Research and Reports

eMarketer estimates that over two-thirds of UK internet users ages 14 and older will buy something online at least once per month in 2010. Between 2011 and 2014, the number of monthly online buyers will rise from 27.2 million to 30.8 million.

Online video viewership has increased steadily in the US in the past several years, and eMarketer’s forecasts call for continued growth through at least 2014. A growing portion of the video audience is watching TV shows and movies online, reflecting a shift in the content mix from short user-generated clips to full-length professional content. This shift is the result of a confluence of factors, including the greater availability of long-form content, the popularity of venues such as Hulu and broadcast TV sites, technology developments and internet users’ growing comfort with online video. Sports programming is also moving swiftly into this realm, with mega-events such as the Olympics, March Madness and the World Cup reaching tens of millions of viewers through live streaming.

Healthcare consumers go online for an increasing variety of healthcare information and services, including looking for doctors, researching medicines, sharing personal health details and tracking health conditions for themselves and their loved ones. Because of this high level of engagement, consumers have become more involved in their own care and are rejecting mass communications in favor of a more personalized approach.

Hispanics go online to socialize, research new products and find good deals—more so than many other groups. In 2010, Hispanics will spend $125 billion on consumer packaged goods products, accounting for 11.8% of all CPG spending, according to Nielsen. These factors create a lucrative opportunity for CPG suppliers that want a closer connection with this dynamic demographic.

The global economy took a severe hit in 2009, but the online advertising market proved resistant to the effects of the recession. Unlike spending on all other major media, online advertising spending increased, growing 2% to $55.2 billion. This year brought a return to double-digit growth, with online ad spending set to reach $61.8 billion worldwide in 2010.

For years, companies have watched the mobile youth population develop and grow, but aside from text messaging there have not been many clear-cut marketing opportunities on the mobile phone. That is changing, though, as mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous among teens. And the tween audience—roughly ages 8 to 11—is not far behind. According to some researchers, the percentage of tweens owning a phone has nearly doubled in five years.

Mobile shopping from in-store is just beginning to achieve its vast potential. The promise for consumers is an interactive and personalized store experience like nothing before. Currently, in- store mobile shoppers can easily retrieve customer product reviews. In the future, they will receive promotions based on their past purchase history and what they are interested in at the moment.

Hispanics love their mobile phones and take them everywhere—more than non-Hispanic whites and, in many cases, more than blacks. Marketers who are just turning to mobile will find a market well ahead of them.

Overall, UK advertising spending suffered a double-digit drop in 2009, according to several sources. But the Internet defied this downward trend. UK advertisers spent £3.54 billion ($5.56 billion) online in 2009—5.7% more than in 2008.

Automotive marketers face plenty of challenges in trying to connect with prospective car buyers: the global recession, the disappearance of storied brands, and ever more discerning and well-informed consumers. Add to these challenges that people buy a new car only every three to four years and it’s clear that generating—and maintaining—brand and model awareness, consideration and purchase intent can be a long road.

eMarketer estimates that US online advertising spending will reach $25.1 billion in 2010, representing 10.8% growth over last year. Relatively healthy economic gains, along with the ongoing shift of marketing dollars from traditional to digital media, have contributed to the double-digit increase.

One of the many ways Facebook users interact with one another is through a new generation of social games led by FarmVille. The application allows users to simulate real-world farming by growing crops and raising livestock. The runaway success of FarmVille and other social games such as Zoo World, Happy Aquarium, Pet Society and Restaurant City has spawned an industry that generated an estimated $725 million in the US alone in 2009 and is expected to triple by 2012.

The social networking audience in the US has reached critical mass. Marketers have been chasing this all-important audience for several years, using banner ads, branded pages, homepage takeovers, targeted text ads and search keyword buys. Whether consumers notice, or care, has been a big question in social media marketing.

Business-to-business (B2B) social media marketing spending is set to explode over the next five years. Forrester Research predicts that B2B firms will spend $54 million on social media marketing in 2014, up from just $11 million in 2009.

The Internet is a mainstream medium among US Hispanics. In 2010, 29.6 million Hispanics will go online at least once a month. By 2014, 39.2 million Hispanics will be online, representing 70% of this population.

Social network usage rose sharply in 2009, thanks to the ever-increasing popularity of Facebook. eMarketer estimates that 57.5% of Internet users, or 127 million people, will use a social network at least once a month in 2010. By 2014, nearly two-thirds of all Internet users, or 164.9 million people, will be regular users of social networks.

Retailers are increasingly using video to accomplish a number of goals. Many use videos to complement the information on a product page; others produce entertaining clips to build brand authority. Still others turn them into a vehicle to drive traffic to their Websites.

Western Europe leads the world in retail e-commerce sales. Its dominance will continue through 2012, when online retail sales will cross the $200 billion threshold.

The outlook for mobile banking is positive. Several forecasts predict that by 2015, 50% or more of US mobile users will be conducting transactions from their mobile devices. The ubiquity of these devices offers banks an opportunity to connect with customers outside the online channel, including those who are always on the go as well as the underbanked and unbanked consumers who lack consistent Internet access.

Following some of the dismal failures of the dot-com-crazy 1990s, consumer packaged goods (CPG) e-tailers are earning a meaningful place in e-commerce. The advent of broadband, more efficient online retailing strategies and consumers’ wider acceptance of Internet shopping are driving the resurgence.