Here are some Forecasts for the Year 2000 From International Data Corp, Forrester Research, Jupiter Communications, Cyber Dialogue, Alexa Internet, The Boston Consulting Group, NPD Online, Activmedia Research and Inside Research:

• 9 million new online gamers will try their luck on the Net.
• Worldwide IT spending will reach $908 billion, up from $835 billion in 1999.
• Market research firms will generate $255 million in revenue from online research.
• 25 percent of U.S. adults will visit international Web sites on a monthly basis.
• U.S. online retail revenues will hit $38.8 billion, up from $20.3 billion in 1999.
• 45 percent of U.S. adults will regularly use local content sites.
• 20 percent of U.S. online shoppers will use downloadable coupons.
• 14 million new U.S. households will go online, up from 7 million in 1999.
• 53 million adults will search for entertainment-related content online, making it the most-sought-after online category.
• Net ad spending will climb to $4.7 billion.
• 7 million investment accounts will be handled online, up from 5.4 million in 1999.
• Online garden and tool purchases will jump 433 percent.
• Online pet-supply purchases will reach $800 million, up from $300 million in 1999.
• Worldwide Net advertising will almost double, reaching $6.5 billion, up from $3.3 billion in 1999.
• 28.4 million U.S. households will shop online, up from 17.4 million last year.
• 35 million U.S. surfers will hunt for music content online, spending about $700 million on CDs and cassettes.
• North America will create the bulk of IT spending, some $444 billion, up from $409 billion in 1999.

What are the applications for the real estate industry? The number of U.S. households going online will double this year, and the number of households shopping online will double, providing more opportunity to serve consumers online.

Transforming Tomorrow

Two frogs fell into a bucket of cream. The first frog, seeing that there was no way to get any footing in the white fluid, accepted his fate and drowned. The second frog didn’t like this approach so he thrashed around and did whatever he could to stay afloat. Soon his activity turned the cream into butter, and he climbed up and jumped out.

How persistent are you?  Do you do whatever it takes to stay afloat? Or do you give up too early?

Also See:

Published: February 18, 2000

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.