Micropayments grew 350% in 2004

A study of 1,112 Americans aged 12 and older, conducted by Peppercoin and Ipsos-Reid, found 17% of survey respondents saying they'd use a non-cash form of payment (credit, debit or charge card) for purchases under $5. That equates to some 37 mln Americans. The survey also found more than 14 mln Americans made digital content purchases in the past year for less than $2. That represents a 350% increase over the previous year (2003 - 4 mln; 2004 - 14 mln). Of the 14 mln people who purchased items costing under $2, approximately 1.4 mln consumers purchased such items from five or more Web sites.