What makes you whip it out?

Online retailers are increasingly open to placing ads on social media platforms, reports Advertising Age.

This conclusion was drawn from a report from Forrester Research, which shows that while e-mail marketing and paid search continue to be the primary platforms for online retailer advertising, alternative ones are likely to dominate in the near future.

According to Forrester, 65 percent of retailers will look into placing ads on social networks in 2008. That comes despite a general lack of hard evidence that social network advertising can actually convert users into buyers.

Another medium generating interest from retailers is online video, 67 percent saying they'll be making that a priority this year. Flickr just launched its online :90 video service, which may prove helpful to creative retail mavens.

Widgets, RSS and other social technologies have generated notice as well, though the number of retail marketers prioritizing those platforms is lower.

Retailers also demonstrated a desire to move away from free shipping, an incentive used to bait users, in favor of a loyalty program. (Even Starbucks has launched one.) But Forrester cautions marketers that this economic climate may not be the best for abandoning proven strategies in favor of newfangled volatile ones.