Videos

Interesting segment from CNBC about online advertising
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLR9egw8-DY

How advertisers are taking advantage of web technologies to persuade users to interact with their advertisements?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzlPVEKeY7M

Allocation of Advertising Spending (2005 & 2006)

NEWS

EMarketer projects slowdown in online advertising - 27/02/2007
http://www.btobonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070227/FREE/70227004/1078

FT ONLINE ADVERTISING SALES UP BY 30% - 27/02/2007
http://www.spannerworks.com/seotoolkit/search-marketing-news/article/view/ft-online-advertising-sales-up-by-30/380/

US market shows online advertising growth - 27/02/2007
http://www.directtraffic.org/OnlineNews/US_market_shows_online_advertising_growth_18072720.html

eMarketer: Online Ad Spending Growth To Slow - 27/02/2007
http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.showArticleHomePage&art_aid=56141

ONLINE ADVERTISING TO GROW 'BY 21% PER YEAR' - 26/02/2007
http://www.spannerworks.com/seotoolkit/search-marketing-news/article/view/online-advertising-to-grow-by-21-per-year/377/

'Second Life' inspires new wave of advertising to Internet users - 26/02/2007
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070226/BUSINESS/702260311/1003

The Decade in Online Advertising 1994 - 2004

2004 marked the 10-year anniversary of
web advertising...
Click on the link to read the whole report:
http://www.doubleclick.com/us/knowledge_central/documents/RESEARCH/dc_decaderinonline_0504.pdf

Academic Journals

1. The Effect of Banner Advertising on Internet Purchasing

This article focuses on whether banner advertising affects purchasing patterns on the Internet.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=108&sid=27bbb895-14e5-4dcb-9ca3-4bd36f7156d5%40sessionmgr109

2. Affiliate marketing and its impact on e-commerce
This article seeks to explore the inner workings of affiliate marketing.

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=867907481&sid=4&Fmt=3&clientId=18060&RQT=309&VName=PQD%20
3. Why do people avoid advertising on the Internet?

This study was designed to provide insights into why people avoid advertising on the Internet.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=107&sid=3aa3435d-fa72-4445-b89f-44104157d1a9%40sessionmgr107

4. Television and web advertising synergies

Synergy is a concept that many communication professionals believe in, but demonstrating synergy effects in the laboratory or field settings to identify how synergy operates has proved elusive.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=107&sid=55ab3552-d220-4ebd-b263-14f63471307c%40sessionmgr109

5. Determinants of internet advertising effectiveness: an empirical study

This paper considers the structure of advertising effectiveness on the internet. It investigates empirically the importance of creative and media factors for banner effectiveness.
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=103&sid=f37aa76b-aac1-4124-bbd7-ba60d0977fdb%40sessionmgr109
6. Losers and Lovers: Mobile Phone Services Advertising and the New Media Consumer/Producer

How do advertising practices need to adapt and change in order to effectively engage new media consumers?
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=103&sid=78fa8bab-2870-416b-bdb2-9f90942f0f01%40sessionmgr107

7. Interactivity and Persuasion: Influencing Attitudes with Information and Involvement

The recent arrival of interactive messaging/marketing units (IMUs) begs the question: Does interacting with an advertisement enhance its persuasive appeal?
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=103&sid=dd2c95eb-8c06-47f7-b551-3a3287fef654%40sessionmgr104

Payment Conventions

* CPM (Cost Per Thousand) is paying for exposure of their message to a specific audience.
* CPV (Cost Per Visitor) is paying for the delivery of a Targeted Visitor to the advertisers website.
* CPC (Cost Per Click). In this scheme, an advertisement may be displayed (and assumedly viewed) many times, but the advertiser pays based only on the number of user clicks.
* CPA (Cost Per Action). In this payment scheme, the publisher takes all the risk of running the ad, and the advertiser pays for the media on the basis of only the number of users who complete a transaction, such as a purchase or sign-up.
* Cost per Conversion describes the cost of acquiring a customer, typically calculated by dividing the total cost of an ad campaign by the number of conversions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_advertising

Revenue by Ad Format in the first half of 2006

Overally, internet advertising revenue grew 36.69%, with revenue exceeding $4B. Consumers are spending more time on the internet, traditional media outlets no longer have the reach they once had.

http://blog.digitalreview.net/

Types of Online Advertising

Online advertising and ways that Web sites can make money takes several different forms. Here are common ways that Web sites make money:

Displaying Banner, Tower (or Skyscraper)
Banner ads that appear online have been around a long time. They are the rectangle graphic that appears on the top of many Web sites. The tower ads are long rectangles that usually appear on the left or right side of the page.
Displaying Pop Up (or Pop Under) Online Advertising
Pop up ads open a small new browser window when you open a Web site. Often if you visit many different pages you can have many browser windows open at the same time that can slow down your computer.
Displaying Keyword Advertising
Keyword advertising is very common. When you search for something such as "party supplies" at a search engine (Google, Yahoo!, etc.), the search engine often shows advertising based on the keywords that you searched for, in the search results on the page.
Displaying Rich Media Ads
These types of ads are being more prevalent. These are ads that will expand when someone puts their mouse over them or just automatically open and cover a large section of the page until a set time expires or they are closed.
Displaying Jump Pages
These types of ads are their own page that you have to click through to see the actual page you wanted to see. I often think of these types of ads as television commercials.
Commission Type Sales
Some Web sites have links to shopping and services on their sites and they get paid a commission for any actual sales or clicks from their site.
Surveys and Offers
Some Web sites will make you do a survey before you can get something for free. The Web sites are paid for each completed survey. Another way that Web sites get paid is to make you accept an advertising offer before they will produce the free item.

Full article about Online Advertising can be found on: http://familyinternet.about.com/od/internetsafety/a/internetads.htm

US Online Ad Spending, 2000 - 2009 (in billions)

The Online Advertising Advantages:

* Targetability

Online advertisers can focus on users from specific companies, SIC codes, or geographical regions and nations, as well as by time of time, computer platform and browser. They can even target based on a person’s personal preferences and actual behaviour.

* Tracking

Marketers can track how users interact with their brands and learn what is of interest to their current and prospective customers.

* Deliverability and Flexibility

Online, an ad is delivered in real time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Furthermore, an ad campaign can be launched, updated, or cancelled immediately.

* Interactivity

An advertiser’s goal is to engage the prospect with a brand or product. This can be done more effectively online, where consumers can interact with the product, test the product, and, if they choose, buy the product.

Source: Robbin Zeff and Brad Aronson. 1999, Advertising on the Internet; page 13 - 14

First Banner Ever On the Internet!

What was the world's first banner ad?

When HotWired decided to make money from their website in 1994, they set in motion events that would come back to haunt us all: The creation of banner ads.

AT&T was the first to dish over some money to HotWired to display the beast they created, a 468 x 60 banner that came to life on October 25 1994.

http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/first66.html

What is Online Advertising?

Web advertising differs from other media by enabling consumers to interact with the advertisement. Consumers can click on the ad for more information, or take the next step and purchase the product in the same online session. Consumers can even purchase products from within Web advertisement.
The Internet is a new medium, which allows people to communicate with other people across the world, and to pass & exchange information in large quantities in a short time.
Those abilities, combined with the low cost of communications over the internet, makes the Internet an appealing medium for advertisers, who seek to send their message to as large a number of people, in the shortest time, and for the lowest cost.
The Internet is not a public resource - it's a collection of networks, some paid for and owned by companies, some paid for by various governments [e.g. computers & communication lines bought by tax money for universities], some paid for by private people [e.g. ISPs' equipment is paid for by the subscribers' fees, who also pay for their own computer & phone], glued together into an international network.
So when information flows across the internet from one place to another, the price of transferring the information is split across the originator of the information, the receiver of the information, and possibly one or more other parties who paid for the equipment used in between.

http://www.private.org.il/anti-spam.html

Hello, this is the result of our research about Internet Advertising. Hope you will find it interesting and helpful…

Internet Retail Poll

What is the future for Internet Retail?

This report considers how internet retail may influence, on the future of the 'bricks and mortar' retailers. It conveys the effects of online retails rapid growth and acceptance. Find out if it is the end for high street retailers or if the future of consumer’s multi-channel ‘the best of both worlds’:

http://www.bcsc.org.uk/datadb/download.asp?dlfn=/media/downloads/FORP_Report03_ES.pdf


There are many thoughts surrounding what the future of retail is it, E-commerce or brick and mortar?

Some feel that the shopping experience and social factors of traditional retail stores will out last the threat of e-commerce; however, e-commerce offers many people ease and convenience. It is hard to predict what the future will hold:

http://money.howstuffworks.com/general-money-01-0-reader-opinions-index.htm


Is click-and -mortar the future for online retail?
This article reveals predictions from the year 2000, when many dot-com companies were failing. It predicts a future for B2C sales and online, offline retailers will do the best, and only a few pure play companies will survive depending on their product categories. This is a good prediction however we can see today that many pure play companies are doing better than click and mortar in some product categories but this may still change:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2000/07/31/newscolumn1.html

Strategic Moves

Car dealers upgrading their websites to improve interactions with shoppers, demonstrates how companies can enhance their website to improve customer service and sales:

http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21302

John Lewis strategic acquisition of buy.com is a example of more companies moving toward Multichannel retailing to increase profitability, many people believe that “the future is multichannel retailing" and that pure play companies will find it hard to remain profitable compete in coming years an. especially those who are in markets like computer games, music, books and video’s:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1155860.stm

Article on the strategic options of multi-channel retailing and it implications:
http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21304

Dixon’s move to online only, this may have been a wrong move however they do have an existing customer base and a strong brand but the competition online world will be a lot more intense:
http://lee-stone.co.uk/blog/?p=19

This is an interesting strategic partnership move between Toysrus.com and Flooz.com, which would help improve secure payment methods to toy r us customers:
http://retailindustry.about.com/library/bl/bl_toysrus0627.htm

BT buys online retailer Dabs.com to help increase its online sales and enhance its presence. Again another company deciding to go multichannel, this seems to be a high strategic option for those who want to seek future growth and profits:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4956100.stm

Article on online retailers improving customer service with better interactive tools and faster response times:
http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21292

Bad Internet Retail Websites

• Cluttered- with too much text
• Bad use of space
• Too many links

• Cluttered
• Content not segmented
• Cumbersome Organisation
  

Interesting Internet Retail links

Good Retail websites

Office: Shoe Retailer

• Good use of visuals
• Fast downloading speed
• Simple user interface
• Easy navigation
• Good use of colour and font size
• Segmented categories i.e membership section

Nike

• Fast downloading speed
• Good use of interactive tools
  
• 3D customization of products
  

Internet Retail Podcasts

Why not listen.....

vs

Here is an interesting podcast that explains how blockbuster has managed to increase its competitiveness, describing Blockbuster's (Brick and Click) drive to catch up with Netflix's (Pure Play) online success. 'Total access' was introduced which gives customers flexibility, convenience, and immediate access to movies and easy returns. Blockbuster has finally found ways to utilise their website to compliment their stores.

Wal-Mart's UK Chain Boosts online Operations, Asda is trying to become more competitive by offering online shopping to more customers in the UK challenging rivals Tesco's and Sainsburys. This is a good move and the backing of Wal-Mart (one of the biggest retailers in the world) should help their success.

Informative discussion on online retail during the holiday periods, including sales forecast and growth factors .




Discussions on the online Christmas rush, sales have peaked over this period. Electrical goods have done really well and Tesco's have benefited substantially from online orders, as high street sales have been slow.

Visitors to the e-Retailers site are up by 12 percent, the podcast reveals an increase in consumer spending online and visit increases. The podcast helps to give the understanding that websites with high amounts of traffic are not exactly successful, it is those that can convert these visits to sales that are successful.

Information on the holiday eShopping for Consumer Electronics in the US reveals products and companies that are doing well.

ComScore's consumer spending Report U.S for Online Retail

This podcast covers the number of online transactions in the US for the Q4 period. With Amazon reaching highs of 20 million transactions and Wal-Mart closing in. Find out more...

Internet Retail Academic Journals

The nature of value created by UK online grocery retailers

Authors: Julia Bevan and Ruth Murphy

Journal Overview

The UK retail environment is extremely competitive, forcing retailers to constantly develop and enhance both their offerings and their formats. Probably the most significant changes taking place are coming from not the products being sold themselves, but rather when, how and where they are being sold. For example, new technologies such as the Internet, CD-ROMs, electronic kiosks and digital television are opening up new opportunities for retailers through remote purchasing and delivery. While a number of large retailers have made heavy investments into electronic retailing, such as Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury, it is uncertain how they are going to use this technology to gain competitive or market advantages. The findings of this research suggest that each of the retailers surveyed are similar in terms of the nature of the value they have created for consumers online, these being value-as-convenience and value-as excellence.

For the complete journal, see the link below:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2004.00373.x

Retail Strategies on the Web: Price and Non–price Competition in the Online Book Industry

Authors: Karen Clay, Ramayya Krishnan, Eric Wolff & Danny Fernandes

Journal Overview

Two conflicting predictions have emerged regarding the effect of low–cost information on price. The first states that all Internet retailers will charge the same low price for mass produced goods. The second states that Internet retailers will differentiate to avoid intense price competition. Using data collected in April 1999 on the prices of 107 books in thirteen online and two physical bookstores, we find similar average prices online and in physical stores and substantial price dispersion online. Analysis of product differentiation yields no clear results. The substantial premium charged by Amazon provides indirect evidence of product differentiation.

For the complete journal, see the link below:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-6451.2006.00295.x

Internet retail store design: How the user interface influences traffic and sales

Author: Gerald L. Lohse, Peter Spiller

Journal Overview

It is not simply enough for Internet retailers to attract customer to their website through sponsored links, the importance is what takes place when potential customers visit a website, what will keep them on the website long enough to see something that they want to purchase. This journal outlines a key factor that needs to be considered by new Internet retailers and especially existing one’s that are in a competitive environment. This journal clearly identifies has been the necessity of allocating product development resources to interface features that actually improve store traffic and sales. Some of the key features identified include links into the store, hours of promotional ads, number of products, and store navigation features as the independent variables.

http://www.blackwellsynergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.10836101.1999.tb00339.x?prevSearch=allfield%3A%28Internet
+retail%29

Tesco leads UK online grocery

Tesco’s online shopping service has been one of very few grocery e-retailing successes worldwide. With one million users, 85000 orders per week and increasing profits since 2001:

http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=19627

Author: Ramus and Niels Asger Nielsen

Journal Overview

The research was conducted on seven focus groups in two different geographical areas. (UK and Denmark). It looks at the behaviours, the advantages and disadvantages of e-retailing in the e-grocery retail sector.

Online Grocery Retailing: What do consumers think?

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=/published/emeraldfulltextarticle/pdf/1720150306.pdf

Consumer motivations and concerns in online auctions: an exploratory study

Author: Dylan D. CameronAlison Galloway

Journal Overview

This journal looks at the reasons behind the dramatic growth of Internet auction companies such as eBay, exploring into why so many consumers have been motivated to turn to online auctions to purchase and sell goods.

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jcs/2005/00000029/00000003/art00003

Consumer Behaviour

Why some consumers are online shoppers while others are not; this article looks at the risks, convenience and demographic affecting Internet shopping (Click here).

This link looks at e-retailers reactions to multi-channel shoppers:

• http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21304

Internet Retail Security Concerns

• What is computer security?

Computer security is the process of preventing and detecting unauthorized use of your computer. Prevention measures help you to stop unauthroized users (known as "intruders") from accessing any part of your computer system.

• Why is computer security important?

We use computers for everything from banking and investing to shopping and communicating with others through email or chat programs. Communication may not be considered as "top secret" but you would not want strangers reading your email, using your computer to attack other systems, sending forged email from your computer or any similar activities.

7 Security tips:

1. Use anti-virus software
2. Be wary of e-mail attachments
3. Install a firewall on your computer
4. Protect your passwords
5. Update security patches for your operating system and web browser
6. Back up your data
7. Log offline when you are done for the day

For a detailed explanation for each of these security tips see the link below:
http://www.learnthenet.com/english/html/79secure.htm

Below we have recommended five of the top anti-virus software's currently on the market to aid in the security (protection) measures for your computer and/or laptop:

• Top 5 Anti-Virus computer softwares

1. ***** AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

This program is not only free of charge, but it also has more features than some paid for products.

2. **** PC Tools AntiVirus 2.0.1
This program protects your computer for a small price of £19.95 and comes highly recommended.

3. **** Titanium Antivirus 2005
This ant-virus program has a clean and friendly interface, making it easy to use for a bit more at £30.

4. **** McAfee VirusScan 2006
This software is on the market for £39.99 and comes with an updated feature to combat the latest internet threats.

5. **** AOL Active Virus Shield
AOL may be a surprising name to find in an anti-virus tool, but its Active Virus Shield software is a solid performer in tests and is currently free on the market.

As recommended by WebUser (UK's best selling Internet magazine).

Top Ten Internet Retailers

So who are the best Internet Retailers?

Internet retail seeks to give customers the best customer shopping experience. This experience is not merely the transaction but it also includes everything up to and after this, including browsing, selection, purchase, shipping and returns. Many companies claim to provide this holistic shopping experience, but let us see what the volume of Internet traffic in a 2006 report for the UK showed.

1.

Amazon UK was the most trafficked site in August 2006 according to the Interactive Media in Retail Group and, interestingly the best site in the Blast Radius 2005 and 2006 reports in the USA. Here are some of the key strengths and weaknesses identified:

Key Strengths:

• Unique decision support tools
• Use of customer created content
• Overall customer involvement is high
• Experience is mapped to customer needs
• Ongoing innovation
• Intuitive interface
• Personalization
• Contextual help

Weaknesses:

• Product comparison
• Returns handling
• Access to privacy policy

2.

Dell EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), is one of Europe's largest eCommerce companies and the world's largest PC manufactures. This team work with all the business units within Dell to make Dell's products and services more user friendly in their appearance, and also ensure that customer interaction is maximised.

3.

Apple Computer UK was a primary driving force in the establishment of personal computers in the 1970s with the Apple III and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple prides itself in its commitment to providing the best personal computer experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.

4.


Next today trades with over 460 stores in the UK and EIRE. In the past two years Next has concentrated on opening larger stores, this was seen with the opening of their anchor store at the Manchester Arndale Centre with the store in excess of 80,000 square feet. However, it was in 1999 that Next entered the Internet Retail business making their entire catalogue available, page-by-page on the Internet.

5.

Comet launched its fully transactional website in 1999. Customer traffic consistently shows Comet as the No. 1 electrical website.

6.

Tesco/QVC UK. Both these companies are in joint sixth position for internet retailer.
Tesco launched its online website in 2000; Tesco.com is the largest grocery home-shopping service in the world, in addition to selling books, DVDs , wine , electrical goods, flowers online.
QVC UK stands for Quality, Value and Convenience, which are seen as the three pillars of the company's vision.QVC UK is also the nation's largest electronic retailer, selling a wide variety of merchandise that includes clothing,jewellery,cosmetics ,electronics,housewares,and toys.

7.

Currys/Littlewoods. Both these companies are in joint seventh position for internet retailer.
Currys the largest electrical chain in Britain's offers a fully comprehensive selection of PC's domestic electronical appliances, audio, vision,communication devices online.
Littlewoods specialize in Womenswear, Menswear, Kidswear & Nursery, Sportswear & Equipment, Your Home &Garden, Appliances , Electronics, Leisure & Hobbies, Toys & Gifts, and Jewellery.

8.

ASOS launched its website in the summer of 2000. Asos.com offers an expensive range of fashion and designer clothing for men and women, accessories and beauty brands at competitive prices. ASOS.com is now one of the top most visited on-line clothing stores in the UK and ships thousands of orders every day.

9.

John Lewis has been established for over 140 years with its traditional image John Lewis has still managed to stay competitive in such a fierce market, it is believed that by giving each of its employees a share in the business profits has been a big motivator and increased staff commitment levels. It was then in 2001, that the John Lewis website was official launched, which specialised complementarity with its stores in promoting home , gift and new technology.

10.

Hewlett-Packard/Marks and Spencer are in joint tenth position for Internet Retailer.
Hewlett-Packard was the founder in imaging and printing technologies.It was the first in the market during the 1980's to come up with inkjet and laser technology used in printers until date.
Marks and Spencer, in 1999 launched its online shopping , which specialise in women's clothing, lingerie and men's clothing lingeries , childrenswear, home and furniture.

Statistics and Trends

The growth of Internet retail and Internet shopping
This link looks at the growth on the Internet retail market with illustrated maps:

• http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/article.php/3509206
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4281927.stm
• http://retailindustry.about.com/library/bl/03q1/bl_dc020303.htm

Pure play, Brick and Clicks, Bricks and Mortar

Pure play: Companies that focus and specialize in a product/service area - only on the Internet.

Bricks and clicks: Combining the traditional way of conducting a business and using the Internet to interact with customers (Multi-Channel Retailing).

Bricks and Mortar: Companies that only have a physical presence i.e. building structure.

Pure play Vs. Bricks and Clicks: Blockbuster VS. Netflix

This link looks at an example of how Blockbuster is trying to compete with some online competitor such as Netflix in the market:
http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=21295

Internet Retail Video News

• Internet drives change in shopper habits

This Article outlines some of the key factors that have contributed to the changes in shoppers buying behaviour, and argues that having a website is now business necessity (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a8DkIPjRbAM0&refer=europe

• 'Old' music's digital comeback
  This article outlines how online purchasing of music is affecting high street retailers such as HMV’s sales and one of the prevailing factors is the wide availability of online music.
  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6346507.stm
  

• Crime Prevention: You and Your Family - Buying Online:
  This article argues that online shopping is one of the safer channels for purchasing compared to telephone purchases, and gives some tips for purchasing online.
  http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/prevention/buyingonline.shtml
  

Internet Retail News

Here are some useful links pointing to the most relevant issues happening in the Internet retail world.

• Web retailers cash in on record breaking November:

Pre-Christmas sales reached a record high with sales exceeding £3 billion.
http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2171029/uk-etailers-enjoyed-november

• UK CBI Retail Sales Index reaches two-year high:

U.K. retail sales rose to the highest in two years as New Year discounts saw UK shoppers buying more clothes and household goods.
http://www.freshplaza.com/2007/0130/ec_us_cbi.html

• Record online Christmas sales confirmed:

UK consumers spend a record £7.7 billion online in just 10 weeks.
http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2172777/record-online-sales-christmas

• Small shops get big on the Web:

This article outlines how Internet retail has broken down the barriers of entry this market, allowing smaller businesses the opportunity to compete on a larger scale.
http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/wb/xp-104000