Cash-strapped European consumers – 240 million of them – are shopping online in the run-up to Christmas and 600 million parcels are being shipped as a result of them sourcing and buying presents over the Internet.
The new IMRWorld European e-Christmas Sales Forecast has estimated that €52bn will be spent online during the eight-week shopping run-up [...]

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Internet trade has put the European market for courier, express and parcel (CEP) services back on track for growth, says management consultancy A T Kearney: 2010 saw the volume of shipments rise by six per cent compared with the year before to five billion and revenues grow by four per cent in the same period [...]

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Research suggests that more of us are now going online via phone than from fixed-line computers - six in ten Brits already use mobiles for e-shopping. But will m-commerce truly take off and can it benefit local high street traders?
Town centres across the UK have changed forever since the recession. Iconic names like Woolworths, Virgin Megastore [...]

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The global economy is on the verge of a new and deeper jobs recession, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned, and that concern has been echoed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which  urged major G20 leaders meeting in Cannes last month to take ‘bold decisions’. 
According to OECD secretary general, Angel [...]

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There’s another digital shift coming, says guest author Mal Fletcher (pictured): social networks are moving from collaboration to connection. It’s time to harness the trend and turn ‘targets’ into friends.
It takes a long time to grow an old friend, says American cultural critic, John Leonard.
In the wake of the digital revolution, ours is the age of We-Think, the ‘hive mentality’, or what online gamers [...]

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The Indian economy will grow at 9.5 per cent by 2013 – up from this year’s 7.2 per cent and outpacing China’s projected 9.2 per cent rise, according to a recent report from Ernst & Young.
However, the predictions have some riders – the figures depend on whether’s India’s inflation will fall by the end of [...]

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Older people may recall being in their 20s as ‘the best days of my life’, but that’s not a sentiment echoed by those in their mid-20s today. Despite being twice as rich in real terms, they are no happier than their parents were at the same age. And they would rather have a nice cup [...]

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 Sales driven by social media and mobile retail are both set to play a bigger role in this year’s festive shopping season, according to a new report.
The study from IBM predicts that mobile traffic as a percentage of all retail site visits will hit double figures by Christmas 2011, having grown from just over four [...]

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If you want to find out how to mix SEO, Adwords and global PR to best effect when selling products worldwide, but have had your pocket pinched by the recession – a new service is offering a free guide, using maths-assisted analysis.
The 2012 Online Marketing and Offline Marketing Mix Plans from Global B2B Communications uses [...]

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Adspend in New Zealand is yet to return to pre-recession levels, but did see a rise of 3.4 per cent in 2010, boosted by increased spending online.
The  report, ‘Outlook: Australian Entertainment and Media’, from PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed the performance in New Zealand reflected the overall flatness in the economy, where revenues fell almost 12 per cent [...]

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