More than two thirds of e-window shoppers in the UK go on to make a purchase, according to the latest research from Nielsen//NetRatings.

Publishing its Third Quarter 2002 Global Internet Trends Report analysts found that seven out of ten people in the UK who browsed online for products or services during Q3 went on to make a purchase.

This gives the UK the highest browsing-to-buying conversion rate of all the ten major markets studied beating countries such as Sweden, Germany and France.

Said Richard Goosey of NetRatings: “In Q3, the UK was well ahead of all other Internet markets in the rate at which its browsers converted to purchasers, with a nine point lead over Sweden, the country with the second-highest conversion rate."

Despite the economic downturn analysts are fairly confident that Europe could be celebrating a record-breaking e-Christmas.

Today's report appears to support earlier predictions from Gartner and Forrester that the UK and Europe could be looking forward to a festive e-Christmas.

Separately, Nielsen//NetRatings found that the number of home Net users rose from 553m in Q2 to 563m in Q3. The US continues to have the largest Internet population with 30 per cent of the global audience, followed by Europe (23 per cent) and Asia and the Pacific (13 per cent). ®

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