This represents a 40 percent increase in the number of Internet shoppers over the last two years, the U.S.-based market research firm says.

“When Nielsen conducted its first global survey into Internet shopping trends two years ago, around 627 million people had shopped online,” Bruce Paul, Vice President of Customized Research at Nielsen U.S., says. “Within two years, this number has increased by 40 percent to 875 million.”

According to Nielsen’s survey, which was conducted in October 2007, over 85 percent of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase. Globally, more than half of Internet users made at least one purchase online in January 2008, Nielsen estimates.

Among Internet users worldwide, the highest percentage shopping online is found in South Korea. Nielsen says 99 percent of South Korean Internet users have shopped online, followed by the UK, Germany and Japan in joint second place, each with 97 percent. The U.S. came eighth, with 94 percent of Internet users having shopped online.

Credit cards are by far the most common method of payment for online purchases. Nielsen says that 60 percent of global online consumers used their credit card for a recent online purchase, while one in four online consumers chose PayPal. Of those paying with a credit card, more than half (53 percent) used Visa, Nielsen says.