Fastest Growing E-Commerce Business In US History Launches In The UK With keen.co.uk
MORI survey shows nearly nine in ten of the British would rather talk to a person than turn to the Internet for advice and information
Today the European operations of Keen - the fastest growing e-commerce business in U.S. history - announces its UK launch with keen.co.uk. The launch coincides with the results of a survey carried out by MORI, which found that nearly nine in ten (88%) of the British public would still rather talk to another person in their search for advice and information than connect to the Internet, despite the growth of new search engines.
Keen provides live, immediate advice for everyday life connecting people over the telephone (bringing together KeenSeekers, those looking for information or advice, to KeenSpeakers who give it). By simply clicking on a "Call Now" icon in keen.co.uk, you are connected for a live immediate conversation on anything from how to make a perfect cr?me Brulйe to how to fill out your tax return or how to cope with stress. The KeenSpeakers set their own price for the information.
The results of the survey conducted for Keen by MORI show some remarkable facts on how the British search for information and advice. They also clearly support the market opportunity for a service that connects people to their own personal advisor. Six in ten of the British public feels the need to go to people outside their friends and family for advice on a variety of different issues. Furthermore, as noted above, nearly nine in ten (88%) of people would rather turn to a person than the Internet as their trusted source of advice and information. The reasons they gave were that talking to a person gave them reassurance and confidence in the advice as well as feeling that they needed to ask many questions to get their points or questions across. With the depth of information available via new Internet search engines, these results are all the more remarkable. Even among the Internet population, more than four out of five Internet users (83%) say they would choose talking to a person experienced in a particular area rather than search the Internet.
This new concept has proved to be an enormous success in the US, where the business has over two million registered users and revenues have grown exponentially on a month on month basis. Keen is pioneering the People to People (P2P) market, which has been estimated to grow to $6 million by 2005*. In essence, Keen gives ordinary people the ability to get and give clear and immediate advice on a vast array of subjects. The European operation is an independent joint venture between the original US business, Keen and Benchmark Capital, one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms, who has invested $15 million in the European rollout. Keen.co.uk will have the benefit of access to the global Keen marketplace - Keen has already connected calls to over 120 countries, however the UK service will be tailored to the UK culture.
Paul Strzelecki, CEO Keen Europe says, "We firmly believe that the UK offers a huge opportunity for Keen as highlighted by the results of the MORI survey. The research confirmed that 20 million British say they would welcome the opportunity to share advice if such a service were available and also that 59% of people want to expand their network of personal advisers. The immediacy of the answer is incredibly compelling to consumers, creating a completely new business proposition. This business is an example of true Internet telephony convergence. I am convinced that the best advice comes from individuals' life experience and is delivered by a conversation. It's the way humans work - we've been doing it since before electricity let alone the Internet".
Professor Sir Robert Worcester, Chairman of MORI commented, "People trust people. The survey for Keen clearly shows that even though the Internet has changed people's lives, it fundamentally does not change the way people search for advice and information as well as their need to talk to one another."
* Source: Datamonitor 2000
Technical details: A nationally representative sample of 1,973 GB adults aged 15+ were interviewed face-to-face on one wave of the MORI General Public Omnibus between 15-20 February 2001. Data have been weighted to reflect the national population profile.
