An Italian national newspaper has reported that Google plans to launch a service allowing publishers to hide content behind a paywall before the end of the year.

The report in La Repubblica newspaper suggests the system will be linked directly to Google’s search results and will allow consumers to buy paid content directly via Google Checkout with one click. Observes say it could provide a valuable revenue boost for cash-strapped newspapers.

Google is said to be approaching publishers to gauge their interest in its own version of a micropayment system it linked directly to Google’s search results, which would let consumers buy paid content directly via Google Checkout with one click.

According to UK marketing industry magazine Brand Republic, the launch of Newspass would certainly head off some of criticism that has been levelled at Google by the likes of Rupert Murdoch who dispute Google’s claim to send valuable traffic to newspapers.

Murdoch said last year: “We’d rather have fewer people coming to our websites but paying.” And his latest manifestation of this vision is the paid for TheTimes.co.uk website, launched in early June 2010.

La Repubblica has quoted Google’s Vice-President of global media, Henrique de Castro, as saying that his company wanted to forge partnerships with other media organisations, rather than rival them.

According to Brand Republic, it is unclear whether the system is being developed locally in Italy by Google where it already faces an investigation by the country’s Competition Authority. The investigation has been running since last year, after the Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers complained about the lack of transparency in how Google News calculates its rankings.

The Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers complained that Google was using its dominant position to stop publishers from earning their fair share of online ad revenues.

It seems likely, however, that the plan is one Google hopes to launch globally in that it sounds similar to an idea that it proposed to the Newspaper Association of America last year, which looked at how a successful micropayments model might work.

Spanish fashion retailer Inditex has announced it will start online sales later this year.

The company, which owns brands including Zara and Massimo Dutti, is due to open an online store on September 2 covering the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Inditex currently has more than 4,700 stores in 77 countries.

In an announcement this morning, Inditex said it would ensure the internet service is designed to be accessible not only through conventional internet access networks, but also through smartphones and tablet devices.

Firms across the world are now starting to grasp the growing importance of providing a usable web offering through mobile devices to customers. A new report has said mobile phone users purchased almost £123m worth of goods in the UK last year, and this figure is set to more than double in the next three years.

Last month, Andy Murray, head of in-store marketing agency Saatchi X, admitted he had never seen times like this before in the retail sector, saying: “Mobile is changing everything in retail”.

As part of this morning’s announcement, Inditex said net sales reached 2,67 billion euros in the first quarter of 2010, 14 per cent up year-on-year. Net income for the quarter was up 63 per cent.

Analysts and traders responded positively to the announcement, and the company’s shares jumped by 2.32 euros (5.3 per cent) to 46.2 euros during early trading in Madrid according to Bloomberg.

Karen Howland, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London, said: “Emerging-market growth and the launch of its online business this autumn will drive above-consensus top-line and earnings growth.”

By Richard Morris

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UK internet, mail order and phone sales were up 21.9 per cent year-on-year last month, according to the latest figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The month-on-month increase was 15.9 per cent on April.

The BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor showed that like-for-like UK retail sales values across all categories were up by 0.8 per cent on May 2009, when sales fell by 0.8 per cent. On a total basis, sales were up 3 per cent last month, following a 0.8 per cent increase in May 2009.

Commenting on the online sales figures, Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: “This is excellent sales growth – the highest since December.

“Customers took advantage of the many online deals and promotions, especially on televisions in the lead-up to the World Cup, as well as clothing and footwear.

“But we’ve got to put these figures into context: it’s compared with last year’s very weak performance – the lowest growth for at least 18 months.”

The BRC said while consumer confidence has improved since last year, there remains uncertainty, making people think twice before buying expensive items such as furniture.

By Richard Morris

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Mobile phone users bought nearly £123million of goods in the UK in 2009 using their smartphones, according to a new report, and this figure looks set to more than double in the next three years.

As total online retail spending in 2009 was £21.2bn – or a market share of 0.6 per cent – this means that by 2013, mobile internet sales could reach £275million, or the four per cent of the overall market, claim analysts Verdict and Ovum, who have released a joint study.

They claim that, in the last year, only 2.1 per cent of the UK adult population shopped using internet access on their mobile. This is less than a tenth of the 28 per cent of the population who have mobile internet access.

“Consumers are not spending significant amounts via mobiles and, for now, we believe the true potential for m-commerce is to provide consumers with a valuable tool for research, comparison shopping and retailer interaction,” said Malcolm Pinkerton, senior analyst with Verdict Research.

“However, with internet-savvy consumers now accustomed to the multichannel environment, they are beginning to embrace m-commerce,” he told Brand Republic magazine.

Christine Bardwell, senior retail technology analyst at Ovum, added: “The opportunities are there for the most proficient multichannel retailers to claim a share of the growing cross-channel expenditure by exploiting the possibilities provided by mobiles to seamlessly link the online and in-store environments.”

“Don’t just shop for it, i-Phone it to Argos” – that might well be the latest variation of Argos’ well-known advertising catchphrase promoting the retailer’s latest idea to open new channels for its customers.

The high street company has followed several other big-name retailers in announcing the launch of an interactive shopping service available over customers’ i-Phones.

The move has been prompted by a huge increase in traffic to its website from Apple mobile devices last year.

Customers can use the app to update their Argos accounts, order items for collection in-store, and check the availability of stock in specific stores.

Regular users of its website are the main targets of the launch.

David Tarbuck, head of multi-channel development, said 750,000 people visited the Argos site using Apple devices.

He told New Media Age magazine: “The biggest trend we’ve seen in the way customers use their mobile phones to shop has been the increase in product browsing online.

“We’ve seen product browsing figures increase by nearly 700 per cent in the last year from the iPhone, so we’ve developed an app tailored to this consumer trend.”

UK consumers can pre-order Apple’s handheld iPad from today (Monday May 10), with the first of the devices expected to go on sale a little more than two weeks later, on Thursday May 28.

Apple is taking pre-orders for the touchscreen tablet computer whose UK retail price will be between £429 for a 16GB and £699 for a 64GB model.

May 28 will also see the iPad hit the shops in 27 other countries including Germany, France and Italy. Customers will be restricted to two iPads per order, after sales in the US which far outstripped supply caused the initial delay of the device’s European launch.

Spanish-owned O2 has announced that all iPad data tariffs will be available without a long contract and include unlimited free access to BT Openzone and The Cloud Wi-Fi hotspots. Pay & Go 3G broadband tariffs from O2 will range from £2 a day to £15 a month.

The other major UK sellers of the iPad, including Vodafone and Orange, have yet to announce price plans.

Apple has already sold over one million iPads in the USA, with more than 300,000 being snapped up on the first day of sale, April 5.

Customers have also downloaded more than 12 million apps from the App Store, as well as over 1.5 million ebooks from the new iBookstore.

The iPad allows users to browse the web, read and send email, share photos, as well as watch HD videos, listen to music, play games and read ebooks.

Full pricing details of the iPad are available on the Apple website.

There was a sharp increase in American consumer spending online last month as e-commerce growth continues to outpace high street sales.

Retail figures for April supplied by MasterCard Advisors, SpendingPulse, show online spending in the US has risen for nine consecutive months compared to the previous year.

Online retail sales in the US increased by 15.6 per cent from April 2009, while the average value of an online transaction grew slightly by 0.2 per cent from the previous year.

In the main however, April was a “mixed” month according to the data Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis.

He said: “E-commerce, luxury and electronics continue to drive high year-over-year increases. Most of the weakness in April’s data can be attributed to Easter occurring a week earlier this year, shifting demand into March.”

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Consumers spent £4.5bn shopping on the internet in March, according to the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index.

Warmer weather and growing confidence saw shoppers spend 15 per cent more last month than they did during the same period in 2009. Month-on-month increases show a 42 per cent rise in home and garden purchases between February and March, and a 27 per cent increase in clothes sales.

A report by the Press Association said spending on travel fell by 9 per cent from February, although year-on-year comparisons show a 14 per cent increase.

Capgemini retail consulting and technology vice-president Chris Webster said: “These are solid figures, and prove the continued resilience of online retail.

“As the weather starts to improve, this is having an impact on sales of garden furniture as people plan for summer barbecues.”

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Department store group Debenhams is aiming to become a true multi-channel business and not simply a retailer with a website, according to its latest trading update.

Debenhams issued its half-yearly results today for the 26 weeks ended February 27, 2010, which revealed an 86 per cent increase in sales through the firm’s multi-channel business to £50.6m. The report said around 1.5 million visits to its website were recorded each week.

Full group year-on-year figures showed a 12 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £114.5m while revenues were up 8.4 per cent to £1.42bn.

As part of the report, the company said it is now more reliant on the use of technology within its stores and in November last year re-launched its website to focus on improved navigation and better online merchandising.

The report said: “Developing a true multi-channel business – rather than just a ‘bricks-and-mortar retailer with a website’ – is an important strategic aim. The focus is around employing technology to increase customer choice and to widen availability and ranging.”

Debenhams has 164 stores across the UK and Ireland and Denmark and employs in the region of 24,000 people. It also has over 56 franchise stores spread across 20 countries around the world.

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UK department store John Lewis saw a year-on-year jump in online sales of 57.1 per cent in the week to April 3, according to figures released today.

The company which sells everything from rugby balls to fridge freezers said there was soaring demand in its home section for tea sets and cake plates, helping push total sales for the week to £59.04m.

Total sales saw a year-on-year increase of 30 per cent, while the chain managed to increase sales by 21 per cent compared to Easter 2009.

In a statement, the company said: “Online had another great week, achieving sales of +57.1 per cent on last year.

“All three Directorates had their biggest week so far this year online, with fashion leading at +131 per cent. Particular success came from women’s and men’s shoes, and the online launch of new brands Mango and Whistles.”

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