Ebusiness Daily, May 8, 2002 -- Although the number of dot-com companies has taken a nosedive, the number of people online in the United States continues to increase, thereby increasing the potential market for b-to-c commerce. According to The Harris Poll fully two-thirds of all U.S. adults are now online.

The online penetration has begun to increase after a slight pause in the wake of the bursting dot-com bubble. According to the poll, the percentage of adults accessing the Internet increased from 64 percent to 66 percent during the past six months. More than half of the adults (55 percent) access the Internet from home, and nearly one-third (30 percent) access it from work. Nearly 20 percent say they access it from a school, library, or cyber cafe. Some access the Internet from more than one location.

The poll, conducted by telephone, indicates that 137 million adults are now online, compared with 127 million in the previous poll. By comparison, Harris found no growth in Internet penetration from the spring of 2001 until the fall.

The poll still finds a bias in demographics toward the more affluent. The profile by age, however, is more cross-sectional, with the exception of those over 65. This group makes up 16 percent of all adults, but only 5 percent of those online. Harris also reported no significant change in the amount of time people spend online -- an average of seven hours or eight hours each week. One explanation might be that as access speeds and user skills have increased, people can get more done in less time.