Tag Archive for online shopping

08 Dec 2010
internet marketing

Holiday Shopping – The Old Fashioned Way


Okay, yesterday, for the first time in oh, I don’t know, 5 years, I did my holiday shopping the old fashioned way, I went to stores.   Yes, I got into a car, drove to several stores, walked around and bought things.  (Sounds foreign).

Anyway, it was interesting – and here’s why.

There were several items on my list (a netbook, a wine bottle corker/cooler combo and a tablet pc) that I saw online and since I was “out and about” I figured I could get them, see them, etc.

Well, what happened was that the stores didn’t have many netbooks on the floor (or in the back room), I couldn’t find the wine bottle corker/cooler thing and forget finding tablet pc’s).  I mentioned that I had seen these products in the store’s own online catalog and the salesmen told me that each item was only sold online.

This didn’t happen just in one store, it happened in 5 stores.

What does this tell me (and you?)

That more and more stores are keeping less stock in-house and more stock in the warehouse.  The variety of items sold online is greater than in the store.  Since I haven’t been doing this kind of shopping for so many years it really hasn’t been an issue and I also haven’t “seen it”.  But, it absolutely hit me yesterday.

There’s just no doubting the power of online shopping and the fact that it’s just going to grow stronger and stronger.

Let me know if you’ve had the same experience(s).


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03 Nov 2008
home business • internet marketing • seo

2008 Christmas Season


The 2008 Christmas season will definitely be a reflection of the economy at the time. And by all accounts, the economy during Christmas 2008 will not be good. As more and more economists tell us that we haven’t yet hit rock bottom, the worst is yet to come, etc. I think it’s only fair to conclude that we will be in for a rocky ride not only for the end of 2008 but most if not all of 2009. Let’s hope it ends in 2009! But, time will tell.

But, back to 2008 Christmas season – how can you prepare your business? If your business is brick and mortar, if it’s online, if it’s both, you need to make sure that you’ll be ready for the holidays. Mark Hutcherson from the Hutch Report gives his opinion, “My personal opinion is that 2008 will be a banner year for online shopping in the US. Unlike traveling from store to store looking for the best price on a Christmas gift, millions of Americans will use the Internet to find and buy those gifts at greatly reduced prices. This trend toward Internet shopping in 2008 will further put pressure on local retail locations to also cut their prices much earlier than they would prefer to do.”

Do you agree with him? If you do, are you prepared to meet the needs of your customers?

Maybe you don’t agree with him. Maybe you think it’ll be a very slow season, that may be true, but what if you’re wrong? Will you lose out while your competition wins?

Australia’s CRN reports “Credit crunch sending shoppers online for cheaper presents.”

Here are some quick tips just in case you haven’t yet begun to think about the 2008 Christmas season.

1) Discount, discount, discount. This year it’s all about how low can you go?
2) Be more mindful than ever about the needs of your clients. How can YOU make THEIR lives easier?
3) Build your online trust by joining and participating in the social media programs like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. It’s the best way to build your online trust factor.

Although the world has less to spend this year, it doesn’t mean they will avoid spending. Christmas and the holiday season in 2008 will still occur, will your business be a part of it? Or will you just be watching?


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