Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:You’re Not Alone - 2001 Online Holiday Wrap-Up The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, February 15, 2002 Table of Contents 01. You’re Not Alone 02. 2001 Online Holiday Wrap-Up *01 You’re Not Alone When you’re sitting at your computer using the Internet, have you ever had the feeling that someone was watching your every move, tracking every site you visit and logging your passwords? If you're using the Internet at work, there is a chance your company is tracking your surfing habits while on the job. While we at The Internet 800 Directory don’t do that type of tracking, other companies do. However while surfing the Internet at home you shouldn’t have to worry about your privacy, but you do. This week, the nation's third-largest cable company (Comcast) admitted to recording the Web browsing activities of each of its 1 million high-speed Internet subscribers. Comcast acknowledged on Tuesday that it was tracking which Web pages customers visited as part of a technology overhaul. An overhaul that it hopes will save money and speed up its network. Comcast said it was not intended to violate anyone’s privacy. Intended or not, if you use Comcast, your privacy was compromised. Ed Markey, the ranking Democrat on the House subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet gave notice to Comcast that he believed that they were in violation of the 1984 Cable Act. The next day Comcast pledged to immediately stop recording the Web browsing activities of it’s customers. The Internet is a wonderful tool; it can open new lines of communication, bring the entire world to our computer screen. While sitting alone at a computer, it seems very private and personal. Still we must always remember when using the Internet, it’s not private, and without using encryption, it is in fact a very public place. Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter. If you have any thought or ideas you would like to share with me, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 2001 Online Holiday Wrap-Up Today I am going to share some information from the 2001 Online Holiday Wrap-Up, produced by Nielsen/NetRatings. This is the same Nielsen that provides ratings for TV programs. You may obtain the entire report for yourself at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com: Although 2001 traffic fell short of 2000 levels, for shoppers, positive online shopping experiences in 1999 and 2000 have rendered online shopping a mainstream activity. More than 85 percent of U.S. adults with Internet access have made an online purchase at one time or another — a total of more than 110.5 million people. In December 2001, nearly three-quarters of the adults surfing online were “shoppers” — those who visited ecommerce sites to buy, comparison-shop, or collect product information (see Figure 2). Half of the 98.2 million adult online shoppers in December went on to make a purchase that was influenced by their surfing, either by completing an online purchase (31 percent of buyers) or by purchasing products from brick-and-mortar stores or catalogs. Although online shopping will never replace offline shopping, it has clearly become an integral component of holiday shopping. Throughout 2000 and into the middle of 2001, ecommerce spending grew at a rapid clip, with year-over-year growth exceeding 100 percent in some months. Even in September and October 2001, year-over-year online spending growth registered 54 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Although the initial outlook for holiday spending in 2001 was promising, the revenue generated during November and December fell short of expectations as the downturn in the economy caught up with online spending. November and December posted 10 percent and 14 percent year-over-year growth, respectively. Nevertheless, online spending in December 2001 reached a new high of $8.3 billion. Further, $59 billion flowed into online stores throughout 2001, representing a 44 percent jump from 2000. Although the events of September 11 and the slowing U.S. economy dampened overall ecommerce spending, some categories posted strong year-over-year results. For travel services, the largest ecommerce revenue category, online sales grew 22 percent from 2000, which represented 29 percent of the total growth in online spending, year over year. The remarkable growth in online travel spending, in the face of extremely challenging economic conditions, is remarkable. During 2001, groups that had been underrepresented on the Internet, relative to their numbers in the larger population, flocked to the Web. In particular, the online representation of those in lower-income groups and working-class occupations grew significantly. Consequently, sites offering great bargains met the needs of a changing Internet demographic. Also, as online shoppers felt the pinch of the recession, Internet sites offering quality goods at low prices became increasingly appealing. Online Advertising — It Matters Despite the current advertising slump, online and otherwise, data from Nielsen//NetRatings underscore the vital role advertising plays in promoting online shopping. Like many etailers, the top virtual department stores increased advertising impressions significantly as the holidays approached. In particular, target.com stepped up advertising, dramatically increasing impressions by over 1,000 percent from October to November 2001. And, like that of many etailers this season, the primary message of the advertising blitz was the “free shipping offer.” The partnership of target.com and Amazon.com, in conjunction with target.com ’s holiday advertising push, paid off: target.com’s share of online purchasers increased 150 percent year over year, from 1 percent of all online purchasers in December 2000 to 2.5 percent of all online purchasers in December 2001. At the other extreme, Kmart did not increase advertising in the months leading up to the critical December shopping period, and its advertising activity actually dropped slightly to only 5 million impressions. In retrospect, this could be seen as an early indication of the financial woes of BlueLight.com’s parent company. Kmart’s online advertising cutbacks reflect similar cutbacks in offline advertising. In addition, the messages of the online advertising highlight a very different objective. Although there were some ads cross-branding the online site and offline stores, most of the advertising was geared to pushing shoppers to physical locations. Online advertising aimed at promoting Kmart’s brick-and-mortar stores may have been intended to augment channel synergies, but the strategy does not appear to have yielded the desired effect during the holiday season. George Paul (http://gotollfree.com) The Internet 800 Directory 800-299-1879, george@gotollfree.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking to time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2001 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |