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Information for strategic advantage in software retail, game licensing & digital distribution.

Browsers Beat Out Apps for M-Commerce  

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Apps aren’t always the answer to engaging with consumers on mobile devices—especially when it comes to m-commerce. According to research from rich media company Zmags, very few Americans prefer to use mobile apps for shopping activities. Instead, consumers strongly prefer purchasing through web and mobile browsers.
When Zmags surveyed US consumers who owned a PC or laptop computer about their shopping methods, 87% said they preferred using websites and mobile sites, compared to 14% who most liked shopping from websites via smartphone and just 4% who preferred to shop using mobile or tablet apps.

Preferred Shopping Methods According to US Consumers*, Nov 2011 (% of respondents)

Although smartphone and tablet owners display a preference for browser-based mobile purchases, a significant number of US retailers have created mobile apps that enable commerce activities. Survey data from mobile-shopping company AisleBuyer showed in December 2011 that 19% of US retailers had a mobile app to connects consumers to their ecommerce site.

US Retailers that Have an M-Commerce App, Dec 2011 (% of respondents)

Retail apps may be of greater value to smartphone users, for whom the browsing experience is more limited in nature. There’s also opportunity for tablet commerce apps to provide a more catalog-style approach, giving users more interactive features.
Meanwhile, the tablet commerce category as a whole is growing significantly. According to Zmags, during the 2011 holiday shopping season, 87% of tablet owners used their device for shopping. Not only do users report better buying experiences than with smartphones, but tablet owners are using their devices frequently for m-commerce. According to Zmags, half of tablet owners are using tablets for shopping on at least a weekly basis.

Frequency with Which US Tablet Owners Use Their Tablets to Shop, Nov 2011 (% of total)

eMarketer projects that m-commerce sales will grow more than fourfold over the next few years, from $6.7 billion in 2011 to $31 billion in 2015. If consumers continue to prefer browsers over mobile apps for shopping, retailers should consider investing more in mobile-optimized ecommerce sites. Moreover, marketers should consider designing engaging, tablet-specific ecommerce experiences for tablet users.

AVG Technologies Files For $125 Million Initial Offer  

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AVG Technologies, an Amsterdam-based security software company, has filed with the SEC for a $125 million initial public offering.
The company reports that it has 106 million users for its software, which includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity protection and family safety software.
For the 9 months ended September 30, the company had revenue of $198.1 million, up from $159.8 million in the comparable period a year ago. Net income available to ordinary shareholders was $66.8 million for the period, up from $31.8 million in the same period a year ago.
The largest investors in the company include PEF V Information Technology 2, an affiliate of Polish Enterprise Fund, with a 33.8% stake; Grisoft Holdings, with 19.4%, Intel Capital with 15.4%; and an affiliate of TA Associates, with 31.8%.

Corel(R) Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Roxio(R) Business from Rovi Corporation  

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CES, LAS VEGAS, Jan 12, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Corel(R) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Roxio(R) product line from Rovi Corporation. With this deal, Corel will expand its product portfolio to include Roxio's broad range of digital media and security solutions. The acquisition includes Roxio(R) Creator(R), the industry's most popular digital media suite and Roxio(R) Toast(R), the leading optical burning software on the Mac(R) platform. The deal is expected to close in February. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.
There are both technology and business advantages to this acquisition. From a technology perspective, Corel will draw upon the complementary video, photo, audio, and disc burning technologies found in both Roxio and Corel software to deliver even more capabilities to users and further enhance the customer experience offered across Corel's product portfolio.
From a business perspective, Corel will take advantage of its well-established global infrastructure to dramatically broaden distribution of Roxio products into new international markets. Moreover, the company sees significant opportunities in combining the strengths of Corel's and Roxio's established retail and direct sales channels, OEM relationships, and large customer bases.
"We're excited about this deal for a number of reasons, most notably the fact that upon completion of the acquisition, we will be able to offer our customers a wider range of products, both in our digital media and WinZip product lines," said Shawn Cadeau, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing at Corel. "Roxio has a large install base, with over 350 million units sold worldwide, and our products are offered through similar channels spanning retail, direct, OEM and enterprise sales. On the digital media side, we will have a full blown multimedia suite and a new offering on the Mac platform. For WinZip, we will be able to further expand our suite of tools, with new data protection and security software."
Acquired Roxio Titles Further Expand Corel's Product Portfolio
Upon completion of the acquisition, Corel will own the Roxio product line, including the following well-known titles:
--  Roxio Creator - Software to enhance, preserve, capture and share your
            digital media
        --  Roxio Toast - The ultimate multi-media toolkit for your Mac
        --  Roxio(R) Game Capture - Software to record your PC and console game play
        --  Roxio(R) Easy VHS to DVD - Preserve irreplaceable memories by
            transferring them to DVD
        --  Roxio(R) CinePlayer(R) DVD Decoder - Watch your favorite DVDs on Windows
            Media Player
        --  Roxio(R) BackOnTrack(TM) Suite - Complete media protection solution that
            automatically keeps your memories safe and protects your PC from both
            hardware and software disasters
        --  Roxio(R) Secure - Powerful encryption for optical media and USB flash
            drives
Added Mr. Cadeau: "Roxio is a great fit for Corel. By combining the best of Corel's and Roxio's technologies, we can provide even more value to customers. In addition, by leveraging Corel's global sales and distribution platform, we will be able to put the Roxio product line into the hands of many more customers around the world. We are looking forward to welcoming Roxio's employees and customers to Corel as we continue to develop high-quality products that are recognized as leaders in the industry."
For more information on Corel, please visit www.corel.com . For more details on the Roxio product line, please visit www.roxio.com .
About Corel
Corel is one of the world's top software companies with more than 100 million active users in over 75 countries. We develop software that helps people express their ideas and share their stories in more exciting, creative and persuasive ways. Through the years, we've built a reputation for delivering innovative, trusted products that are easy to learn and use, helping people achieve new levels of productivity. The industry has responded with hundreds of awards for software innovation, design and value.
Our award winning product portfolio includes some of the world's most widely recognized and popular software brands, including CorelDRAW(R) Graphics Suite, Corel(R) Painter(TM), Corel(R) PaintShop(TM) Pro, Corel(R) VideoStudio(R), Corel(R) WinDVD(R), Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) Office and WinZip(R).
Copyright 2012 Corel Corporation. All rights reserved. Corel, the Corel logo, the Corel Balloon logo, CorelDRAW, Painter, PaintShop Photo, VideoStudio, WordPerfect, WinDVD and WinZip are trademarks or registered trademarks of Corel Corporation in Canada, the United States and other Countries. All other product names and any registered and unregistered trademarks mentioned are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive property of their respective owners.
Contacts:
        Press Contact:
        Corel
        Jessica Gould
        Sr. PR Manager
        613-728-0826 x 5405
        jessica.gould@corel.com

Mobile Video Provides Biggest Growth for Ad Support  

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Ad-supported mobile content revenues will exceed $1 billion by 2015, eMarketer estimates, with the fastest growth coming from ad support for mobile video.
Last year, US mobile video revenues from advertising reached just $37.5 million, but by 2015, advertisers will spend $213.6 million on placements that support mobile video content. Despite such rapid growth, that figure will still be lower than the amounts spent on advertising against mobile games and mobile music, at $65.3 million and $181.4 million, respectively, in 2011 and rising to $269.1 million and $591.5 million, respectively, by 2015.
That year, eMarketer estimates, 29.9% of all mobile content revenues, or $1.07 billion, will come from advertising.

US Ad-Supported Mobile Content Revenue Growth, by Segment, 2010-2015 (% change)

Ad support as a share of total mobile content revenues will grow for each of the three content types over the forecast period. Currently, mobile music has the greatest share of dollars coming from ads, and it will hold that position, with ad dollars making up 73.9% of the total in 2011 and 79.3% by 2015.
But the fast growth of mobile video ad revenues will mean much more substantial changes in revenue composition. While ad dollars made up just 5.4% of mobile video revenues in 2011, by 2015 that figure will more than triple, to 16.5%.

Ad-Supported Share of US Mobile Content Revenues, by Segment, 2011-2015 (% of total in each segment)

Mobile gaming ad revenues will also rise as a proportion of the total, albeit more slowly, from 13.8% in 2011 to 17.4% by 2015.
eMarketer forms its estimates of mobile content spending through a meta-analysis of data from dozens of research sources as well as overall trends and consumer behaviors around mobile gaming, music and video.

Facebook Gauging Interest in Action-Optimized Campaigns  

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Some advertisers on Facebook are seeing a new pricing option called “action-optimized CPM” in the Marketplace dashboard.
According to Facebook, this is a way to determine the interest in optimizing campaigns for actions such as page Likes or app installs, not a true test of cost-per-action pricing. Advertisers who select “action-optimized CPM” are still being charged each time their ad is viewed.
This test could be an indicator that Facebook is considering a new cost-per-action model for its self-serve ad platform. It’s also possible the company is reevaluating its cost-per-impression offering. Unless advertisers are linking to an external website, most campaigns on Facebook aim to get users to Like a page, install an app, attend an event or take another similar action within the social network. Paying per impression does not seem to be ideal for most advertisers in these cases.
Across the industry, advertisers are moving away from CPM models that do not ensure that consumers are truly seeing their ads. Cost-per-conversion, action or engagement are much more desirable because companies do not have to pay unless an ad is effective. In fact, some third-party ad providers that use Facebook’s API, such as AdParlor, charge and optimize for cost-per-fan or cost-per-install as opposed to the CPM or CPC options in Marketplace.
Facebook could provide something similar in the future to emphasize its strength in getting users to connect with pages or engage with Sponsored Stories. However, Facebook will need to consider how this sort of change would affect developers working with the ads API, which was brought out of private beta in August. It is possible that third-parties who sell on cost-per-action models could lose that advantage over Marketplace, but it is likely their ability to run large-scale tests to optimize creative will still make third-party vendors an attractive option for some.
Image credit: All Facebook.com

Digital River introduces new B2B e-commerce offering  

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Online merchants can customise the B2B shopping experience by offering authenticated portals, and segmented and tiered pricing

E-commerce offerings provider Digital River has introduced an enhanced business-to-business (B2B) offering that enables companies to create best-in-class online purchase experiences for their business buyers.

The enhanced cloud-based offering enables physical and digital goods merchants to sell directly to new or underserved groups of business buyers by designing their e-commerce services and using authenticated portals, segmented pricing, preferred payment methods, private reseller networks, and more.

Digital River's B2B offering is built on its Global Commerce enterprise system, which supports tens of thousands of online businesses around the world, including some of the Internet's biggest software publishing and consumer electronics brands.

With B2B offerings, online merchants can expand and enhance current online capabilities by integrating Digital River's commerce offerings with traditional business platforms and systems, including ERP, CRM or partner management systems and can achieve secure access to markets across the globe and reach underserved channels with flexible solutions and an international resource network of local tax professionals, payment specialists and regional marketing experts.

In addition, the online merchants can customise the B2B shopping experience by offering authenticated portals, and segmented and tiered pricing for specific channel partners or key accounts, can tailor the purchasing process to meet company requirements with multiple seller- and merchant-of-record model options and can drive reccurring revenue by maintaining access to valuable channel customer data and establishing direct customer relationships.

Digital River CEO Joel Ronning said the enhanced B2B offering leverages Digital River's more than 15 years of global e-commerce expertise in building business buying experiences along with a proven cloud-based e-commerce infrastructure.

"According to forecasts, the global e-commerce market is poised for tremendous growth - and we expect that B2B will be an important driving force behind it. By using our B2B e-commerce solution, companies can not only take advantage of this increasing revenue opportunity, but also deliver a world-class user experience that drives operational efficiencies and reduces conflict across their sales channels," said Ronning.

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