But has this change in media consumption been reflected in changes in advertising
expenditure using different media? Figure 1.3 also shows that advertising expenditure
for the Internet medium lags a long way behind expenditure on TV and press advertis-
ing (newspapers and magazines) although it has now overtaken radio and outdoor ad
spend. This disconnect or mismatch between medium consumption and TV/press adver-
tising expenditure illustrates the core challenge of Internet marketing – it is how
organisations reallocate their resources to best maximise their returns from the Internet.Our changing buyer behaviour
Figure 1.4 shows there is a dramatic difference in online consumer behaviour in differ-
ent markets. For the majority of products such as travel and cinema and theatre tickets,
people are researching and then buying online, while for some bigger purchases such as
cars and properties, people use the internet mainly as a research tool.INTRODUCTION – HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THE INTERNET FOR MARKETING?Figure 1.4Percentage of Internet users in the EU and Norway browsing (dark bar) and
buying (light bar). Conversion percentages (shown in brackets) are the proportions of all
who research the product online who buy online
Source: EIAA (2005)Mobile phone content 15 7 (44)Car hire 13 7 (51)
Food/grocery shopping 11 6 (48)
Toiletries/Cosmetics 9 5 (53)Financial products 17 7 (38)Computer games 18 8 (45)Sports equipment 19 8 (42)Insurance 23 9 (41)Home furnishings 25 8 (32)DVDs 27 15 (57)Properties 28 3 (9)Mobile phones 29 8 (27)Clothes 31 19 (62)Cars 31 4 (14)Music downloads 33 13 (39)CDs 36 19 (52)Concert/Festival tickets 37 23 (61)Theatre/cinema tickets 40 24 (60)Electrical goods 42 21 (50)Books 45 28 (61)Travel tickets 66 39 (59)Holidays 69 27 (40)Car accessories 15 5 (37)INMA_C01.QXD 23/5/06 8:03 am Page 7