The sheer numbers of ads and chances to buy something on some pages can't be good marketing. Web pages with too many advertising banners and gifs take so long to load that potential customers will be frustrated, may turn off the Auto Load Images option, or abandon the page altogether. Some pages have so many confusing messages to sort through, that it is impossible to navigate the page. However, one aspect of e-commerce that does worry me is the ability of online companies, to track what you've bought. Perhaps all that means is they will use the information to pinpoint their advertising, but some concerned individuals, who don't sound like lunatics, tell us that serious assaults on our freedom are not just possible, but are on their way.
Predictions are that things are likely to get worse.
With few exceptions, even with all the attention e-commerce is receiving, almost no one other than a handful of enterprising individuals, is making any money on Web. In desperation, marketing is going to have to increase. The number of households with Internet access is still a rather minute portion of the buying public. And the vast majority of the people who do go online, not only don't buy anything. Recent studies indicate that fewer people even bother to click on the banner ads, so new marketing ploys will have to initiated.