Wine and Jazz Nights in Hollywood and Glendale and Paul McCarthy Talks Paul Thek at the Hammer

What a better way to cool off tonight than with a little wine and jazz? Pancho Sanchez plays at Hollywood and Highland while Palate in Glendale showcases a few Riesling selections. If you’re looking for more artsy stuff: LA artist Paul McCarthy lectures at the Hammer on Paul Thek’s work and then there’s always Iris at the Kodak.

Cirque du Soleil's 'Iris' is at the Kodak Theatre. (Photo: 'Rooftops' by Mark Dulong © Cirque du Soleil)

WINE+JAZZ
Tonight Hollywood & Highland’s Wine, Jazz & Moonlight series presents Pancho Sanchez from 7-9 pm in the Central Courtyard. The event is free to the public (i.e., shoppers) but there’s a $10 wine tasting donation that gets you two glasses of wine and a box of cheese and crackers to enjoy during the performance. Proceeds go to Project Angel Food. 


MORE WINE+JAZZ
Palate Food + Wine in Glendale holds its Tuesday night wine tasting tonight from 6:30 to 9 pm. For $10, customers get four tasting pours. Tonight’s lineup features the Riesling grape: 2009 Skyleaf Riesling (New Zealand); 2006 Beck-Hartweg Riesling Cuveé Prestige (France); 2007 Dr. Bürklin-Wolf Estate Riesling (Germany); and 2004 Domaine Stirn Schlossberg Riesling Cuvée Clément (France). The house jazz band starts around 8 pm.

ART TALK*
LA-based artist Paul McCarthy discusses the work of Paul Thek at the Hammer Museum tonight at 7 pm. The lecture is being held in conjunction with the exhibition Paul Thek: Diver, A Retrospective, which is up at the Hammer through Aug. 28. The program is free, but tickets are required and available at the Billy Wilder Theater beginning at 6 pm. Parking is available under the museum for $3 after 6 pm.

COMEDY
Comedian Marc Maron brings his WTF podcast to the Steve Allen Theater stage tonight to celebrate the release of his new Comedy Central Album. Special guests tonight include Molly Shannon, Harris Wittels, Neil Hamburger, Andy Kindler, Eddie Peppitone and Jim Earl. 8 pm. Advanced tickets are sold out, but standing-room only tickets may be available at the door.

CIRQUE
Iris, Cirque du Soleil’s latest show, brings together dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, to bring the audience along for a ride through the history of cinema. In residence at the Kodak Theatre. Tickets: $43-$253. 8 pm.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@laist.com with further questions, comments or tips

TV Remains Dominant Video Viewing Device

TV remained the dominant device for viewing video in the US during Q2 2011, although mobile video viewership is catching up to and in some cases surpassing viewing of video on the internet, according to The Nielsen Company Q1 2011 Cross-Platform Report. Average monthly viewing time of video on TV was much higher than average video viewing time on internet and mobile for all ages and genders during Q2 2011.

Females 50 and up had the highest average monthly time spent watching video on TV (217 hours and 44 minutes), while all males 2 and up spent an average of 150 hours and 53 minutes and all females 2 and up spent an average of 166 hours and 20 minutes.

Mobile Video Popular with Females

Although mobile devices are often seen as gadgets preferred by males, females and males 2 and up spend the same average monthly time viewing video via mobile device (four hours and 20 minutes). In addition, females 50 and up spend significantly more time per month viewing video via mobile device (three hours and 37 minutes) than men 50 and up (two hours and 10 minutes).

While in all age categories, males watch more video online than on mobile device, mobile video viewing time surpasses online video viewing time among females 2 and up and 50 and up.

African-Americans Watch Most TV, Mobile Video

Breaking down video viewership habits by ethnicity, Nielsen data shows that African-Americans spend the most time in average month watching video on TV (212 hours and 53 minutes) and via mobile device (six hours and 30 minutes).Meanwhile, Asians lead in average monthly time spent watching video on the internet (10 hours and 19 minutes), while whites spend the most monthly time on average watching timeshifted video (11 hours and 55 minutes) and DVR playback video (26 hours and 59 minutes).

Mobile Video Audience Skews Younger

A combined 62% of mobile video viewers are between the ages of 12 and 24 (no mobile data exists for viewers age 2-11). In contrast, a combined 65% of TV video viewers are 35 and up, while a combined 59% of internet video viewers are 35 and up.

Pew: 7 in 10 Online Adults Share Videos

As of May 2011, 71% of online adults reported watching videos on a video sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo, according to data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. While there is no difference in online video watching by gender, there are several significant demographic differences in rates of video sharing site usage.

The demographic group with the single highest rate of watching online videos is adults age 18-29, with 92% ever using a video sharing site. This is almost triple the 31% of adults 65 and older who report doing so.

Meanwhile, 81% of Hispanics have used a video-sharing site, 6% more than the 76% of African-Americans and 17% more than the 69% of whites who have done so. Household income discrepancies are less significant, but adults with a household income of $75,000 or more have used video-sharing sites at a rate 14% higher than those with a household income less than $30,000 (81% compared to 71%).

Three-quarters (75%) of both college grads and those with some college have watched online video, 19% more than the 63% of high school grads who have done so. Discrepancies according to urban, suburban or rural dwelling are minimal.

Source: marketingcharts.com

4 in 10 Back to School Shoppers Will Spend $250+

August 8, 2011

About four in 10 (43%) US back-to-school shoppers with at least one child in grades K-12 this fall will spend $250 or more on back to school items, according to a July 2011 Deloitte survey. Results from the 2011 Deloitte Back to School Survey indicate this figure includes 28% who will spend $250-$499, as well as 8% who will spend $500-$749.

Only a combined 7% will spend $750 or more on back to school items this year. In contrast, the highest single percentage of shoppers (39%) will spend $100-$249.

Budget Cuts Prompt Spending

Fifty-five percent of respondents expect to spend the same amount on back to school shopping as they did last year, while 31% expect to spend more. Of the 31% planning to spend more, a leading 60% say they seem to spend more every year. However, the highest percentage giving a specific reason (32%) say that school budget cuts are behind higher spending, while 28% (more than one answer permitted) cite children needing more expensive items, such as computers.

School Supplies, Clothes Popular Items

About nine in 10 back to school shoppers say they need to buy back-to-school items such as pencils and paper (94%), as well as clothes (88%). While about eight in 10 plan to buy shoes (79%), this figure is down 7% from 85% in 2010 and down 8% from 86% in 2009.

In addition, the 63% saying they need to buy a backpack/bookbag/lunchbox is down a significant 9% from 69% in 2010 and 12.5% from 72% in 2009.

9 in 10 Will Shop at Discounters

A leading nine in 10 (92%) back to school shoppers will shop at discount/value/department stores. Office supply stores come in a distant second with 44% of back to school shoppers planning to buy items there, up 22% from 36% in 2009.

While dollar stores rank third with 32% of back to school shoppers planning to use this vertical, the percentage has fallen slightly from 33% in 2010 and a much larger 20% from 40% in 2009.

Other Findings

• Two-thirds (65%) of respondents say low prices are the most important attribute of a retailer for back-to-school shopping.
• Half of respondents indicate their children will spend $51 or more of their own money on back to school shopping.
• 64% of respondents plan to buy more items on sale this year than last year.
• 35% of respondents plan to use social media to aid back to school shopping, up 21% from 29% last year.

Amex: Average Family Will Spend $800 on Back to School

The average US family of four plans to spend $800 on back to school purchases this year but two-thirds of U.S. parents (67%) say they will need to make trade-offs to afford these expenses, according to the July 2011 American Express Spending & Saving Tracker. Clothing ($290), shoes ($110), and school supplies ($100) top back to school shopping lists.

About the Data: The survey was commissioned by Deloitte and conducted online by an independent research company between July 5 and 11, 2011. The survey polled a sample of 1,000 parents of school-aged children.

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In-Home Streamers Watch Less TV

Heavy in-home streamers of online content underindex consumption of TV content compared to the average viewer, according to The Nielsen Company Q1 2011 Cross-Platform Report. The trend became more pronounced in Q1 2011 compared to Q4 2010.

In Q4 2010, the heaviest US in-home streamers of online content ages 2 and up averaged 14.5 minutes per day of streaming content and 262.7 daily minutes of TV viewing. Interestingly, the second-heaviest group of US in-home online content streamers, who averaged only 2.4 daily minutes, reported the heaviest daily consumption of TV (270.7 minutes). Those who consumed no online streaming content had the second-lowest average daily TV consumption (265.4 minutes).

Streaming, TV Consumption Rise in Q1 2011

Averages for daily online content streaming and TV consumption both rose in Q1 2011 compared to Q4 2010, perhaps reflecting the impact of winter weather. In any event, the heaviest in-home online content streamers had higher averages for both daily online content streaming (18.8 minutes) and TV viewing (272.4 minutes), although their average TV consumption was still lowest.

In a shift from patterns detected in Q4 2010, the second-highest consumers of streamed online content (3.1 minutes) only averaged the second-highest daily consumption of TV (285.4 minutes). The fourth-highest consumers of streamed online content (0.3 minutes) had the highest daily average of TV viewing (290 minutes).

Younger Adults Stream More, Watch TV Less

Examining adults 18-34, Nielsen finds more pronounced behaviors in terms of higher online streaming content consumption and lower TV viewing. In Q4 2010, the heaviest streamed online consumers among adults 18-34 averaged 27 minutes a day, compared to a low of 212.1 daily minutes of TV viewing. The heaviest consumers of TV only averaged 246.5 minutes a day (and 1.3 minutes a day of streamed online content, the third-highest average).

In Q1 2011, the heaviest online content streamers among adults 18-34 significantly reduced both their daily minutes of streamed online content (5.9) and TV (23.7), However, the heaviest TV viewers increased their average consumption by about 2.5 times to 522 minutes, while the lightest online content streamers increased their average consumption by a factor of 38 (0.1 minutes to 3.8 minutes).

Pew: 2 in 3 Web Users Pay for Content

Nearly two-thirds of internet users (65%) have paid to download or access some kind of online content from the internet, according to Q4 2010 data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Music, software, and apps are the most popular content that internet users have paid to access or download. The online content assessed by Pew includes only “intangible” digital products such as software, articles and music that need not have a physical form.

source: http://www.marketingcharts.com/

Android Still Dominates Phones, But What About the Rest of Mobile?

As Android spreads across multiple devices, Google’s operating system continues to dominate on smartphones. A report released Thursday backs that up, showing that Android remains the top smartphone operating system in the United States.

But these numbers miss a key point: Android may be the leading platform on smartphones, but what about all the other iOS-powered devices out there that aren’t iPhones — the iPod Touch and the iPad?

Today’s research report, which was published by Nielsen, claims a 39-percent Android platform market share across the major smartphone manufacturers, while Apple’s iPhone operating system claims a 28 percent stake. The results show data from smartphone purchases occurring during the second quarter of 2011 in the U.S.

But therein lies the huge blind spot in Nielsen’s data measurement: Apple sold over 20 million iPhones over the last quarter, but add iPads and iPod Touch devices to that, and the number bumps up to nearly 37 million iOS devices. In three months.

Technology research firms such as Nielsen regularly publish market share analysis to measure which companies are leading the industry. In mobile, Google and Apple are consistently neck-to-neck in market share reports, but it’s questionable why research firms continue to leave tablets and all-in-one portables like the iPod Touch out of the mobile picture.

Which, considering recent reports, may be a big mistake. For instance, GoGo — an in-flight Wi-Fi service provider that works with Virgin America airlines — told AllThingsDigital that while iPhones make up two thirds of wireless devices connected to its in-flight services, iPod Touch devices account for another 20 percent. That’s even higher than the number of Android devices used to access the network (only 12 percent).

Another tidbit to consider: Despite Android’s platform dominance in the smartphone space, over 80 percent of Wired.com’s mobile traffic comes from iOS-based devices. That includes the iPad, iPod Touch and the iPhone. The iPad and iPod Touch aren’t smartphones, but they run the same operating system as the iPhone.

It highlights a specific problem in surveys like Nielsen’s: Measurement criterion. If we’re measuring a platform’s total market share, homing in on “smartphones” specifically rather than mobile devices gives a skewed representation of total platform penetration. It would be a fairer analysis to count all the tablets,smartphones, and all-in-one portables (i.e., the iPod Touch) powered by Android and iOS and comparing those side by side.

Jim Dalrymple of The Loop gives an apt analogy on the matter in an April blog post:

That would be like comparing one model of Mercedes against all cars that GM makes and saying the Mercedes is losing. It just doesn’t make any sense. You can’t have it both ways. You either have to compare hardware devices or operating systems, you can’t mix and match.

A Nielsen spokesman acquiesced when we made the point mentioned above, but countered with an emphasis on how smartphones are one of the more important metrics to watch.

“Smartphones are really driving a lot of the innovation around the different platforms right now,” Nielsen spokesman Don Kellogg said in an interview. “When you look at the smartphone manufacturer share, it’s still very small compared to Apple or even RIM.”

That point highlights the other very important part of the survey. While Android may or may not reign in the smartphone realm, Apple leads the pack as the top smartphone manufacturer with its 28-percent share. RIM, which also owns both its software and hardware, is second in command with 20 percent. HTC also accounts for 20 percent of the hardware market, when taking into account both its Android phone and its Microsoft OS-powered devices.

Which are numbers that may ultimately matter more than platform penetration.

“These things matter from the perspective of securing the deepest level of customer loyalty,” Forrester analyst Charles Golvin told Wired.com. “Because of their vertical integration Apple gets both loyalty components and cements a deeper customer relationship as a result.”

Source: http://www.wired.com

S. Korea, Bolivia agree on joint lithium battery business

SEOUL, July 31 | Sat Jul 30, 2011 11:27pm EDT

(Reuters) - South Korea and Bolivia have agreed to set up a joint venture in a bid to pursue cooperation on the lithium battery business sector, state-run Korea Resources Corp. (KORES) said in a statement on Sunday.

The agreement was stipulated in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in La Paz on Saturday between a KORES-led Korean consortium, involving POSCO, SK Innovation Co. and LG Chem, Ltd., and Bolivia's state-owned mining corporation COMIBOL, KORES said in a statement.

Also under the MOU, Bolivia, claiming almost half of the world's known lithium reserves with a deposit of some 5.4 million tonnes, acknowledges the South Korean team as "strategic partner" for its lithium battery business, KORES added.

"Currently, 10 countries including France, Japan, China, Brazil as well as Korea are engaged in a fierce competition to become Bolivia's lithium business partner," KORES chief Shin-Jong Kim was quoted as saying in the statement.

"I am convinced that the joint Korea-Bolivia lithium battery project will place Korea in a position of advantage over the others."

KORES said the two parties also agreed to launch a task force team to push for the joint lithium battery project including the joint venture to be built in Bolivia. It did not give further details about the proposed venture.

In April 2009, South Korea signed a separate MOU with Bolivia on cooperation for joint development of lithium mines in the South American country and they have since improved exchanges on technology development and research related to the lithium business and relevant industries.

Lithium is widely used in rechargeable batteries for mobile devices such as notebook computers and cellular phones, and electric vehicles.

Its global market has grown an average six percent annually since 2000. With the age of electric cars on its way, however, the average growth rate could be up to 20 percent a year in upcoming years, KORES figures showed.

The spot market price of lithium closed at $4,752 a tonne on Thursday, a rise of $200 from a month before, according to KORES. (Reporting by Sung-Won Shim; Editing by Robert Birsel)

LinkedIn Most Popular SocNet for Journalists

August 2, 2011

LinkedIn is the most popular social network among business journalists, with 92% having a LinkedIn account, according to the 2011 Arketi Web Watch Media Survey released in July 2011. Facebook follows with 85% of journalists using the world’s most popular social media site.
Journalists use Twitter at almost the same rate (84%) they use Facebook. However, there is a steep 31% dropoff between the rate of journalist Twitter use and the rate with which journalists use the next-most-popular social media site, YouTube (58%). Generic blog sites have higher usage rates than branded social media sites such as Digg, Flickr and MySpace.

Corp Sites Must Have Contact Info

Eighty-two percent of business journalists say a company without a website is less credible, and 81% turn to a company site when they are unable to reach a source. Virtually all (98%) journalists agree contact information makes a corporate website useful to them.
Other corporate website features a high percentage of journalists find useful include search capabilities (94%), text documents (87%) and PDFs (84%). Conversely, fewer than half find features such as Twitter (47%) and audio files (45%) useful.

Journalists Read News Online

Sixty-four percent of journalists say they spend more than 20 hours a week online, with 21% spending more than 40 hours a week using the internet. Virtually all (98%) journalists read news online, and 91% search for news sources and story ideas.
No other online activity approaches this level of uniform usage by journalists. However, high percentages engage in activities such as social networking (69%) and microblogging (66%), while more than half blog (53%).
Meanwhile, other online activities like watching webinars (48%) and watching YouTube (34%) are less popular with journalists.

Industry Sources Remain Standby

More than a third (36%) of journalists say that more than 75% of their news outlet’s website is original content that does not appear in the print publication. However, even for digital content, just about every journalist still turns to the traditional industry sources (99%) for story ideas.
Other popular story idea sources include the also old-fashioned public relations contacts (80%), press releases (77%) and wire services (74%). Email pitches are the most common new media sources of information (71%), and the only other new media source for story ideas used by more than half of journalists is blogs (56%). Despite high levels of social network membership, only 44% of journalists obtain story ideas from microblogs, while 39% obtain them from social networking sites.

85% Call Industry Experts for Breaking News

When it comes to sources for breaking news, a leading 85% of journalists call industry experts frequently or occasionally, while a combined 81% check a company website and 80% both call other interested parties and check an industry website. Journalists are apparently more comfortable using new media to research breaking news than to obtain story ideas with longer deadlines.

ROI Research: LinkedIn Seen as Most Important SocNet

While Facebook has the highest engagement rate of the “big five” social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube), the highest percentage of online consumers think having a LinkedIn account is important, according to an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics. Data from “S-Net: A Study in Social Media Usage and Behavior” indicates 59% of online consumers rate having a LinkedIn account 4 or 5 on a five-point importance scale, compared to 53% giving this level of importance to having a Facebook account.

8 in 10 Mobile Users Browse Products/Services

About eight in 10 (81%) US smartphone/tablet users browse or look for products and/or services with their mobile devices, according to the July 2011 Prosper Mobile Insights mobile survey. This was slightly more than the 80% who use their mobile devices to locate a store or store hours (more than one answer permitted).

The top two choices among the eight offered respondents were about twice as popular as any other response. The next-most-popular mobile activity, researching specific products (56%), was performed by 43% fewer smartphone/tablet users. The only other activity performed by more than half of respondents was receiving text messages with special offers (53%).

Mobile Ads Have Small Influence

Advertisements viewed on smartphones and tablets have relatively small influence on the purchase behavior of mobile users. Only about 11% of respondents said these advertisements regularly influence purchase decisions, while 41% said they occasionally influence purchase decisions. The largest percentage (48%) said mobile advertisements never influence their purchase decisions (total equals more than 100% due to rounding).

7 in 10 Pay Attention to Ads While Surfing Web

More than seven in 10 (72%) smartphone/tablet users pay attention to mobile ads while downloading apps and music either regularly (35%) or occasionally (37%). The percentage who regularly pay attention is substantially higher than that recorded for any other mobile activity, and the total percentage of mobile users paying attention is 20% higher than the 60% of smartphone/tablet users who pay attention to mobile ads while downloading apps and music either regularly (20%) or occasionally (40%).

This attention rate is closely followed by the 58% of smartphone/tablet users who pay attention to mobile ads either occasionally (43%) or regularly (15%) while watching video clips.

In addition, 50% of smartphone/tablet users pay attention to ads regularly (19%) or occasionally (31%) while playing games, as do 47% who pay attention regularly (13%) or occasionally (34%) while watching full TV episodes.

Unica: 4 in 10 Marketers Use Mobile

A little more than four in 10 (43%) marketers currently use mobile technology, according to a study conducted in Q4 2010 by Unica. Data from “The State of Marketing 2011″ indicates another 25% plan to do so within the next 12 months, and 16% plan to do so in more than 12 months. Only 15% of marketers have no plans to use mobile technology.

Top Viral Videos – July 201

August , 2011

The most-shared viral videos of July 2011 as tracked by Unruly Media included the usual blend of humor, athletic feats and cute kids, but was topped by an unusual and stealthy promotional clip for the upcoming 20th Century Fox film “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.” The video, which with about 702,000 shares during July had 75% more sharing activity than number two video “Crazy Marriage Proposal,” is a very realistic clip of what appears to be African militia members giving an AK-47 rifle to a chimp for amusement.
However, the chimp quickly displays tremendous aptitude with firearms, forcing the soldiers to flee, and proudly holds the gun over his head in a display of victory over the humans who had attempted to make sport of him. A small imprint at the bottom left of the screen indicating the video is from the “20th Century Fox Research Library” and a small logo of the film in the upper left hand side of the screen are the only indications this is a promotion and not actual footage.

Leave ‘Em Laughing

Humorous videos tend to do well on Unruly Media’s monthly top 10 lists, and July was no exception. The number two video was “Crazy Marriage Proposal,” footage of a Canadian groom-to-be proposing to his future bride during a rooftop party, only to fall over the side of the building after bobbling the engagement ring. When the horrified propose rushes to see what happened, she discovers her beloved has actually fallen into a large inflatable cushion and is safe and sound. In what may shock some female viewers, she still says yes and is even shown laughing in the video’s final scene.
Elements of humor are also present in the number three video, which is another product of Canada. Media company 2-D Photography, Inc. displays a lavish Rube Goldberg-type machine where a ball bearing travels through an endless assortment of gears and automated levers, all made from either common household objects, photography equipment or computer hardware, to reach its final destination.
In addition, the number five video, “Angry Birds Live,” which was number one in June, shows footage of actual video of a promotional event held in Barcelona, Spain in May. Angry Birds players are shown at a kiosk in a public square which broadcasts their gameplay on a giant screen, followed by the eruption of large plastic bird heads into the square (this video is better watched than explained).

Old Favorites Return

Three longtime favorite viral videos, all of which have shown up on various top 10 viral video lists going back roughly a year (including the lists compiled by goviral which MarketingCharts covered through September 2010), placed on the July list. These included one video full of cute babies on rollerblades (Evian’s “Roller Babies”), as well as a clip of the daring and dangerous automotive sport of Gymkhana from French footwear brand DC Shoes and footage of stunt BMX biker Danny MacAskill performing feats as he travels through his home country of Scotland.

Top 10 Most-shared Online Videos July 2011

1. 20th Century Fox – Ape with AK-47
2. Crazy Marriage Proposal – Guy Falls Off Building
3. 2-D Photography – Rube Goldberg
4. Google Chrome – Justin Bieber
5. T-Mobile – Angry Birds Live
6. Samsung – Unleash Your Fingers
7. Danny MacAskill – Way Back Home
8. DC Shoes – Gymkhana 3, Part 2
9. Evian – Roller Babies, International Version
10. The Google + Project – A Quick Look

Source: Marketing Charts.com

July Retail Email Volume Up 13% YOY

August 1, 2011

The top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 3.1 promotional emails on average during the week ending July 29, 2011 (last full week of July), according to Chad White, research director at Responsys and author of the Retail Email Blog. That’s down 2% week-over-week, up 1% from where it was four weeks ago, and up 13% year-over-year.

As previously predicted by the Retail Email Blog, subscribers received roughly 2.8 emails a week during the first two weeks following the July Fourth holiday, but that total approached 3.2 the week of July 22 and then dropped slightly to 3.1 the week of July 29.

July Holiday Email Trends Mirror 2010

In a repeat of promotional retail email patterns from July 2010, major online retailers got off to a slow start with emails mentioning the 2011 Christmas/holiday season in the first two weeks of July 2011, but now 11% of the top online retailers have begun their holiday email campaigns—exactly on par with last year at this time.

Strangely, the last week of the month saw a decrease in the number of retail emails mentioning back-to-school. At this time last year, references were basically flat week-over-week, so the Retail Email Blog advises this decline is probably not significant. This week the Retail Email Blog predicts back-to-school references in more than 20% of retail emails.

Online Retailers Like Monday

Although Monday is typically the least favorite day of the week, major online retailers seemed to have an affinity for Monday during the week ending July 29. Monday, July 25 was the most popular day to send promotional emails, with 54% of major online retailers sending subscribers at least one. The only other day of the week to surpass a 50% promotional email rate was Friday, July 29 (51%).

As usual, Saturday, July 23 (30%) and Sunday, July 24 (31%) had the lowest rates of sending promotional email, but Thursday, July 28 had an unusual dip for a weekday (37%).

Promo Email Continues Strong YOY Pattern

Each month from February to June 2011, average retail email volume was up substantially from where it was a year earlier. The highest average number of emails top online retailers sent their subscribers in any given week during the equivalent period in 2010 was a little more than 2.8 (week ending June 17, 2010), while this year it approached 3.2 (weeks ending June 3 and July 22).