* Internet retailers may be using portals now to increase exposure, but they won't be able to rely on these relationships for huge sales growth in coming years. So says a new study by Jupiter Communications Company, an Internet research firm.
* The study expects electronic commerce from these entry points to the Internet, known as portals, to account for only 20 per cent of online retail revenues by 2002. "While they offer an effective means to drive traffic, primary portals do not help commerce players retain customers," said Marc Johnson, director of Jupiter's Digital Commerce Strategies research practice.
* The economics of the Internet are still evolving. The top 10 portals are seen by almost all Internet users but account for only around 15 per cent of total page views.
* While competitive pressures are growing, there is little agreement on who the losers will be. The orthodox view has it that the leaders on the Internet-such as Yahoo!, America Online, Microsoft, Amazon.com and E*Trade-will continue to grow and increase their market share.
* However, a report from Forrester, the industry research group, disagrees: it compares the recent record-breaking $90m advertising deal between FirstUSA, the credit-card company, and Microsoft'sMSN Internet service with the price of advertising on smaller, more focused sites and conludes that the latter offer better value.
* Each portal has a different approach. Yahoo! built its business with its crafted-by-humans cataglogue of websites. America Online's high-traffic website is a mere appendage of its 12-million-member proprietary online service. Excite is a search engine that catapulated itself
