Why are the numbers so close for the two countries? For one thing, broadband is closely associated with online purchasing. eMarketer estimates that 58.2% of households in France will have broadband by the end of 2008, compared with 62.7% for the US.
Online buyer demographics are similar in both countries as well. The main difference is that in France, male Internet users are more likely to be online buyers than females. In the US, online buying is nearly equal by gender.
E-commerce in the US remains the province of young and affluent consumers, according to a February 2008 online shopping report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Individuals ages 50 and older accounted for only 29% of adult online buyers, and affluent Internet users were more likely to be online buyers than were users from lower-income households.
