 11,510 web users 18 and older about their at work Internet browsing habits.

One-fifth of respondents state that their workplace is the main locale for where they access the Internet. Men are more likely than women (32.8% vs. 28.4%) to use work as the primary location. The survey also found that the higher the respondent’s household income, the more likely they are to say that work is the primary location from where they access the Internet.

Respondents indicate that surfing while on the job is often not work related, with 26.2% of online time at work spent on personal activities. Men spend more online time at work on personal tasks than women (28.0% vs. 24.2%); and the youngest age segment, 18-24 years old, spend 34.4% of online at work time surfing for personal reasons. When asked why they surf the web at work for personal use, respondents most frequently cited the need to stay informed during the day (33.8%). Other reasons were boredom (20.5%), staying in contact with family and friends (18.5%) and convenience (i.e. faster Web connection than home, more accessible computer, convenient time to conduct online services).

The survey also revealed several interesting findings about how consumers’ online habits are impacting behaviors in the workplace. Some of these findings include:

– Emailing, IMing and Checking News are the most popular online activities while at work: Over half of all respondents regularly send email/IM to a family member or friend while at work. Checking national news was also a common activity (48.6%). Other activities conducted online at work include looking up weather information, conducting online banking, researching travel information, checking sports news/scores, visiting social networking sites and playing online games.

– Many shop online at work: 51.2% of respondents said that they have shopped online while at work. Men are more likely than women (56.4% vs. 45.5%) to shop online while on the job. Three out of five respondents with household incomes over $100,000 shop online while at work. Activities comprising online shopping time include purchases, researching features, comparing retailers’ prices, finding store locations and searching for last minute deals.

– Most employees show little remorse regarding their time spent web surfing on company time: Only one-quarter of employees (28.5%) feel guilty about using the Internet on company time, although women are more inclined to feel guilt than men (31.7% vs. 25.6%). Additionally, very few are worried that “big brother” is watching, with only 30.5% of respondents concerned that their employer might be tracking their Internet usage. The one segment that expressed some concern that their web usage might be tracked by their employer was young men ages 18-24 years. Among this segment, 41% expressed concern that their web surfing at work might be tracked by their employer.

“It’s clear from our research that the Internet is an integral part of work time – both for completing job duties, but also to conduct personal activities. That’s not a huge surprise since the lines between work and personal time has been blurred” said Jarvis Coffin, CEO of Burst. “Where there is real opportunity is that the Internet allows marketers to reach the workday audience efficiently, surrounded by relevant work or personal content. Add to that our targeting capabilities – such as daypart and day of the week – and you have a powerful medium to reach some pretty attractive audience segments.”

For more information at http://www.burstmedia.com