Abstract: By adopting the data from the China Family Panel Studies(CFPS), and based on factor analysis,this paper measures the level of household Internet usage from three levels: basic usage, usage range and frequency, usage depth and importance, and builds a QUAIDS model to explore the impact of Internet usage on the upgrading of household consumption structure. The study finds that the impact of the level of Internet usage on the upgrading of household consumption structure includes the promotion effect and the inhibition effect, that the promotion effect is reflected in the decline in marginal consumption of food which belongs to necessities, and in the increase in marginal consumption of items in education, entertainment, daily necessities, and miscellaneous items which belong to luxury, and that the higher the household consumption level, the more obvious the promotion effect of the Internet usage level. The inhibition effect is reflected in the increase in the marginal consumption of clothing, transportation and communication which belongs to necessities, and in the decrease in the marginal consumption of health care and housing which belongs to luxury items. This mainly originates from the fact that the Internet has stimulated household consumption demand and willingness, saving household consumption costs at the same time. By further testing households with different characteristics, the results show that compared with rural households, households in central and western regions, and low-and middle-income households, the level of Internet usage has a more comprehensive and stronger effect on the upgrading of consumption structure in urban, eastern and high-income households.

Keywords: Internet usage level; consumption structure upgrade; factor analysis method; QUAIDS model