The storm continues over UK government plans to permit product placement in commercial television programming in the summer of 2010. A public consultation by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) closed on January 7.

Historically, rules established by the Office for Communications (Ofcom) have forbidden product placement in UK programs. But traditional broadcasters continue to suffer sharp declines in ad revenues, thanks chiefly to the Internet and new consumer viewing habits. Ofcom has estimated that the potential gain to commercial broadcasters from product placement within five years might be £25 million to £35 million annually (between $35 million and $49 million, at 2009 exchange rates), which would go some way to redress those losses.

While many advertisers and marketers are eager for a more permissive approach, some see it as a short-term fix for a long-term problem, or fear trouble ahead for other reasons. The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) has reversed its earlier (supportive) stance, and is now on record as saying paid product placement will mean both “higher costs for advertisers and more complaints from the viewing public.”

Other groups that oppose the proposal include children’s charities, national health and medical organizations and the National Union of Teachers. The reasons are not hard to fathom. According to the Guardian, one UK bookmaker has already started taking odds on which advertisers will most likely buy placement for their brands if given the go-ahead. Prominent among them in early January 2010 were Burger King, Guinness and Coca Cola. Product placement would not be allowed in programming designed for children, but many young people in the UK are exposed to hours of adult programming each week, and campaigners fear that greater exposure to such products may exacerbate already high levels of child obesity and alcohol-related problems in the UK. What’s your take on the matter?

Last week Wal-Mart announced plans to expand last holiday season’s $10 for 10 toys promotion to 100 toys this season, signaling that this will likely be another holiday season of steep discounting. This begs the question, how can retailers compete during this critical sales period without having to give away the store?

Kevin Ertell, vice president of retail strategy at ForeSee Results, a measurer of online customer satisfaction, told eMarketer that price, while it will never be a non-factor, can become a lesser factor for retailers that keep them reasonably in line and deliver a superior shopping experience.

By superior, Mr Ertell means making it easy for customers to find what they are looking for and purchase it without encountering a lot of obstacles along the way. Mr. Ertell says many sites have lots of obstacles, and they are mostly little things that retailers do not even recognize themselves because they are too close to their own site.