It’s almost impossible to pop to the local shopping centre without being offered a free doughnut, anti-wrinkle cream or toothpaste sample / Sally Durcan, Hotcow

Let’s start with a question. What do Weight Watchers, Fox’s Biscuits and the Body Shop have in common? Apart from the fact that they are all well-known household brands, they are also huge advocates of high street product sampling.

And many other brands are following suit.

Despite the prevalence of low cost online advertising and e-commerce, product sampling on the high street is still a common sight. In fact it’s almost impossible to pop to the local shopping centre without being offered a free doughnut, anti-wrinkle cream or toothpaste sample.

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For the first time, more than half of all digital advertising will be on mobile devices / eMarketer

eMarketer: Mobile Ad Spending to Top $100 Billion Worldwide in 2016

The worldwide mobile advertising market will hit two significant milestones in 2016, according to new figures from eMarketer, surpassing $100 billion and accounting for more than 50% of all digital ads for the first time.

The $101.37 billion to be spent on ads served to mobile phones and tablets worldwide next year represents a more than 400% increase from 2013. Between 2016 and 2019, the last year in our forecast, mobile ads will nearly double again, totaling $195.55 billion. That figure will account for 70.1% of all digital advertising as well as more than one-quarter of total media ad spending worldwide.

For more information, please visit eMarketer's Interactive Guide to Worldwide Ad Spending, where you can compare and contrast statistics on traditional, digital and mobile ad spending for all 22 countries included in our estimates.

UK economic growth rises to 0.6 per cent in final quarter of 2014

by Jessica Morris

Economic growth for last year has beaten previous estimates

In what could be a general election boost for the Tories, Britain's economy grew more than previously thought in the final three months of last year, official data has shown.

Gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2014, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous estimate, according to data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics.

International Events - Reaching a global audience with InternetRetailing Media's exclusive new partnership with Clarion Events

InternetRetailing Partners with Clarion to Fast-Track International Expansion

Today, on the final day of IRX 2015, InternetRetailing Media announces an exclusive new partnership with leading global event organisers Clarion Events. The collaboration will see the award-winning InternetRetailing event series expand overseas.

Clarion operates over 200 events in 35 countries from offices in the USA, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, UAE, Turkey, Netherlands, South Africa and the UK. It has an impressive portfolio of retail, payments, gaming and transport trade shows attracting thousands of specialist online businesses every year. With internationalisation intrinsic to the multichannel retail industry, Clarion’s network and extensive reach will provide a platform for a successful partnership.

There are just 3 days left to the Internet Retailing Expo 2015

There are just 4 days left to the Internet Retailing Expo 2015 and we wouldn't want you to miss it. This year, IRX is bigger than ever with a co-located brand new show,eDelivery Expo (EDX), focussing on delivery, distribution, operations, warehousing and supply chain.

Whether click and collect, mobile commerce or in store, at IRX 2015 we bring you the cutting edge technology to integrate your business channels, smoothing your customer’s shopping experience and increasing client satisfaction. Register FREE Now

REGISTER FREE NOW

	Technology - Virtual Reality, Smart Data or wearable technology Visit the Digital Store at IRX for a chance to experiment with the latest technology and find out how its many uses for retail and eCommerce Register FREE now

	Payments and Marketplaces- Amazon, eBay, Digital River, PayPal Listen to the experts at the Digital Payments Village to learn how to smooth your business checkout experience and find out what marketplaces can do to help you sell more at the Brands Direct Marketplaces theatre. Register FREE now

	60 TOP Retailers Speaking Listen to Helen Colclough, ecommerce development manager at River Island; Ken Ardali, Director, International e-Commerce at Alibaba Group; David Kohn, Multichannel Director at Snow+Rock Group and many more at the 8 FREE to attend conferences. Register FREE now

	eCommerce Experts clinics Put your burning questions about eCommerce to the experts and get your questions answered at IRX. Book a one-to-one 20 minute meeting with the experts at the eCommerce experts clinics or visit the IMRG lounge to get professional advice in the topics your company needs. Places are limited! Book a FREE clinic now now

	Will drone delivery be possible in the UK? Thanks to Scurri we will be demonstrating drone delivery on 25 March at eDelivery Expo 2015, which is co-located with Internet Retailing Expo. Select the Scurri Workshop for a chance to win an Apple Watch. Good luck! Register FREE now