Internet auctions

In the music industry, many consumers have begun buying and downloading music files (e.g. MP3s) over the

Internet instead of simply buying CDs.

More and more banks are offering the ability to perform banking tasks online. Online banking is believed

to appeal to customers because it is more convenient than visiting bank branches. Currently, over 150

million U.S. adults now bank online. Online banking is now the fastest-growing Internet activity. The

increasing speed of Internet connections is the main reason for the fast-growth. Of those individuals

who use the Internet, 44% now perform banking activities over the Internet.

Internet auctions have gained popularity. Unique items that could previously be found at flea markets

are being sold on eBay instead. eBay has also affected the prices in the industry. Buyers and sellers

often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets and the eBay price often becomes what

the item is sold for. More and more flea market sellers are putting their items up for sale online and

running their business out of their homes.

The effect on the ad industry itself has been profound. In just a few years, online advertising has

grown to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually.[1][2][3] (2007-06-18) PricewaterhouseCoopers

reported US Internet marketing spend totalled $16.9 billion in 2006 [4].

As Advertisers increase and shift more of their budgets online, it is now overtaking radio in terms of

market share.[5]

The cost to acquire a customer is lower with internet marketing than with traditional marketing however

cost are rising as more companies take traditional budgets and push it to internet marketing avenues.

Search engine marketing for example, which is part of internet marketing continues to grow at tremendous

rates. Email marketing also grows. Web analytics is a growing aspect of internet marketing, as there is

more accountability than in the history of advertising.