Bigmouthmedia search engine news: retail

Books 'most popular online shopping item'

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

More than half of internet users have purchased a book over the web in the last three months, making books the most popular item among online shoppers.

This is according to a study by Nielsen Online, which also found that over 85 per cent of the total online population have made at least one purchase over the internet in the past.

Developing countries such as China, Brazil, Vietnam and Egypt harbour some of the biggest purchasers of books, the research discovered.

Other popular purchase categories for online consumers were found to include videos, DVDs and games, as well as airline tickets, clothing, accessories and shoes.

Meanwhile, eBay, Amazon and Target were the top three online retailers during the month of December, Nielsen Online said.

"The internet is no longer a niche technology - it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life," commented Jonathan Carson, president of International at Nielsen Online.

He added: "As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isn't surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the internet when it comes to researching and buying products."

In related news, comScore Networks recently released research findings suggesting that online shopping activity during the Christmas period peaked in between December 3rd and 9th.

Amazon and Apple were found to be the most popular online retail sites over the course of the Christmas season.

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EA to release free, ad-supported video game

Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

US video game developer and distributor Electronic Arts (EA) has announced it is to release a free online version of new game Battlefield Heroes supported by advertising.

Due to become available over the internet later this year, the release will not be sold in shops.

Battlefield Heroes will be the first of EA's offerings to be free to consumers in the west and marks the firm's first significant attempt to gain access to new sources of ad-driven revenue in the market.

Developed by Swedish firm Dice, the game will generate revenue through ads and micro transactions.

"Online gaming garners a massive audience," stated Gerhard Florin, EA's executive vice president of publishing, Americas-Europe.

"People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to [the US] and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play," he added.

The game will be released for the PC as a free download in the summer.

According to the BBC, EA already has a free version of its Fifa game available in South Korea that earns more than $1 million a month through in-game sales.

Speaking to the organisation, Ben Cousins, senior producer at Dice, stated that no adverts would appear in the fictional world itself, but rather on the website and at the "front end" of the game.

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Proximic deal with Yahoo! could challenge Google's AdSense

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Start-up company Proximic may be set to challenge Google's AdSense service after announcing it has signed an agreement with Yahoo! Shopping Network and eBay's Shopping.com.

The deal, which is based on advertising syndication, will bring Proximic's ad inventory to almost 50 million placements.

Proximic estimates that, in contrast, Google has an inventory of around one million unique ads.

Under the terms of the agreement, prospective advertisers will be able to place an ad widget on their sites. Proximic will then index these sites and place contextually matching products as text ads, along with contextually relevant content links.

Proximic intends to give participating websites 70 per cent of any revenues left after eBay and Yahoo! have taken their cut.

According to TechCrunch, what makes the firm different from its competitors is that it does not come up with matches based on keywords, like Google. Rather, it uses proximity analysis.

Thomas Nitsche, chief technical officer at Proximic, described the process thus: "We look at patterns of letters. We get a profile. The profile is a vector. We compare two vectors and compute proximity by pattern distance.

"We can generate proximity between texts. The text can be one word, two words, 15 words, or a complete page."

Meanwhile, in an interview with Internetnews.com, Proximic chief executive officer Philipp Pieper stated: "Not only do we use different technology, we do placement differently. We don't take a look at words - the things we identify are character sets."

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Christmas e-commerce soars in UK and France

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Over the festive period, online shopping in the UK and France rose sharply, while e-commerce in Germany "lagged behind", new research indicates.

According to figures produced by comScore, during the days between October 29th and December 23rd, internet shopping activity built steadily throughout the season in the UK and France, peaking in the sixth week (December 3rd to 9th).

During this time, the UK saw activity increase by 38 per cent over the base period (September 3rd to October 28th), while France saw an even greater rise of 45 per cent.

However, the online shopping season in Germany built more slowly, reaching a more modest high point of only 12 per cent above the base rate a week later than its two European counterparts.

According to comScore, the "slow season" in Germany appears to be the result of low consumer confidence, as well as the rail strikes that have caused disruption to the country in recent months.

"The online retail season seems to have built normally in the UK and France, while Germany lagged behind this Christmas," stated Bob Ivins, executive vice president of European markets for comScore.

He added: "The typical pattern we note in all countries, including the US, is that online retail activity peaks in mid-December as consumers have to allow time for shipping and delivery of their purchases in most categories."

Figures released earlier this month by comScore revealed that more than $29 billion was spent online by consumers over the festive period.

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More than $29bn spent online over festive season

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 12:00:00 GMT

More than $29 billion was spent online over the period from November 1st to December 31st, it has been revealed.

According to figures produced by comScore, the amount spent over the 2007 festive period surpassed that of the previous year by 19 per cent, a figure slightly lower than the forecast 20 per cent.

The heaviest week for monetary transactions over the web was reported to be the seven days ending December 16th, with a total of $4.7 billion being spent during this time.

Meanwhile, Monday December 10th - also known as Green Monday - was the day on which the most cash was processed, with consumers splashing out $882 million over the 24-hour period.

Commenting on the results, comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni stated: "Ultimately, the softness in the growth of online retail sales during the first ten days of November proved difficult to overcome and prevented the season's growth rate from reaching our forecast of 20 per cent.

"However, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas - another measure of the strength of the holiday season - experienced a healthier 21 per cent growth rate."

The fastest-growing online products in terms of sales over the festive season were identified as video games, consoles and accessories, purchases of which rose 129 per cent compared to the same time last year.

Indeed, according to figures released last month by comScore, the Nintendo Wii attracted 4.9 million weekly search enquires during the early stages of the Christmas shopping season.

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UK consumers avoid Boxing Day scramble by shopping online

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

It seems that, despite a heavy Christmas dinner, people are still hungry for bargains: Hitwise has reported that December 26th was the busiest online shopping day in the UK in 2007, indicating that Boxing Day sales have proven themselves more tempting than pre-Christmas present buying.

The pre-Christmas peak in online shopping occurred on the 25th of November, as people attempted to alleviate the stress of Christmas shopping and avoid late deliveries or postal headaches. But last year the peak came closer to Christmas - maybe consumer confidence in online purchasing wasn't quite as high this year? But, if so, it certainly picked up again on Boxing Day.

Based on their data, Hitwise suggest that the day after Christmas has become increasingly important over the last few years - not only was Boxing Day the busiest online shopping day in 2007, it was also busier than the two previous years.

Hitwise has also identified another interesting trend: the online sales of high street retailers were ahead of their online-only rivals all through December and high street organisations significantly increased their lead on Christmas Day. Robin Goad, a blogger for Hitwise UK, comments, "By Boxing Day, the top 50 high street retailers were receiving over twice as many UK Internet visits as their online-only rivals."

But it wasn't only Boxing Day that saw online activity on the UK; according to the trade body Interactive Media in Retail Group, an estimated 3.6 million people shopped for bargains online on Christmas Day itself - spending an estimated £52m on goods.

So what sale items were people looking for? The top five high street retailers in ascending order were: Next, Marks & Spencer, Comet, Curry's and Argos, indicating that electronics and clothing are the most sought after items.

The UK appetite for a bargain is as strong as ever - and if you can scoop up the goods you want from the comfort of your own home, all the better. It certainly sounds a lot more tempting to nurse your Boxing Day-Indigestion in front of the computer than fighting for your place in the queues!

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PayPal 'overtaken by Google Checkout' in Britain

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Despite being in the lead for the first couple of months of the holiday shopping season, PayPal has been overtaken by Google Checkout in terms of visits over the last two weeks, according to new figures.

Statistics produced by Hitwise indicate that, while PayPal enjoyed significant popularity at the beginning of the season, peaking at the beginning of November, the online payment processing service provided by Google has remained just ahead of its rival over the last 14 days.

According to Robin Goad of Hitwise, the reason behind the relative upturn of Google Checkout is the fact that it has different sources of traffic to its eBay-owned competitor.

Whereas only 2.2 per cent of PayPal users come from non-auction shopping and classified sites, Google Checkout sees 45.3 per cent of its traffic sourced from such sites.

In the list of the top 20 websites visited by internet users before they went to Google Checkout, Google UK came first, followed by Goldsmiths, the Vodafone Shop and Find Me a Gift.

Also featuring in the list were Advanced MP3 Players and Serenata Flowers.

In contrast, the majority (59.1 per cent) of those who use PayPal come from its parent's online auction site, while a further 11.7 per cent come from a combination of social networks, banks and email providers.

Therefore, as festive shopping gained momentum, the more broadly-based Google Checkout benefited from its connections with popular retail websites.

PayPal became a wholly-owned subsidiary of eBay in October 2002.

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European online shopping 'hits high point' of festive season

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The first week of December recorded the highest rate of cyber shopping activity so far this season in the UK, France and Germany, new research suggests.

According to figures produced by comScore, the most impressive increase in online shopping occurred in France, which saw a jump of 45 per cent during the week compared to the eight-week pre-festive season base period.

Not far behind, cyber retail activity in the UK was up 38 per cent over the base level, which is determined according to figures gathered between September 3rd and October 28th.

Meanwhile, Germany, which recorded a slow start to the Christmas period last month, saw an eight per cent increase in internet purchasing.

Commenting on the results, Bob Ivins, comScore executive vice president of European markets, stated: "The first week of December has traditionally been a busy week for European Christmas shopping and this year is no exception."

After a "relatively steady" November in Germany "we should now see online shopping activity in [the country] increase further in the last two weeks leading up to Christmas", he added.

The research also identifies the fastest growing online retailers over November, with Game.co.uk securing the top spot in the UK, up 52 per cent in unique visitors on the base period.

Following this, Toys R Us sites and the John Lewis Partnership came second and third, securing increases of 47 per cent and 39 per cent respectively.

Proving popular on the continent, Arcandor secured a rise of 42 per cent in France and 19 per cent in Germany, coming top in both countries.

Other research recently published by comScore revealed that, in total, online spending during the first 44 days of November and December surpassed $22 billion.

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Festive spending surpasses $22bn

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

Online spending in the run-up to Christmas has surpassed $22 billion, new figures indicate.

According to research by comScore, financial transactions over the internet during the first 44 days of the November and December holiday season have seen an increase of 18 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, spending on Monday December 10th reached $881 million - a rise of 33 per cent on the same day last year - and registered the heaviest online spending day on record.

In a forecast for the coming days, comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni stated: "We anticipate that spending at the beginning of this week will again be strong, with most free shipping deals available until Tuesday, December 18th."

However, despite relatively high levels of growth overall, analysis reveals that slower growth among lower income households is constraining the figures somewhat.

While households earning $100,000 or more have increased their internet spending by 28 per cent over last year, those making less than $50,000 registered an increase of just ten per cent.

Commenting on this phenomenon, Mr Fulgoni said: "The current economic realities appear to be having a negative impact on the growth in consumer spending.

"Consumers in lower income segments appear to be the most affected, as evidenced by the sluggish growth in their rate of online spending."

There have been concerns over retail growth as a whole this year as consumers are hit by the impact of the global credit crunch, high interest rates and rises in oil prices, among other factors.

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Nintendo Wii and iPod top EU Christmas gadget searches

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 12:00:00 GMT

The Nintendo Wii and Apple's iPod were the most popular gadgets searched for by EU consumers during the first three weeks of November, new research indicates.

According to figures produced by comScore, across the UK, Germany and France, the Nintendo Wii was the most popular device, attracting an average of 4.9 million weekly search inquiries during the early stages of the Christmas shopping season.

Not far behind, the iPod saw an average of 3.5 million searches conducted each week on its behalf.

Meanwhile, also proving a hit with online consumers were the Nintendo DS Lite, the Sony Playstation PSP and the Apple iPhone, which rounded up the top five.

The figures were based on a survey of the online search frequency of 20 models of gadgets, including games consoles, portable music players and mobile phones.

In the UK specifically, consumers were said to average 3.7 million searches each week for the Nintendo Wii.

Indeed, such is the popularity of the games console that Nintendo Wiis with games bundles are reportedly selling on internet auction site eBay for in excess of £1,000.

Commenting on the figures, Bob Ivins, comScore executive vice president of European markets, stated: "We know that music players, game consoles and mobile phones are very popular with consumers this year.

"The interesting aspect of this study is identifying which products are generating the most consumer searches [as this] can provide retailers and manufacturers with important insight into the underlying consumer demand for each specific product."

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