Disney pulls UK mobile service for families
Disney has delayed the launch of a ‘family-friendly’ mobile service in the UK, according to The Sunday Telegraph .
The media giant announced in April that it would launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using capacity on O2’s network, similar to its existing service in the US.
Britons spend 50 days a year online
The average British broadband user now spends around 50 days a year on the web, according to a new survey by YouGov.
General surfing was the most popular internet-based activity at an average seven hours and 54 minutes per week.
Web blamed as Powerhouse shuts shop
Administrators of electronics chain Powerhouse have blamed rising competition from e-tailers after the firm closed its UK stores yesterday.
"Internet retailers and increased competition on the high street, coupled with the ongoing deterioration in the UK electrical retail market, has led to Powerhouse being unable to sustain its position in the retail marketplace," BDO Stoy Hayward said in a statement.
Online card payments rise in UK
More than 50% of UK adults made an online purchase with their credit or debit cards last year, according to new research .
Payments association Apacs says 25 million adults (52% of all adults and 74% of internet users) bought goods online during 2005, an 11% rise over the previous year.
Search marketers in Travel and Auto need to look at bigger picture
The results of two pieces of research based on comScore data show how important it is for marketers to build their knowledge of the role played by online research - and Search - in the buying process.
Display ads lift Search conversion rates, says research
Research by the Atlas Institute shows that the conversion rate from Search advertising is 22% better when used in conjunction with Display advertising.
The study demonstrates that there is a quantifiable "synergy" between these two channels and will hopefully encourage advertisers to take a more integrated approach to their online marketing.
The research is welcome because there are still companies out there who are shifting their budgets from display advertising into Search without a full understanding of how this might affect their conversion success or long term prospects.
The 12 fundamentals of e-commerce
We are often asked about the fundamentals of e-commerce: how do you build an online retail store, what do customers need to see, what does Google look for, how can you increase conversion rates?
I have compiled a list of the 12 fundamentals that you can put in place to enhance an existing online store or plan a new one...
Marketers must embrace shift of power to the consumer
There were three engaging presentations about the Future of Online Marketing at the Commission Junction University event for advertisers and publishers in London this week.
The message coming through loud and clear was that marketers need to wake up quickly to the shifting balance of power on the internet.
There is no escaping the fact that consumers will increasingly hold sway in the fast-changing digital environment.
Offertrax raises funds, launch set for August
Congratulations are in order for Ron and Ben at Boston-based Offertrax, who have raised an initial round of funding to help them launch their first product in August.
The company has raised “less than $1m - for now” according to CEO Ronald Pruett, who told me that he secured the funds from “private investors from the Boston area with high tech backgrounds and understanding”.
Offertrax is a social shopping site based around RSS technologies. The founders (Ronald Pruett and Ben Carcio) hope that the service will help join up the gap between consumers and merchants, via targeted alerts delivered by RSS. “It is time to put consumers back in the driving seat,” says Ron.
eBay sells Adsense click fraud, plays with fire
Last week we reported that eBay has banned Google Checkout, something that is likely to backfire on the auction giant, which owns rival payment processor PayPal.
Silicon has today published a timely analysis of why eBay is more likely to suffer than Big G.
Meanwhile, I have been looking for the smoking gun that might force Google to retaliate, leading to the possible banning of eBay from its search results. Hard to imagine it could come to that, but who knows?
Social media: the best and worst of 2009
Email marketing: six steps to improving customer engagement in 2010
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
