Lastminute.com website gets overhaul
15th January 2009
The Lastminute.com website has been revamped to make it more usable for consumers.Page sizes have been widened from 720 to 960 pixels, while the search box has been moved from the left to the right-hand side of the page. A new logo has also been added to the website.The redesign was conducted to...
Amazon is UK's third favourite retailer
15th January 2009
New research has revealed that e-commerce giant Amazon is the UK's third favourite retailer after John Lewis and Ikea.The 2009 Consumer Satisfaction Index was compiled by Verdict Research by asking consumers about where they shopped the most and how they rated these retailers based on factors such...
Mobile banking 'set to boom'
15th January 2009
Usage of mobile banking will expand significantly globally in the next two years, according to a new report.Compiled by Juniper Research, the forecast suggested that more than 150 million people will use their mobile phones to conduct banking activities by 2011.Currently, the market for mobile...
Top e-commerce sites have successful Xmas
14th January 2009
Some of the biggest e-commerce sites in the UK had a successful Christmas trading period, according to a new report from Nielsen Online.Amazon led the way with a total of 15.6 million unique visitors a month during the fourth quarter of 2008, the research company said.Other top online retailers...
Toys 'R' Us looks to improve website usability
14th January 2009
Toys 'R' Us has taken steps to improve the usability of its e-commerce website.The toy retailer has integrated technology from hybris to make its site easier to navigate for shoppers, as well as enabling it to be "more intuitive", Mike Coogan of Toys 'R' Us said.He added: "The size...
Vodafone tests mobile TV offering
14th January 2009
Vodafone UK is trialling a mobile TV service from European firm Babelgum.The offering lets Vodafone customers on a monthly price plan with web options to access film, music, comedy, animation, nature, travel and sports-related video clips from their handsets via Vodafone's 3G network for free.Users...
Labour MPs start blogging on new independent website
13th January 2009
A new independent Labour website has been launched by business secretary Peter Mandelson.Labourlist.org stands apart from the party's official sites and offers a platform for members to post blogs and discuss a variety of issues online.Web users can leave comments on numerous parts of the site,...
Chrome for Mac, Linux due in mid-2009
13th January 2009
Versions of Google's Chrome browser for the Mac and Linux platforms are expected to be launched during the first half of 2009, it has emerged.Brian Rakowski, Chrome product manager, told CNET News.com that the search engine is aiming to have both versions of the browser out by July.The products are...
New website offers 1911 census details
13th January 2009
A website publishing details from the 1911 census has been launched.The site, 1911census.co.uk, currently contains more than 27 million entries, with nine million to be added in the next few months.According to the company behind the site, brightsolid and its subsidiary findmypast.com, the service...
Aldi launches travel site
12th January 2009
Discount food retailer Aldi has launched a new website offering low-cost holidays around the world.Alditravel.co.uk features the company's traditional black, blue, yellow and orange branding and provides a range of hotel and flight deals from partner Eurotours International.The homepage offers a...
Metrics 'to be key issue for social media marketers'
12th January 2009
The issue of metrics will be a key one for social media marketers this year, according to a new report.Econsultancy's latest Online PR Trends Briefing suggested that firms are still having trouble measuring the success of internet marketing campaigns deployed through social networking sites.The...
Multi-channel operations 'to develop e-commerce in 2009'
12th January 2009
Multi-channel strategies will have an increasing influence on the development of the e-commerce sector in 2009, according to one expert.Writing in a Netimperative column, Frank Lord of e-commerce software provider ATG noted that retailers addressing customers across a variety of platforms -...
Web designers 'should not neglect netbook users'
9th January 2009
Website designers would do well to ensure their creations take into account the needs of netbook users, according to one expert.Patricio Robles of Econsultancy said in a blog post that with figures suggesting netbook sales are poised to boom this year, businesses should ensure their sites are...
E-commerce spending totals £102m on Xmas Day
9th January 2009
British consumers flocked to the web on Christmas Day 2008 in search of online retail bargains, new figures have suggested.According to IMRG, shoppers spent £102 million on online purchases on December 25th, representing a 21 per cent rise compared with the same day in the previous year.With sales...
BBC iPlayer gets 271m hits in 2008
9th January 2009
The BBC's online TV catch-up service saw 271 million programmes viewed by Britons over the course of 2008.According to new figures from the broadcaster, the BBC iPlayer also had a record Christmas period, attracting 41 million requests in December and eight million between December 25th and...
Top car insurance websites revealed
8th January 2009
Car insurance websites belonging to Churchill and Sheilas' Wheels are the best in the sector in terms of customer experience.This is according to new research by Global Reviews, which looked at web users' experiences on 12 motor insurance and 15 home insurance websites.Lloyds was ranked first in...
Third of Brits to use e-commerce sites more in 2009
8th January 2009
A new survey has revealed that 36 per cent of British consumers intend to shop online more in 2009 than they did last year.Conducted by Lightspeed Research for new media age, the poll showed that this figure rose to 45 per cent for the 18 to 24 age group and 44 per cent for those aged between 25...
Download tracker launched for iPhone apps
8th January 2009
Mobile ad marketplace AdMob has launched a new service allowing advertisers to track downloads of iPhone applications.The Download Tracking offering lets users monitor ad clicks that result in a download for the product in question from the App Store.Multiple apps can be tracked with the service,...
Online marketing 'to focus more on performance'
7th January 2009
Marketers will increasingly seek more performance-based advertising methods as the economic downturn wears on, according to JP Morgan analyst Imran Khan.The expert said in his Nothing But Net report that performance-based marketing - including search advertising - will grow significantly over the...
T-Mobile turns to YouTube for G1 customer service
7th January 2009
T-Mobile has announced it is launching a new channel on video-sharing website YouTube to offer advice to customers on the G1 handset.The G1 smartphone was launched last year and is powered by the Android operating system, which was developed by a group of companies led by Google.According to...
How to get started with web design
7th January 2009
Those planning out their own website for the first time might want to take note of advice offered up by Rhodri Marsden of the Independent this week.It is too easy to go overboard with elements such as fonts and colours when considering a new website, but it is a better idea to stick to a simple...
Comparison service launches spoof website
6th January 2009
A spoof website has been launched as part of a new marketing campaign by price comparison site Comparethemarket.com.The new portal, Comparethemeerkat.com, went online yesterday (January 5th) and is fronted by a fictional Russian meerkat by the name of Aleksandr.Browsers can search for a meerkat of...
Future of search 'lies in determining user desires and intentions'
6th January 2009
A Google executive has suggested that the search engine believes focusing on questions rather than keywords is one of the main ways in which online search can develop.Speaking in an interview with .net magazine, Marissa Mayer, vice-president of search products and user experience at Google, said...
Online Xmas turnover, orders up for SMEs
6th January 2009
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating online experienced significant increases in both turnover and orders during the festive period, according to a new study.Respondents to the survey by Actinic said that they had seen turnover increase by 48 per cent in November and December...
Neuromarketing 'could be key to online success'
6th January 2009
A method of measuring user engagement with websites called neuromarketing could provide an important way for businesses to gauge the success of their online activities, it has been suggested.According to Paul Blunden, chief executive of user experience consultancy Foviance, tracking users'...
New website launched by First TransPennine Express
5th January 2009
Rail service operator First TransPennine Express has launched a new website incorporating a number of new features.The site now has a new look and a more "customer-focused" layout when it comes to important information, according to e-commerce manager at the company Vickie Tennant.New...
HealthSpace named best NHS website of 2008
5th January 2009
HealthSpace has been named the best NHS website of the last 12 months at the Health Business Awards.The site picked up the NHS Website of the Year title after it was assessed in terms of web design, accessibility, usability, take-up and cost-effectiveness.Run by Connecting for Health, the...
Google: Paid Android apps coming to UK
5th January 2009
Paid-for Android applications will launch in the UK during the first three months of this year, it has emerged.Eric Chu of Google said in an email to Android Market members that paid apps will be launched in the US and UK, as well as certain other European countries including Germany and Spain,...
Press releases are 'a superb marketing tool'
2nd January 2009
When they are written correctly, press releases can be a "superb" tool for online marketers, an executive has suggested.Glen Selig, founder of press release distribution firm PRNewsChannel.com, said that press releases are becoming an increasingly popular form of internet marketing and...
Firms 'shouldn't cut back' on marketing
2nd January 2009
Companies should avoid cutting back on their sales and marketing efforts amid the credit crunch, the managing director of the British Chambers of Commerce has suggested.John Dunsmure stated that there are a number of practical areas for businesses to focus on during times of economic uncertainty.He...
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