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Online Sales Jump 18%. Can this all be down to a bit of rain?by Andrew Redfern @ 20th August 2010 11:46 am IMRG today announced that internet sales during July have grown at the fastest pace since before the recession began in 2007.
IMRG is an industry body for global e-retailing and the IMRG Capgemini Index results come from analysis of online sales of over 100 retailers in the UK.
The figures show that online sales for July were up 18% on the figures for July 2009 with many reports today blaming the wet weather for keeping shoppers at home.
While there is no doubt that shoppers are more likely to shop from home during periods of inclement weather and that the 18% rise from July 09 can be partially attributed to the unusually wet weather we have all experienced during July it by no means tells the whole story.
Overall retail sales grew by 1.1% from June which we all remember was a very hot month which indicates that wet weather doesn’t put too many people off going to the high street.
The bigger story seems to be that online retailers are coming out of the recession in a stronger position than their high street counterparts and are set to continue to increase their overall share of the retail sector.
“Although online retail sales survived the recession more convincingly than High Street sales, the last two years or so have no doubt been shaky at time.”
“It is really encouraging to see growth levels returning to those seen pre-2007 and before consumer confidence was knocked by the financial crisis and the recession” said Chris Webster from Cap Gemini, which publishes the online sales index with IMRG
Whatever the reason for the dramatic 18% growth from July 09 it seems that the recession is coming to an end for the online retail market even if some other sectors of the economy are in trouble. Hit Search help Bear Grylls on his Arctic expeditionby Andrew Redfern @ 13th August 2010 4:11 pm Hit Search have been working with outdoor clothing brand Musto to promote the latest Arctic expedition of renowned adventurer Bear Grylls. Musto will be supporting Grylls by providing him and his team with a range of technical clothing to protect them against hypothermia and other life-threatening conditions, as they tackle the infamous Northwest Passage between Greenland and Canada, one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth, later this month. Grylls and his team will be aiming to tackle the 1700-mile route in a Shockwave Zodiac rigid inflatable boat (RIB) in just fourteen days. The kit that Musto will be supplying them with includes Musto HPX Ocean Drysuits, Musto HPX Ocean Jacket and Trousers, as well as HPX Ocean Boots and Musto Dry Bags. As Musto’s digital partner, Hit Search have assisting them in their online promotion of Grylls’ adventure, using their SEO and social media expertise to promote his Arctic adventure. Hit Search Director Andrew Redfern commented: “Working with Musto and the videos of Bear Grylls has been such fun. The videos are have a great theme and are so well produced that they have a natural viral element to them, building great brand awareness for both Bear and Musto repectively. The videos have been backed up with a substantial online press release campaign which has only strengthened the exposure of the campaign.”
Local Search, YouTube and Google Mapsby Andrew Redfern @ 23rd July 2010 8:34 am Olivia Ma, News Manager at YouTube posted on the official blog about a new service being provided by YouTube which cleverly brings together the three biggest aspects of online marketing. Local Search is becoming one of the fastest growing vertical in online market and the clever guys over at YouTube have attached a Videos and maps to display what news is happening in your local area. In this example footages from local network TV station is pinned on a map of the San Francisco. Excellent use of technology and one that will be adopted by many TV stations. Explaining the whole process Olivia Ma comments ”
Watch this space to see the synergies between TV and Local search becoming increasing common. Google PPC - AdWords Myths from the Horses Mouthby Andrew Redfern @ 22nd July 2010 11:20 am Miles Johnson from Official Adwords Blog “Inside AdWords” today put the record straight on a couple of myths regarding Google Adwords. Miles comments “There’s lots of misinformation floating around the web about the way AdWords works, and our AdWords support teams get to hear most of it. Since many of the same issues seem to keep popping up again and again, we thought we’d run a blog series to help you separate the myths from the facts. We’ve tried to capture the most persistent of them here, but remember, if you ever have any AdWords questions, you can always pop over to the AdWords Help Center or AdWords Help Forum for an answer. Myth # 1: Spending money on Google AdWords will influence my website’s ranking in Google’s free search results. Fact: Google AdWords and Google’s free search results are entirely independent of one another. Spending money on AdWords won’t impact your ranking in Google’s free search results. Similarly, cancelling your AdWords account won’t lead to your website being banned from Google’s search results. If you’d like to learn more about what does go into ranking your website in Google search results, check out Google Webmaster Central. Myth # 2: Google AdWords has declined my credit card. Fact: Google itself doesn’t actually decline credit cards. The decline usually takes place at your bank, your card-issuing institution, or its payment processor. If your credit card gets declined, your first step should be to check and make sure you’ve filled out the Billing Preferences page correctly. Some common mistakes include:
Missing or invalid expiration date Missing or invalid billing address and/or telephone number Once you’ve gotten that squared away, make sure that there aren’t any problems with your card itself. Be on the lookout for issues with your: Credit limit Maximum amount per debit Number of possible debits within a certain period If any of these are too low for your AdWords account, contact your bank or card-issuing institution. You should also be sure that your card allows for online debits and automatic debits.” Interesting feedback from the AdWords Team. Google Makes Data Protection Apologyby Andrew Redfern @ 9th July 2010 2:18 pm Brian McClendon, VP of Engineering at Google Geo posted a blog on the Official Google Blog apologising for the data protection issues surrounding the Stree View scanning software. Brian went on to say “In May we announced that we had mistakenly included code in our software in Street View cars that collected WiFi payload data. As soon as we discovered our error, we not only stopped collecting WiFi data entirely, but also grounded our fleet of cars globally to give us time to remove the WiFi scanning equipment and discuss what had happened with local regulators. The WiFi data collection equipment has been removed from our cars in each country and the independent security experts Stroz Friedberg have approved a protocol to ensure any WiFi-related software is also removed from the cars before they start driving again. Having spoken to the relevant regulators we have decided to start Street View driving in Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden again starting next week. We expect to add more countries in time. Our cars will no longer collect any WiFi information at all, but will continue to collect photos and 3D imagery as they did before: Photos: so that we can build Street View, our 360 degree street level maps. Photos like these are also being taken by TeleAtlas and NavTeq for Bing maps. In addition, we use this imagery to improve the quality of our maps, for example by using shop, street and traffic signs to refine our local business listings and travel directions; and 3-D building imagery: we collect 3D geometry data with low power lasers (similar to those used in retail scanners) which help us improve our maps. NavTeq also collects this information in partnership with Bing. As does TeleAtlas. We recognize that serious mistakes were made in the collection of WiFi payload data, and we have worked to quickly rectify them. However we also believe that Street View is a great product for users, whether people want to find a hotel, check out a potential new home or find a restaurant. Fair play to Google for being so prompt with its response. Bing “Decision” picks up on sports crazinessby Andrew Redfern @ 8th July 2010 9:16 am Legendary NBA player LeBron James has tough decision to make today - where to spend the next few years of his life shooting hoops. This decision is on the lips of every sporting American today and so much so the man himself will be having his own TV show live on ESPN to announce his decision. Now coming from sunny England this sounds a little strange, a possibly a sign of things to come for our sporting stars, but interesting thing for me was the way Bing has aligned themselves to gain some much need publicity. Lisa Gurry, Bing, Director commented on the official blog “We are excited to be a part of LeBron’s important day and to be the official decision engine of the site LebronJames.com and one of the presenting sponsors of “The Decision” program. Microsoft has a long-standing relationship with LeBron, including the launch of a website in 2007 – LeBron.msn.com, which was an inspirational, storybook-style Web site for kids and teens, that allowed people to explore his road to athletic achievement, his dedication to basketball and academics, his devotion to his team, friends and family, and his role as a community activist and people’s champion. The site won a Webby, the Internet’s version of an Oscar, for “Best Visual Design” in 2007. Bing offers many features for sports fans, including instant answers for NBA athletes, like LeBron, as well as late-breaking news, video, social search results and more. Bing is thrilled to support LeBron on his journey, and most importantly, raise funds for the Boys and Girl’s Club via our sponsorship of “The Decision”. Just in case you were wondering LeBron will be making his decision on a special program, “The Decision,” which airs live this Thursday, July 8, at 9 pm. My guess is he will go to the New York Knicks. Stay tuned. New YouTube Mobile Rolled Out. Quicker and Easier.by Andrew Redfern @ 8th July 2010 8:52 am Mia over at the YouTube Blog announced the launch of the new YouTube mobile site, which aims to be much more of a fit for mobile devices. The mobile new site is said to be quicker, easier to use and come with a new suite of extra functionality. Mia commented “We launched YouTube on mobile devices in 2007 with about 1,000 videos available on the mobile site (m.youtube.com). While this suddenly opened up the possibility to access videos on the go, our site, mobile browsers and the hardware had limitations that prevented the mobile experience from keeping up with YouTube on the desktop. Today, more than ever, we know that you want to be able to find and access your favorite videos wherever you are. That’s why we’re rolling out an updated version of the mobile site. Here’s what’s new about it: It’s really fast. The user interface incorporates larger, more touch-friendly elements, making it easier to access videos on the go. It incorporates the features and functionality you’ve come to expect from the .com site, like search query suggestions, the options to create playlists, the ability to designate “favorite,” “like” or “unlike” videos directly from your device. As we make improvements to Youtube.com, you’ll see them quickly follow on our mobile site, unlike native apps which are not updated as frequently. As the world continues to go mobile, we think this is a great improvement for users who want a more consistent YouTube across many devices, no matter where they are. We’re launching in English only today, but will be rolling it out in other languages in the coming months. You can access the latest YouTube mobile site from your iPhone or Android browser. To learn more, visit m.youtube.com to check out the latest improvements and take a minute to watch this demo video: Other Related Stories That May Be Of Interest:
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