Retail search budgets 'impressive'

29th January 2008

Retailers increased search marketing spend by 72 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to MediaPostPublications.

The news source reports that there was almost a 44 per cent growth in search advertising budgets compared to the same period in 2006.

"Advertisers' spending is always up in the fourth quarter in the retail sector, but in a year where retailers were very skittish about in-store sales, we were impressed with the year growth," commented Roger Barnette, president of SearchIgnite.

Mr Barnette claimed that search is "somewhat insulated from economic downturns" due to its consistent return on investment.

However the expert warned that according to Google, general media spend has decreased from a 35 per cent growth rate in the third quarter of 2007, to 24 per cent in the fourth.

Mr Barnett claimed his firm would be monitoring search spend closely over the next few months, watching for signs of stagnation.

The internet will replace magazines as the world's third-largest medium of advertising, Steve King, chief executive officer of ZenithOptimedia recently predicted.

He estimated that internet advertising will grow by 6.7 per cent during 2008, compared to 5.3 per cent last year.