US consumer online sales increased by 2% to reach a new quarterly high of $17.9 billion in the three months to September, according to the latest findings from comScore. Despite the general lull in retail spending, online sales were up 35% against the third quarter of 2001. Year to date sales totalled $52.5 billion, 41%… Continue reading US Ecommerce Firms Cashing In, Says comScore

Three-quarters of Europe’s 160 online-only brokerage websites will have perished by 2007, according to a new report by Forrester Research, which says that they will be either integrated into parent banks, sold, or wound up. “Net brokers have slid from enviable near-profitability in 2000 to staggering losses,” says Forrester analyst, Charlotte Hamilton. “To survive, firms… Continue reading Online Brokers To Meet Demise, Says Forrester

Mobile internet services attracted 340 million page impression during September, according to the first ever collective WAP figures released by the UK’s four GSM operators. The figures from the Mobile Data Association show that WAP-based services attracted more than 11 million page impressions per day during September, with mobile internet messaging and chat attracting the… Continue reading First WAP Figures Reveal Heavy Mobile Internet Usage

A slow turnaround in the UK’s advertising sector is anticipated in 2003, with overall growth for the year estimated at 4.0%, according to a new set of forecasts from media agency OMD UK. The cinema sector is expected to show the strongest growth next year, at 5.6%, whilst radio will be the weakest sector with… Continue reading OMD Sees Advertising And Media Turnaround In 2003

Worldwide online buying will total $38.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2002, an increase of 48% over the same period last year, according to a report from GartnerG2. As e-commerce is a developing sector and accounts for only a tiny proportion of total retail sales, growth tends not to be determined by prevailing economic… Continue reading Online Shopping Thriving Despite Economic Uncertainty

The business to business (B2B) information technology publishing sector saw advertising page volumes decline by 11.5% during September, according to the latest figures from United Business Media (UBM). This represents a slightly stronger market than in August, when volumes dropped by 24.1% (see Technology Advertising Remains Very Weak, Says UBM). UBM’s US technology publishing division,… Continue reading Hi-Tech Publishing Ad Decline Eases Slightly In September

Shares in Aegis, Europe’s largest advertising media buyer, were up almost 10% in early trading after the company said it expected full-year results would be “significantly better” than in 2001. The group said that there were clear signs of improvement in US broadcast media while the European and Asia Pacific markets were performing in line… Continue reading Aegis Group Optimistic On Recovery

French outdoor media group JCDecaux has become the latest company to downplay the prospects for recovery in the global advertising market. Decaux revealed that third quarter sales were down to £224.5 million, a fall of 0.9% against the same period last year. Street furniture and billboard revenues were up by around 3% to £115 million… Continue reading Advertising Conditions To ‘Remain Tight’, Says JCDecaux

Although dial-up will remain the primary method of US consumer internet access until 2006, DSL subscriber numbers are to continue gaining momentum, according to a new report from In-Stat/MDR. In-Stat says that a ‘pent-up’ demand for broadband services is ‘alive and well’ and forecasts that almost one quarter of online households will subscribe to a… Continue reading Broadband Internet Gains Consumer Momentum In US

A senior executive from one of the largest newspaper publishing companies in the US had some forthright advice for delegates at the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) meeting in Baltimore last Friday. William Dean Singleton, vice-chairman and CEO of the Denver-based MediaNews Group, urged editors to concentrate on local news and use the internet to… Continue reading US Newspapers Told To Reach Out To The Community