According to a recent report from ROI Research Inc., sponsored by Performics, "S-Net The Impact of Social Media," social media permeates consumers' lives and affects communication, shopping and other activities, driving changes in consumer behavior online. The study of 3,000 U.S. social network users delved deeper into how social sites affect family and friend relationships and consumer attitudes towards brands and products.

According to a new study by ExactTarget, based on more than 1,500 consumer interviews, 58% of U.S. online consumers begin their day interacting with companies on Email, compared to 20% who start their day on search engines and 11% on Facebook. Consumers' early morning online preferences reflect key differences in their motivations for interacting with companies across email and social media, observes the report.

According to the NRF 2010 Father's Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, the average person will spend $94.32 on dear ol' dad this year, up from $90.89 last year. Total Father's Day spending is expected to reach $9.8 billion. Shiny new toys for dad will be one of the biggest hits this year, along with special outings, gift certificates and clothing.

According to a recent comScore Video Metrix service, 178 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month, and topped 30.3 billion videos in April, with Google Sites ranking as the top video property with 13.1 billion videos, representing 43.2 percent of all videos viewed online. YouTube accounted for the vast majority of videos viewed at the property. Hulu ranked second with 958 million videos, followed by Microsoft Sites, Viacom Digital, and Yahoo! Sites.

According to a new STRATA quarterly survey of advertising firms, which shows that while more dollars are moving to digital advertising, TV remained the top advertising choice in the first quarter of 2010, with 41.8% of ad agencies saying their corporate clients are more focused on TV than any other medium, but he number was down 27% from a year ago. Internet/digital advertising continues to increase with 68% reporting that their customers are more focused on digital than they were a year ago.

According to a recent study by digital marketing firm White Horse, only 18% of B2B companies say they have no current social media activity, compared to 14% for B2C. The degree of engagement varied widely, says the report. Nearly half of B2B marketers have only a basic social media presence, e.g., a Twitter and Facebook account, or a company blog, and only one-third are engaged in social media day-to-day.

According to a new survey of consumer retail spending and trends from Deloitte, 55% of consumers think the economy has started to recover from the recession, and 64% indicate their household financial situation is the same or better compared with a year ago. In addition, 63% of respondents said they are planning to spend the same or more at retailers this year than they did in 2009.

According to data recently released by Kantar Media, total advertising expenditures in the first quarter of 2010 rose 5.1% from a year ago and finished the period at $31.3 billion, marking the first increase in quarterly ad spending since Q1 2008 and the largest gain since Q1 2006, as the ad market finally experienced a long-awaited rebound.

According to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive, commissioned by Coupons.com, "well-heeled, educated and urban shoppers are taking advantage of coupons and searching for them online..." The survey also found that men are embracing coupons to rake in the savings. 51% of adult males have used a coupon in the past six months. Not only are they using coupons, but 36% of men responded that they even have a designated place to keep their coupons, and they're just as likely as women to clip and tell: 18% of men have told a friend about a coupon they found online.

According to the recent Starch Information Sources Study, sponsored by The Canadian Business Press to measure the effectiveness of specialized business publications versus other information sources, the Internet has become the disrupter among the major trade publications in virtually every industry sector. And, recognizing that Canada is generally a microcosm of the U.S. marketplace, it is hoped that the data developed in this study bear a relationship to trends in the U.S. to assist in market and media planning.