1st In Video - Music World, Inc.

A recent Hitwise report showed that search engines account for 25% of visits to US shopping sites. Google alone accounts for almost 16% of visits to US shopping sites. In the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, Hitwise has Your Electronic Warehouse receiving 46% of it’s traffic from search engines. MySpace’s partnership with Google seems to be working well. MySpace accounted for 3.2% of visits to shopping sites.

Read More:
Hitwise: Shopping, Search, and MySpace
eMarketer: Search Fueling Retail Site Traffic

Currently in the US, almost 3 in 4 households have internet access, and another three-quarters of those are using broadband. Broadband access is currently not available to only 7% of US households. It is projected that by 2012, broadband usage will grow from 50 million households to as high as 90 million households. That will make broadband penitration at 94% in 2012.

Read Full Story: US Broadband Fulfills Need for Speed - eMarketer

Internet Retailer recently published their 2007 Edition of the Top 500 Guide which ranks Internet Retailers by their 2006 sales.  1st in Video - Muisc World was ranked at #435 and listed as one of the top 50 fastest growing e-retailers. On average e-commerce retailers had a 25.9% increase from 2005.  In 2006, online retail sales reached $136.2 billion.  The Inernet Retailer Top 500 companies’ sales totaled $83.6 Billion, which was 61% of all retail sales. Read Full Story: The Top 500 Guide

iTunes podcast downloaders are wealthier and are more educated than the average Internet User.

Read More: eMarketer: Podcast User Demographics

A February Hitwise study showed slightly more women than men visit travel websites and that the three biggest age groups that visit travel websites are 35-44 (23.6%), 55+ (22.56%), and (25-34) 25.35%.

 Read More: eMarketer: Online Travel and Demographics 

As part of Quincy University’s Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, Dennis Boudreau will be speaking on Internet Exposure & E-Commerce. Dennis will share how 1st in Video - Music World has grown from a single brick and mortar store to being one of the Top 500 Internet retailers. He will outline some key e-commerce statistics and explain why Quincy, Illinois is a viable location for an e-commerce retailer.

The presentation will be on Tuesday, May 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Hall of Fame Room, Quincy University Health & Fitness Center.

Interesting PayPal and eBay facts reported at eBay Live in June 2006:

• PayPal has 105 million accounts (More than Amex & Discover Combined)
• $1.5 Billion of stored value is turned every 3 weeks
• PayPal provides the payment mechanism for 67% of eBay transactions
• 15% of all eBay transactions cross international borders

Read More: Skype Journal: eBay, PayPal, Skype by the Numbers

4.3 million people make a significant chuck of their income from eBay. Many of those sellers on eBay to do not report their eBay earnings to the IRS. eBay argues that it is not a broker or a middle man and should not have to disclose it’s seller’s earnings.

Read More:  FT.com - Treasury aims to collect $2bn in extra taxes

Charles Scholz of DiscountGolfWorld.com, was a panelist at the Regional Broadband Summit hosted last Saturday by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) in Springfield, IL. Scholz outlined the importance of broadband connectivity to retail. A high percentage of in-store, retail sales are first researched online. Broadband users spend 33% more time online and can research information faster. Customers using broadband can quickly load rich media content such as larger product views, multiple angles, 360 degree views, video and much more.

Durbin hosted the summit to help raise awareness of broadband as a regional economic development tool and to discuss legislation to encourage the rapid deployment of high-quality, affordable broadband internet service, especially in rural areas.

For more information, see DURBIN HOSTS REGIONAL SUMMIT TO PROMOTE BROADBAND AS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL

Dennis Boudreau was recently featured along with other successful Illinois businesses who have grown their business on the Internet. Crain’s set a photographer down from Chicago to take the pictures. The coolest picture taken was featured for awhile on their front page, but is no longer on the site. The photographer had Dennis sitting on top of a stack of Pioneer plama TVs surrounded by Bose Sounddocks. It was a great picture. Read the story at Crain’s Chicago Business: The Web Convert