PR Newswire's Business Technology Round-up, 17 December 2012

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Dec 17, 2012, 09:31 ET

LONDON, December 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- US online spending soars, Aiseesoft updates Blu-Ray software and affiliate marketing tipped for 2013 success

A new report from digital statistics analysts ComScore has revealed that online spending in the US over the Christmas holiday season has soared, with an impressive 13% increase on 2011's figures for the same period.

Spending over the past 44 days topped $33.8billion, making it one of the most successful periods of online shopping since records began. An incredibly successful "Green Monday" on December 10th helped to boost the figure even further, with more than $1.2billion spent on that day alone. The figure is expected to swell even further today (December 17th), with the launch of "Free Shipping Day".

2012's figures have seen a number of 24 hour shopping events pushed into the most lucrative days in history, with six days over the past 44 appearing in the list of top 10 most profitable shopping days in US history. This year's "Cyber Monday" (November 26th) currently holds the top spot in the all-time list, with more than $1.4billion spent.

Aiseesoft, an innovative provider of professional multimedia software and desktop applications, has announced the launch of its brand new Blu-ray software, bringing crucial performance updates to the popular DVD playback platform.

Users will now be presented with a totally redesigned user interface, with usability and simplicity put at the heart of the design process. The update also provides a number of subtle but important changes, including the widespread availability of 1080p playback, and the high quality "100% lossless audio" surround sound option. The software allows users to upload their favourite Blu-ray DVDs to their Mac or PC, store them in a dedicated folder and select from powerful playback options. The new versions are available immediately for both the Mac and PC platforms.

A brand new research report has shown that affiliate marketing is set to become one of the most popular "passive income" ideas of 2013, with thousands of entrepreneurs attracted by its simplicity and low set up costs.

In essence, those participating are paid a commission for promoting or leading to the sale of third party company products, allowing them to create a potentially lucrative business model without the need to create or source their own items. Participants are also able to avoid the costly processes involved with storage and shopping, making it one of the most affordable money-making methods on the internet. The growing popularity of affiliate marketing has been signified by the rise in the number of online training courses.

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