The ten largest online publishers own a disproportionate amount of the world’s web traffic. These busy sites, including subsidiary holdings, account for billions of unique visitors per month. They also comprise the most sought-after ad space in the world. However – and while the recession has played a role in the decline of the display CPM major publishers could acquire – an average $10 CPM, has in many cases, dwindled to $1CPM.

For many publishers, display has simply not paid off. Search advertising revenues, however, have steadily increased during this same time. And, with roughly 90% of the major publishers’ revenue being derived from low-paying (and in many cases remnant) advertising networks, many would argue that it is just a matter of time before many of these sites begin charging users to access content; either on a subscription, or pay-as-you-go basis. The alternative, of course, requires an alternative approach to advertising — the fact of the matter is that publishers are not in the business of providing free content if they are unable to monetize their traffic.

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Each year at the Oscar’s, attention tends to veer away from the performances and films and onto the outfits of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars. Whether it turns out good or bad, every celebrity that makes an appearance at the award show hopes to make a statement with how they are dressed. More interesting however, are the fashion statements made in the movies being lauded. What come as no surprise, there is a distinct connection between the trends featured in movies, and consequently in pop culture– people tend to latch on to trends featured in popular films. But just how do movies influence trends and sales? We have decided to produce a graphic illustrating the source of he 21st century’s most memorable trends, and where they got their starts:

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What people buy online differs substantially from what they buy in-store. According to a study by the US Census Bureau, the bulk of sales are still in-store. There are, however, several categories in which online sales dominate each product marketplace. These include: books and magazines, clothing, and electronics. Below, we have broken down the sales for each category, to show the percentages of  both online and in-store sales as a part of the total marketplace, as well as a comparison of the two in absolute terms.

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The data used for this piece, can be found here.

With all the talk about recession spending, it’s refreshing to hear recent forecasts for this Valentine’s Day. While many customers are looking to save money on gifts this year, overall spending is expected to improve. Most of this has to do with the simple fact that more people are shopping this year. Additionally, customers are increasingly buying their Valentine’s Day gifts online. While some may note that the increase (3.3% year-over-year) is modest, the very fact there is an improvement is worth noting. As far as who are this year’s big winners, ‘Romantic Getaways’ and ‘Dining Out’( possible because V-Day falls on a weekend this year) are expected to see the biggest improvements this year.

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Display advertising has been around for sometime now. In fact, modern display advertisements are nothing more than today’s version of early print advertising, which date back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today’s advertisements are still placed according to demographic targeting rather than intent to purchase, and display still simply uses images of a product to entice potential customers. The only real difference between modern display advertisements, is that web-users can now click through the ad to the advertiser:

Apple has produced some of the most innovative and iconic hardware products since the brand’s 1977 launch. In the last decade, Apple’s new product releases – and even announcements – have generated a flurry of media buzz. And for good reason. From the Apple II to the iPhone, the brand has perennially introduced industry-changing products. However, there is an underside of the brand; from the Apple Lisa, Newton MessagePad (Grandfather of  the iPad?), to the Pippin, Apple has had their fair share of flops.  Presently, the media is awash with rumors about a new product release — a tablet,  that everyone is expecting Steve Jobs to unveil to the world tomorrow. If Apple does release a tablet, it will signal the foray into yet an another niche. It will be interesting to see Apple’s impact  into the marketplace. Will this also signal another multi-million accessory market like the iPhone and the iPod? And how well will it sell when compared to recent product launches? These are just a few of the questions we have, and are hoping to have answered in the coming hours.

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Marketplaces have always created value. Since the early inception of marketplaces, to the development of a mobile marketplace, connecting buyers and sellers has always been the focus.  This linking, in creating a buy-and-sell environment – whether in a physical, or virtual (cyber) way – has always been about reducing friction to facilitate greater commerce. Once a market is established, its value, whether recognized or not, becomes ingrained in both the minds and the actions of those who engage the marketplace.

In many ways, an established marketplace creates what many have referred to as a ‘competitive moat’, or a protective barrier within which commerce in developed in a way more efficient and with more utility than say, a peer-to-peer transaction. While the marketplace has developed in many ways over the centuries, it is important to note that each development has played an important role in evolution of the marketplace at its introduction, and today as part of the the composition of the modern marketplace. Today, the marketplace is not just a bazaar, or a mega-store; and, it’s not just e-commerce or mobile shopping. It consists of the various in-roads, and the very diversity itself is its value. Today, buyers and sellers now have more options than ever for completing a transaction. Below is a timeline illustrating the development of the marketplace, over the years.

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The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that the US consumer electronics market is in a state of recovery and should exceed $166 Billion in 2010. This is quite the accomplishment for an industry and an economy that has largely contracted since 2007. In any event, one cannot deny the rate and scale at which technological innovation has taken place in this industry. In less than 40 years, we have gone from Pong to the personal computing tablet (i.e. the rumored Apple iTablet). Below is a timeline which highlights past innovation and change, offering a window back to yesteryear, and the iconic gadgets and technologies that we associate with our past:

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The discussion regarding  shopping this holiday season has included mixed predictions, with most anticipating a modest improvement over last year’s total spend. The standout, of course is online  retail – which both Comscore and Forrester predict will see a marked improvement compared to last year, as well as the rest of 2009. The following is a snapshot of this holiday season, by the numbers. It offers valuable insight to the ways in which various demographics are spending, the trends in spending behavior, and where and how consumers are looking to spend:

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Black Friday is quickly approaching, and we all know what this means. Retailers are preparing for the post-Thanksgiving rush, and customers are doing their homework on the best-selling gifts, and where to find them at the best prices. But the holiday shopping season has changed  considerably in the last several years, most notably with the recession, and because of the steady growth of online retail. Have you ever wondered what Black Friday figures consisted of? The following info-graphic illustrates some interesting facts and figures about what is generally referred to as the most popular shopping day of the year – we call it, “Black Friday, by the Numbers”:

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