President Obama's economic recovery plan has retail executives feeling hopeful as they struggle to stay afloat in the current economy.

Obama has said that he wants to expand the accessibility of broadband to communities that currently go without. He is also, for example, encouraging hospitals to establish a web connection with one another, which would make it much easier to share electronic medical records.

Obama's online retail challenge
This proposal alone could open up new opportunities for marketers. In order to accomplish these goals, Obama must face a very controversial issue: whether or not to provide free Wi-Fi.

Certainly, it remains to be seen how President Obama handles this with the cable and telephone companies still being healthy financially – and government intervention not being a given as in, for example, the auto industry.

What broadband expansion could do to encourage online spending
According to Pontus Kristiansson, co-founder and CEO of Avail Intelligence, a Behavior Merchandising solutions company, expanding consumer access to broadband could mean an increase an in online shopping and advertisers to reach out to.

Kristiansson also noted that there is no denying the strong connection between speed and activity when it comes to online shopping, according to surveys conducted by Forrester and other industry experts.