US consumers are more confident that Web-based financial transactions are safe according to research from The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly survey produced by NFO WorldGroup, Forrester Research and The Conference Board.
According to the survey of 10,000 US households, more than 33% of respondents trust that online transactions are secure, up from 27.5% in Q4 2001.
Consumers are also more confident about purchasing products online with a quarter of respondents believing that personal information will be safe, compared with 21.9% a year ago.
Lynn Franco, director, consumer research centre, The Conference Board, comments: "Consumers' concern about privacy of their personal information has a significant influence on their willingness to engage in business exchanges online. But this trust barrier is beginning to erode."
The survey also shows that overall Internet usage has increased in the fourth quarter with nearly 61% of consumers going online at least once a month, an increase of 2.3% from last year.