Consumer Internet Barometer

The Consumer Internet Barometer is a quarterly survey report produced by the Conference Board and TNS NFO that records, analyzes and reports on the internet usage of 10,000 U.S. households. The survey seeks to measure:

1. the importance of the internet in the daily lives of households
2. overall satisfaction of internet users
3. online purchase characteristics, times and dates
4. users' perceptions of security for online transactions and general internet usage

As levels of internet use increase, it is expected that online purchases become a more important driver of the economy. Currently, a household is considered to be "online" if it reports being on the internet at least once per month. The rate of response to the survey is very high, making the Consumer Internet Barometer one of the most widely relied upon measures of U.S. consumer internet use.

The Conference Board, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit business membership and research group organization. It currently reports 1,200 public and private corporations and other organizations as its members. This encompasses nearly 60 countries. The Board conducts conferences and peer-learning groups, performs economic and business management research, and publishes several widely tracked economic indicators in addition to the Consumer Internet Barometer. Most professionals will know The Conference Board for their U.S. Consumer Confidence Index. This popular barometer was launched by The Conference Board in 1967. The monthly survey of 5,000 households is widely regarded as the leading measure of American consumer confidence. The results of the household survey are helpful in providing a barometer of the U.S. economy (The Index is currently indexed to the year 1985 = 100).