The PECOS4SMEs project has launched a small scale survey on Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation in order to determine the level of SEO/SEM awareness of EU SMEs.

Please help us by completing the survey here: http://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/SEOSEM

To find out more about how PECOS4SMEs can help SMEs increase revenue from cross-border sales, please visit our web site: www.pecos4smes.eu or make access the e-Commerce Genie to learn how to improve your e-Commerce strategy through simple steps: http://pecos.dcnet.eu/

Source Nerdgraph.com

Canadian cross-border shopping from the US market is still marginal (1.7%) as compared to the overall figure of the retail industry.

"However, cross-border shopping by Canadians from the US market almost doubled between 2006 and 2012, according to data from the market research agency Statistics Canada."

"Canadians spent USD 4.7 billion for purchases from the US retailers in 2006. Apart from a decline in 2009, the total yield has increased every year since then, hitting USD 8 billion in 2012."

More info here.

Source Infographicjournal.com

59% of UK consumers prefer to make purchases online to the detriment of physical stores.

"Additionally, over 54% of consumers are aware of the fact that retailers are customising their website experience and only 1 out of 10 consumers claim there is low personalisation."

"Moreover, 60% of retailers claim that a personalised experience can offer more value for their company, but only 54% offer customised and personal user experiences on their ecommerce platform."

"Over 24% of consumers make an online purchase at least once a week, and over 79% make a purchase at least once per month. In terms of product browsing, 35% of retailers believe that consumers find their website through organic search, while only 49% of consumers use organic search as their main access point to new products."

"Only 13% of the surveyed retailers consider online sales are more personalised than traditional sales. By contrast, 60% of consumers think that online is more personalised."

More info here.