Research | Internet Marketing Blog

'Silver surfers' prefer internet to DIY and gardening

A survey carried out by AXA has found that retired people are browsing the internet rather then the traditional pastimes of gardening and DIY.

The AXA report, which looked at the online habits of retired people in 11 countries, calls these internet users 'silver surfers'. In the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, silver surfers are using the internet more than six hours a week.

by Graham Charlton 02 February 2007 12:14pm 3 comments

Funding round puts poll marketing centre-stage

Web polling firm Vizu has received a $2.9m investment that aims to do for market researchers what AdSense does for advertising.

The investment, led by $1.5m from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, will go toward the just-launched Vizu Answers.The service allows marketers to create multiple-choice polls that appear on partner sites around the world.

by Robert Andrews 01 February 2007 17:11pm 0 comments

YouTubers would flee video ads

Three-quarters of YouTube viewers would visit the site less often if the video behemoth placed ads before clips, according to a poll.

YouTube founder Chad Hurley, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, told BBC News the site was mulling placing three-second commercials ahead of uploaded videos and sharing the revenue with producers.

by Robert Andrews 31 January 2007 13:34pm 0 comments

Online clothing sales break £1bn barrier

Internet clothing sales reached £1.2bn in 2006 and have increased by 461% over the last five years, according to figures from market research company Mintel.

Despite the obvious drawback of not being able to try before you buy, sales passed the £1bn barrier for the first time. Mintel is labelling it a 'defining year' for online fashion, as retailers invested heavily online.

by Graham Charlton 31 January 2007 12:13pm 0 comments

The pros and cons of gift vouchers and wishlists

A study by Jakob Nielsen has shown that many etailers are failing to realise the potential of wishlists and gift vouchers.

The report, called E-commerce User Experience: Wishlists, Gift Certificates, and Gift Giving in E-Commerce, found that, despite highlighting usability issues, certificates and wishlists are excellent ways to attract visitors to a site.

by Graham Charlton 30 January 2007 11:30am 2 comments

EU study predicts 400% growth in online content revenue

Revenues from online creative content across Europe will reach €8.3 billion (£5.5 billion) by 2010, according to an EU study. The spread of broadband, mobile and the adoption of digital gadgets will drive the growth.

The research, titled 'Interactive Content and Convergence: Implications for the information Society' assessed the outlook for the online content market, identifying growth areas and potential 'roadblocks' for the market.

by Graham Charlton 26 January 2007 17:30pm 0 comments

Email trends - trust and frequency still key

The results of a consumer email survey suggest that, though many consumers rely on email for shopping news and ideas, consumers are becoming savvier in the management of their inboxes

Return Path’s third annual Holiday Email Survey looks into the responses of 2,400 US and Canadian consumers in November and December 2006.

by Graham Charlton 25 January 2007 12:41pm 0 comments

The benefits of a relaxed blogging policy

One of the main fears of corporate blogging is the risk to reputation and the damage that employee bloggers can do to their own company.

If a firm does choose to allow employees to blog in work time, it is my experience that many legal and HR advisors advocate having a restrictive and detailed blogging policy to protect the firm.

A danger with this approach is that if you set up such a blogging policy, it will become so tight that no employee would dare to blog...

by Justin Patten 19 January 2007 16:12pm 3 comments

Music sales boom but could slow

Global online sales of digital music nearly doubled to $2bn in 2006 but that growth will slow this year, according to new research from the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).

The IFPI said those sales now made up 10% of music sales across all formats but that the growth had not yet reached a significant enough number to offset the decline in sales of physical formats like CD - the so-called 'holy grail'.

by Robert Andrews 18 January 2007 15:25pm 0 comments

Google services begin to trump rivals

The popularity of two of Google's key Web 2.0-style applications has overtaken those of rival portals in recent weeks, according to the latest data.

Google Calendar last week overtook MSN's competing offering and is due to beat even Yahoo!'s sector-leading calendar in the next couple of months, after the Mountain View outfit's schedule tool surged in popularity, Hitwise statistics show.

by Robert Andrews 04 January 2007 17:20pm 0 comments