FC Roper Starch Survey: The Web

"Five years from now, retail businesses will focus all of their resources on state-of-the-art Web sites and merchandise-distribution systems. Retail outlets will have become relics of the past." Do you think that this scenario is ...

Already true: 4%
Certain to come true within five years: 8%
Likely to come true within five years: 17%
Possible, but not likely to come true within five years: 48%
Impossible: It will not come true within five years: 24%

If the above statement comes true, do you feel that the result would be ...

Positive: 41%
Negative: 60%

"Five years from now, there will be a new addiction. There will be self-help books and support groups for people who feel they must be connected to the Internet 24 hours a day."

Do you think that this scenario is ...

Already true: 31%
Certain to come true within five years: 17%
Likely to come true within five years: 28%
Possible, but not likely to come true within five years: 21%
Impossible: It will not come true within five years: 4%

Here's another scenario: "Pat has a home office and is set up for telecommuting. Every day, after breakfast, Pat goes into the home office and closes the door. Pat keeps in visual contact with coworkers and attends videoconferences by using a camera on top of the computer. On days when Pat wants to stay in pajamas, the video camera is turned off. Along with communicating by email, fax, and telephone, Pat shares electronic documents and work calendars through a company intranet. The family has set rules about Pat's workdays: When the home-office door is closed, nobody can even knock on it except at lunchtime. But Pat can still often hear the kids playing and the dog barking at the mail carrier."

How soon do you think that it will be possible to have a worklife like Pat's?

It's already possible: 70%
It will be possible within 5 years: 17%
It will be possible within 10 years: 9%
It will be possible within 20 years or more: 2%
It will never be possible: 2%

How much does a work life like Pat's appeal to you?

A lot: 32%
Some: 41%
Not much: 19%
Not at all: 8%

Please finish the following sentence: "I would spend a lot more time on the Net if ..."

"It were dramatically easier to use": 14%
"Security and privacy were guaranteed": 46%
"It allowed me to do more things that I couldn't do otherwise": 40%

Please finish the following sentence: "I would spend a lot more money on buying stuff via the Net if ..."

"Web sites were easier to navigate": 7%
"Prices were lower": 29%
"The selection of goods were bigger": 7%
"There were more information on products and services": 13%
"Security and privacy were guaranteed": 32%
"There were explicit standards for ethical commerce":13%

This poll was designed by Roper Starch Worldwide Inc., and the data was collected by Digital Marketing Services Inc. using America Online's subscriber base. A sample of 1,035 employed, college-educated visitors to AOL's Opinion Place was randomly selected, and respondents were interviewed from July 7, 1999 to July 9, 1999. Results have been weighted to account for the average age and gender of the online population.

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