Internet Marketing News

The e-reader market may be topping out.
Ownership of e-readers doubled last year, and is up five-fold since the end of 2009. However, it would be a mistake to project that this type of growth could continue for long. As the percentage of Internet users who own an e-reader has reached 15.8%, another group has grown quickly -- those who say they are unlikely to ever buy an e-reader. That seems to be affecting the potential ceiling for the product.
eMarketer

Websites for consumer packaged goods add to more than just online sales.
Research released on January 30th shows that people who visit consumer packaged goods websites spend 37% more in retail stores than those who do not visit these CPG sites. This suggests that advertising on such sites has even more potential to affect buying behavior than immediate online sales responses would suggest.
DMNews

Affiliate marketers tripped up by effort to collect state taxes on Internet sales.
Affiliate marketers, which drive shoppers to larger retailers, may be a victim of the growing efforts by states to collect taxes on Internet sales. The location of those affiliate marketers may be a key factor in determining which sales are subject to taxes.
The New York Times

Brand advertising is winning more online converts.
While part of the initial appeal of online advertising was its potential for direct user responses, a greater number of advertisers are embracing the more general approach of brand advertising online. A survey from January 6 of this year shows bigger spending increases planned for brand advertising than for direct response advertising, even though measuring the impact of brand advertising is more elusive.
eMarketer

Mobile growth a highlight of holiday shopping statistics.
IBM found that 14.6% of sessions on retail websites this past holiday season were initiated from a mobile device, a number which is up dramatically from 2010's figure of 5.6%. Mobile devices accounted for 11% of actual sales, double 2010's figure of 5.5%. In all, online sales for December 2011 were up 7.5% over December 2010 sales.
Search Engine Watch

Yahoo tabs former PayPal president to attempt turnaround.
Yahoo has hired Scott Thompson as its new CEO, replacing Carol Bartz. As head of PayPal, Thompson oversaw the growth of the user base from 50 million to over 100 million. Thompson has both a technology and a financial background, which should be useful in Yahoo's situation, though critics point out that like Bartz, he lacks a strong media background.
Search Engine Watch

Web strategy analytics experience good growth in 2011.
Internet marketing has not only generated new lines of advertising and PR business, but it is also the source of a growing trend towards spending on web strategy and metrics analytics. Search Engine Watch projects that annual global spending on technology and services in this realm could be as high as $4 billion. Spending on web analytics staff, third-party agencies and vendor revenues showed an estimated 12% growth in 2011.
Search Engine Watch