By August 2012 there will be 140,000 NFC payment points in the UK

"By the time of the Olympic Games there will be more than 140,000 contactless terminals around the UK. From the moment visitors land at Heathrow they will be immersed in a contactless payment experience with everything from taxis, to retail outlets, to the Olympic Park itself."
Source:  Press release from Samsung and Visa, 9th May 2012

77% of the UK online population are active participants

"Like the population itself, the picture is nuanced but six striking themes emerged:
The model which has guided many people's thinking in this area, the 1/9/90 rule, is outmoded. The number of people participating online is significantly higher than 10%.
Participation is now the rule rather than the exception: 77% of the UK online population is now active in some way.
This has been driven by the rise of 'easy participation': activities which may have once required great effort but now are relatively easy, expected and every day. 60% of the UK online population now participates in this way, from sharing photos to starting a discussion.
Despite participation becoming relatively 'easy', almost a quarter of people (23%) remain passive - they do not participate at all.
Passivity is not as rooted in digital literacy as traditional wisdom may have suggested. 11% of the people who are passive online today are early adopters. They have the access and the ability but are choosing not to participate.
Digital participation now is best characterised through the lens of choice. These are the decisions we take about whether, when, with whom and around what, we will participate. Because participation is now much more about who we are, than what we have, or our digital skill."

Source:  Data from BBC Future Media, reported in a blog post, 4th May 2012

Note:  "The Participation Choice is a synthesis of primary and secondary research conducted over the past 18 months. The data published today are all taken from the most recent, large scale survey of 7,500 UK adults - representative of the UK online population."

A fifth of online shoppers buy with smartphones

"Payment processing firm WoldPay released its Global Online Shopping Report, which surveyed 15 countries on their e-commerce behaviours in order to uncover differences between nations. It found that on average 22% of disposable income was spent online internationally.
Furthermore, in general the percentage of income spent was higher in emerging markets. Taking the lead is India, where respondents spend 36% of their disposable income on purchasing products or services online.
In China this figure fell slightly to 31% of income spent on e-commerce, and Brazilians were clocked a as dedicating 27% of their earnings in this fashion.
The survey found the spending amounts in mature markets are the highest in the UK, where people spent a quarter of their disposable income on online goods and services, whereas peoples in Finland spend only 13%. Spain and France allocate 17% and 19% of their income respectively.
The proliferation of smartphones has opened up different channels for shoppers to make their purchase, another factor that is proven to vary across the markets.
The survey found that just under a fifth of all online shoppers globally use their smartphone to make a purchase, with people in China using this method the most, (46%), and France coming in last with this metric at 7%."

Source:  Research by WorldPay, reported by UTalkMarketing, 27th April 2012

European Mobile Benchmarks February 2012

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Source:  Data from comScore for the 3 months to September 2011, reported in a press release, 26th April 2012

Mobile accounts for 11% of UK search spend

"Mobile search spend in the UK increased by 250% for Q1 year-on-year (YOY) as traffic on mobile devices increased four-fold, according to data from Adobe.
Mobile now accounts for 11% of all UK search spend compared to 8% in the US.
Of this, tablets alone accounted for 4.25% of UK search spend.
But despite this boom, Adobe’s Global Digital Advertising Update shows that overall search spend only increased by 2% in the UK compared to 16% in the US.
This is lower than the 30.3% YOY increase in US search ad spend reported in IgnitionOne’s Global Online Advertising report, but still shows that the industry is experiencing strong growth.
Adobe’s report suggests that the relatively low increase in UK search spend “reflects the fragile state of the European economic recovery.”"

Source:  Adobe, 10th April 2012

Mad Men is reportedly costing Sky TV £5 per viewer per episode

"It was poached from the BBC with much fanfare by Sky, which reportedly bid three times as much for the rights.
But the satellite broadcaster may be regretting its decision to snap up American advertising drama Mad Men.
Viewing figures sank to just 47,000 for the third episode of the fifth series on the Sky Atlantic channel on Tuesday night.
That’s an alarming drop from the 355,000 viewers who watched the premiere of the fourth series when it was on BBC4.
It is understood that Sky is paying about £250,000 an episode for the glossy 1960s drama. Based on Tuesday’s figures, that amounts to more than £5 per viewer."

Source:  Daily Mail, 6th April 2012

UK Online Ad Spend Rose to £4,784m in 2011, up 14.4% Y-o-Y

"Despite the backdrop of a depressed UK economy, advertising on the internet increased by 14.4% to a new high of £4,784 million in 2011, up £687 million year on year.
According to the latest Internet Advertising Bureau UK (IAB) advertising expenditure report, conducted by PwC, online advertising continues to grow at an exceptional rate, and last year experienced its biggest increase in five years.
UK ecommerce shoppers helped Retail surface as the biggest winner in terms of overall growth in the second half** of 2011, as it became the third biggest display advertiser. Consumer Goods (FMCG) moved to second place, while Finance just held on to top spot.
The top five categories, by share of display spend, in 2011 were:
Finance 15%  
Consumer (FMCG) 15%  
Retail 12%  
Entertainment & the Media 12%  
Technology 9%  
The powerhouse of display is banners and other embedded formats, which continue to drive display forward (73% share). Growth of this format was fuelled by bigger, richer and more dynamic ads that spiked display spend by 13.4% to a high of £1,128 million (£945 million in 2010) and a 24% share of online ad spend (23% in 2010).
Video advertising continued its incredible growth and now accounts for 10% of all online display advertising.  Expenditure on online video doubled year on year to £109 million (£54 million in 2010). The format has grown more than eight-fold since 2008, when video spend was £12 million.
In 2011 banner ads on social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, increased by 75% to £240 million – an eight-fold increase since records began in 2008.
Search marketing proved to be a recession-proof staple for direct response advertisers, recording impressive growth of 17.5% to £2,767 million (£2,346 million in 2010), and a 58% share of online advertising spend (57% in 2010).
Despite a difficult market for recruitment, total Classified ads grew 5.2% to £785 million (£751 million in 2010) and a share of 16% (18% in 2010). However, consumer and B2B Classifieds (property, cars, holidays and B2B), reached the half billion milestone for the first time at £509 million (£485 million in 2010).
Advertising on mobile devices rose by 157%* in 2011, to a new high of £203million, as a result of increased smartphone ownership, the proliferation of touchscreen technology, 3G, and soaring tablet sales, which sparked a surge in interest from brands, especially in the Retail and Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors."

Source:  Press release from the IAB UK, 3rd April 2012

Domino's Pizza generated £1m in sales through its mobile platform in one week

"Domino’s has announced that it took over £1m in sales through its mobile platform in a single week in Q1 2012.
In total e-commerce sales accounted for 50.6% of UK sales in the 13 week period up to March 25 2012, up 44.5% year-on-year to £59.3m.
Mobile payments made up 16.4% of total online sales, a slight increase on reports last month that the pizza company took 13% of digital sales through a tablet or smartphone."

Source:  Econsultancy, 28th March 2012

'3' accounts for over 40% of the UK's mobile data traffic

"Over 40% of mobile data being used in the UK runs across Three’s network with nearly all of its new customers signing up to contracts with smartphones, according to the operator’s CEO David Dyson.
Speaking earlier today at the Westminster eForum, he said traffic on Three’s network, one of the few to offer unlimited data packages, doubled in the past 12 months to hit 6m GB a year, with “virtually 100%” of new customers signing up for smartphone contracts."

Source:  NMA, 27th March 2012

Facebook refers nearly as much traffic to The Guardian as Google does

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Source:  A chart used during a speech by Tanya Cordrey of The Guardian, reported by Journalism.co.uk, 21st March 2012
Note - see the full article for more stats & background

Smartphone penetration in Europe by market - January 2012

EU5 - 45.2%
UK - 52.6%
France - 41.4%
Germany - 38.2%
Italy - 44.4%
Spain - 52.5%
Source:  Data from comScore, reported in a press release, 22nd March 2012

TV is the most effective medium for driving traffic to websites

"Television is still the most effective advertising channel in driving traffic to websites, according to a new survey by Deloitte.
The sixth annual ‘State of the Media Democracy’ report, based on responses from 2,276 UK consumers aged between 14 and 75 years old, found that 64% of respondents had visited a website after seeing an advert on TV.
61% said they visited a website after seeing a magazine ad, 59% said a newspaper ad drove them online, while only 12% of respondents said a mobile app advert had prompted them to visit a brand's site.
A further 62% of respondents said they paid more attention to newspaper adverts than their online equivalents.
Deloitte said that online display advertising had actually lost ground year-on-year, in 2010 only 49% of respondents said they paid more attention to print than online.
The power of TV advertising is to be expected, as the survey also found that 98% of people chose TV services as their favourite type of media."

Source:  Econsultancy, 19th March 2012

Mobile ad spend in the UK rose to £203m in 2011

"Advertising on mobile devices rocketed by 157%* in 2011, to a new high of £203.2 million, according to the annual IAB and PwC mobile advertising spend study.
With smartphone ownership standing at 53% of the UK population**, the proliferation of touchscreen technology, 3G, and soaring tablet sales have sparked a surge in interest from brands, especially in the Retail and Consumer Goods (FMCG) sectors.
The rapid take up of apps and social media, fuelled in part by cheaper data tariffs, has created a new generation of “dual” and “triple screeners” – 51% of Britons*** now watch TV while surfing the internet using tablets, phones or laptops.
In response, advertisers are creating ever more engaging and interactive rich media ads – turning to apps, video and new formats to engage and enhance the mobile experience.
Mainstream advertisers are now taking a larger share of spend with Technology, Retail and FMCG performing particularly well.
The top five display categories, by share of spend, in 2011 were:
Entertainment & the Media        23.2%                   (32.9% in 2010)
Telecoms                                   14.9%                  (14.3% in 2010)
Consumer Goods/FMCG            14.4%                   (11.8% in 2010)
Retail                                         12.3%                   (5.5% in 2010)
Finance                                     10.3%                   (18.6% in 2010)
Advertisers have recognised the rise of apps, with 54% of display advertising now on apps; while 46% of  display advertising spend is on browser inventory.
Display advertising on mobiles more than doubled year on year, increasing by 186% to £68.9 million (£28.1million in 2010) and a market share of 34% (34% in 2010). In 2008 display advertising on mobiles was worth £14.2 million, so the format has risen fivefold in three years.
As the medium matures, growth has been driven largely by standard display formats, such as banners and text links, which were up 196% to £59.4 million. However, the category including SMS and MMS advertising grew by 241% to £7.6 million (£2.5 million in 2010).
Mobile video advertising (pre / post-roll) increased rapidly to £0.8 million (£0.2 million in 2010) as brand advertisers invest in new rich media formats.
Mobile search was up 145% to £134.3 million (£54.9 million in 2010) and a market share of 66% (66% in 2010). In 2008, search was worth £14.4 million, so has grown by nearly tenfold in three years.
Although only launched in 2010, tablets are now an everyday device with more than 4.1 million Britons owning one**. As a consequence, the IAB has measured tablet-specific advertising for the first time and found that £2.4 million was spent in 2011.
Jon Mew, director of mobile and operations at the IAB, said: “This study proves just how engrained mobile has become within both brands’ and consumers’ day to day lives. With 26 million smartphone owners now in the UK – the opportunities for brands to interact with consumers in a more innovative and relevant way are endless. So it’s no surprise to see mobile advertising continuing to grow at such an overwhelming and encouraging rate.’’
Anna Bartz, strategy manager at PwC, said: “Mobile advertising is gaining momentum – with growing opportunities to target consumers with a range of innovative formats, on the web and in mobile applications. The rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets means mobile is offering a compelling new way for brands and advertisers across all sectors to reach people, making it an increasingly powerful platform in multi-media strategies.”
Source:  Press release by the IAB, 20th March 2012

There are 1.3bn visits to Facebook in the UK

"1. There are over 1.3 billion visits to Facebook a month from the UK Internet population – making Facebook the second most visited website in the UK after Google.
2. 1 in every 6 page views in the UK is to a Facebook page. The social network accounted for 15% of all UK Internet page views in December 2011.
3. 500 million hours are spent on Facebook in the UK every month. The average session time for a user visiting Facebook is 22 minutes.
4. Facebook is the most popular social network in the UK, accounting for over 50% of all visits to social networks. Facebook is twice the size of YouTube and 17 times bigger than Twitter in terms of visits from UK Internet users.
5. Facebook receives an average of 40 million UK Internet visits every single day."
[continues]
Source:  Hitwise Intelligence, 2nd February 2012

'Up to' 70% of UK smartphone users have never looked at the terms & conditions of their apps

"Companies including Facebook and Apple are gaining access to swathes of private data from individuals who agree to the terms and conditions when they download an app.
But according to a poll, up to 70 per cent of smart phone users never read such terms and conditions, leaving personal information, including text messages, their location and contacts, unwittingly exposed.
An investigation by the Sunday Times found that the data accessed via apps is often transmitted to “third party” companies, including advertisers."

Source:  Daily Telegraph, 26th February 2012

(The Sunday Times is behind a paywall, so I can't link to the original)

eCommerce levels for European countries in 2011

"E-commerce is one of the fastest growing markets in Europe. The statistics are problematic as state statistical research organisations tend to underestimate the size of the sector. Based on CRR research commissioned by Kelkoo, 2011 online sales in the UK were £50.34 billion (€59.4 billion) or 12.0% of UK retail trade. In 2008, online was equivalent to only 8.6% of retail sales.
For Europe (including UK), the total market was worth £169,880 million (€200.52 bn) in 2011 (up from £143,720 million [€169.63 bn] last year). Online retailers in only three countries, UK, Germany and France accounted for 71% of European online sales. In 2008, online sales in Europe were £101,840 million (€117.84 bn).
Online sales in Germany were £38.18 billion (€45.07 billion), 9.0% of retail sales (+13% over 2010). In France, where online retailers grew at one of the fastest rates in Europe, 2011 online sales were £32.75 billion (€38.66 billion) or 7.3% of retail sales (+24% over 2010)."
Source:  Retail Research - No date
Click on the link to see full data and a chart showing % of spend by market

US Smartphone penetration by age and income

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Data from Nielsen, reported in NielsenWire, 20th Febraury 2012

Digital music sales account for more than 1/3/ of UK recorded music turnover

"The 2011 digital income of British record companies grew even faster than in 2010, as new trade figures released today by the BPI confirmed that UK recording industry revenues were resilient last year despite challenging economic conditions.
Trade income from digital music increased by a quarter (24.7%) to £281.6m during 2011, with digital growth now offsetting two-thirds of the decline in income from sales of physical music product.
Total digital music income – earnings from online downloads, subscriptions, ad-supported services and mobile – now accounts for more than a third (35.4%) of UK recorded music turnover, up from 27.4% in 2010.
Geoff Taylor, BPI Chief Executive, said, “It is highly encouraging for the long-term prospects of the industry that the pace of digital growth continues to accelerate.  British labels are supporting a wide range of innovative music services and music fans are embracing digital like never before.
[...]
Revenue from digital albums grew strongly in 2011 and is now almost at the same level as digital single tracks.  Digital albums generated £117.8m in trade income – up 43.2% on 2010’s year-end result of £82.2m.  Earnings from digital single tracks rose 11.3% to £120.5m in 2011, compared to £108.3m in 2010.
The income from subscription digital music services also grew by an impressive 47.5% during 2011, with services such as Spotify Premium, Napster, We7 and eMusic generating significant trade income of £24.0m.  Advertising supported, free digital services – including Spotify, YouTube, We7 and last.fm – earned £10.7m for UK record companies in 2011, dipping 1.4% year-on-year.
Total trade income from physical formats – albums, singles and music video - fell by 14.1% overall in 2011, with revenues dropping for the eighth year in a row to £513.8m from 2010’s total of £598.0m.  The 2011 market for physical albums dropped 14.4% to £484.7m compared to £566.4m the year before."

Source:  Press release from the BPI, 16th February 2012

There are more than 800 online dating sites in the UK

"The UK market, with an estimated £120m a year in revenue, has more than 800 dating websites. Most fall into one of two camps – free-to-use sites that generate revenue through advertising and those that offer services by subscription such as Match, owned by the Nasdaq-listed IAC."
Source:  Financial Times, 10th February 2012

Amazon have 22% of the home entertainment market in the UK

"The online retailer overtook [HMV] in the run up to Christmas last year, making it the biggest seller of CDs, DVDs and video games in the UK, with a 22.4% market share. HMV is still in second place with 17.5%, putting it ahead of other mail-order sites, download stores and the supermarkets, though, of course, its costs – having to operate 200+ high street stores selling just entertainment product – are so much higher.
These figures come from research company Kantar Worldpanel, whose Consumer Insight Director Fiona Keenan, says: “Amazon’s strong performance is down to a number of factors: it is typically really competitive on price, has a wide range of products with no restriction on display space, and is known for its very good customer service”.
After HMV and Amazon come: Tesco (11.4%), Asda (8.1%), Game (7.7%), Sainsbury’s (5.2%), Play.com (4.9%), iTunes (3%) and Morrisons has (2.7%)."

Source:  CMU 8th February 2012