Retailers Combine Online and Brick & Mortar for Holiday Season
The countdown to Christmas has begun and according to British internet entrepreneur Ben Hatton “brands are upping their game to grab a slice of the online consumer spend”.
His article in the Liverpool Daily Post states that consumers are expected to spend £7.75bn (That’s almost $12 billion) in the next three weeks, according to the online retail trade association IMRG. Last week’s cyber Monday saw online sales skyrocket in comparison to the past three years.
Visa estimates that £303m ($476 million) was spent online on their cards last Monday. In spite of the seemingly global recession, this figure is 12% higher than sales recorded last year. To what do retailers attribute this increase? Maybe it’s the abundance of deals because of increased competition, or maybe it’s the fact that consumers are more comfortable with shopping online because of increased security. (Either way, I’m doing some of my shopping online this year too!)
What problems are retailers facing this season? Mainly the lack of consumer confidence in the economy, resulting in the internet savvy buyer looking for the best deals they c
an find, whether it be online or in a brick-and-mortar store. Online retailing continues to be a profitable domain for brands with sales up 14% on this time last year, according to IMRG.
Another online-buying tool that makes it easier for consumers; Mobile technology. Over 25% of smart phone users use their mobile phones to assist in their holiday gift buying (I know I have!)
A survey by Gumtree has found that online daily deals and voucher websites are being used by 70% of consumers to help fund Christmas this year. (Don’t we know!)
The customer experience doesn’t end when you leave the website. If the retailer has a strong “real-life” presence, they need to streamline that with their online presence. IMRG anticipates that 90% of transactions this season will be either over the internet or strongly influenced by it, consumers having done research or getting suggestions or ideas online.
Read the entire article here: Liverpool Daily Post
Facebook Acquires Social Guide Gowalla
Facebook isn’t talking, but according to unnamed sources, the social networking giant has acquired Gowalla, the location based startup that launched in 2009.
In September Gowalla reported a redesign of its mobile app in a move to change its focus from check-ins to a socially powered guide to cities, parks and regions around the world. Josh Williams, co-founder and CEO of Gowalla told Huffington Post reporter, Bianca Bosker that the move was prompted by an industry wide move toward combining check-ins with discounts and rewards, and that it was never a goal for Gowalla to enter the daily deals space
“We wanted to go back to our passion, which is inspiring people to visit new places and visit the world through the eyes of someone they trust,” he said. “I think the check-in industry is going to be doing interesting things around loyalty rewards and daily deals, but that’s something entirely separate from what we’re trying to solve.”
Bosker speculated that there might be more to the company’s change in direction, citing competition by sites like Foursquare, Groupon and Google all looking to deliver location-based offers to consumers’ mobile devices.
According to CNNMoney, Williams and most of the Gowalla staff will be moving to Facebook’s offices in Palo Alto where they will be working on the new Facebook Timeline feature.
When asked about the acquisition, Facebook’s only comment was “We don’t comment on rumors and speculation.” Gowalla was not available for comment.
Source: Huffington Post, CNNMoney
LivingSocial? More like GivingSocial!
LivingSocial gives members a big reason to shop with them this holiday season.
With every purchase starting today through the 16th, LivingSocial will be giving a gift to charity through their third annual 12 Days of Giving program. The charity that will benefit from one percent of every sale is the historic, respectable U.S. Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. In addition to that, LivingSocial will donate one percent of proceeds from select international companies to support projects that are part of the GlobalGiving community.
Jake Maas, Senior Vice President of Consumer Business for LivingSocial is excited about continuing the program that brings joy to so many needy children.
“For the third year in a row, our 12 Days of Giving program will help improve the lives of those in need throughout the U.S. and internationally,” he said. “As a company dedicated to local commerce, we’re excited to be working with worthy organizations that can directly help local communities, so part of the money you spend on great deals in your hometown goes to a charity doing great work for those in need in your hometown.”
LivingSocial is very proud to have such a large international presence and will spread the wealth accordingly. Along with pairing with the Marine Toys for Tots which delivers not only new toys, but hope to less-fortunate children, they’ll take their charity to countries where they also have a large presence.
Money raised in Australia, New Zealand, France, Canada, Ireland, UK, the Netherlands, Dubai and Lebanon will benefit projects vetted by
GlobalGiving, an organization connecting people with local causes and projects in over 100 countries. During the 12 Days of Giving, LivingSocial will support GlobalGiving projects in participating countries based on the total proceeds from Daily Deals sold.
The U.S. partnership with Toys for Tots marks the second time this season LivingSocial is supporting the organization. In November, Toys for Tots participated in its first-ever daily deal, which was matched by generous contributions by Toys for Tots corporate partners.
“Currently 16 million U.S. children live in poverty,” said Lt. Gen. Pete Osman, USMC (Ret), president and CEO of Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. “Partnering with LivingSocial will enable us to provide a brighter Christmas holiday season for many additional children this year, as donations from LivingSocial members’ purchases will reach down to the local communities that need our help.”
Donna Callejon is the Chief Business Officer for GLobalGiving and is honored to be working with LivingSocial. “By engaging its members around the globe, LivingSocial continues to support important causes internationally,” she says. “Projects being supported by LivingSocial range from making wishes come true for sick children in France to funding ongoing rebuilding after the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.”
Not only is LivingSocial making it easy for members to give to charity (at no direct cost) they’re making gifting easier in general by rolling out two holiday gift programs.
Members can use Gift Wrap for any LivingSocial deal they gift to others. For $2.99 LivingSocial will beautifully print and package the gifted voucher, which includes a personal message from the gift giver, and will send it directly to the gift recipient. (cue: *aawwww*)
If just a single gift voucher isn’t enough to give, the company’s newly-launched Gift Box is a complete restaurant ($49), spa ($99) or travel ($199) experience in a box and available in certain U.S. markets. Each box contains a variety of offers from merchants in a specific category from which a recipient can choose one to experience. It is the perfect gift providing gift givers peace of mind knowing they’ve given a complete gifted experience in a specific category the recipient will love.
Sounds like LivingSocial is really making holiday shopping easy, especially considering all the statistics that say people are more comfortable buying discount vouchers for loved ones this year.
Find out more about Global Giving here and more about Toys for Tots here.
Happy Giving!
Source: PRNewswire
E-Commerce Start-ups for Holiday Shoppers: GiftSimple, Presentify.me & BarkBox
Digital shopping is in full swing this holiday season and start-ups are taking notice and advantage of this trend. Three innovative gift buying start-ups to take note of this season have arrived just in time for online shoppers. Presenting GiftSimple, Presentify.me and BarkBox:
GiftSimple stands by its name in providing an easy way for customers to get the gifts they really want through social media. The company, launched last week, is essentially a social gift registry, suitable for any occasion. Users create their own want list of gift ideas they would like and post it to Facebook for friends to see. The genius part of the model, is it allows friends to pay partial amounts towards a gift until the full amount is reached. In this way, users can get those expensive gifts they truly want, but my not feel comfortable asking for due to a high price. If a gift is not paid for in full, the recipient may “cash out” and collect the money that was raised – A win-win for everyone. Giftsimple collects a standard 3% fee on the total amount raised towards each gift.
“Many people find it difficult to save up for a large-ticket item, and receiving contributions toward that purchase would really help; but organizing a group gift offline can be hassle. At the same time, we all get presents we don’t want.”- Jessica Lachs, founder, GiftSimple
You can find the GiftSimple Facebook app directly on Facebook
Presentify.me works with major deal sites such as Groupon and GiltCity to make deal vouchers that are specially customized in the form of gift certificates. Uniquely, the company is inadvertently, taking the social stigma out of giving deal vouchers as gifts – An elephant in the room topic that has been circling the e-commerce and daily deal industry for months. The aim of Presentify.me is to make discounted vouchers as desirable and acceptable as any other regular gift certificate given as a gift. Users may choose from six different voucher design which they prefer to suit the gift giving occasion and are only constricted to a small mention of the deal company the voucher came from. Currently, the site works with Tippr, Groupon, Deal-find and GifltCity, with more to come in future months.
BarkBox, is a full service monthly subscription service like many others, except it is strictly for, you guessed it, Dogs. Weather the gift will be given to the owner or actual pet, this subscription service is the one-stop-shop for dog presents. Users may choose from various monthly services such as bones, shampoos, and other treats for a small monthly fee of $25 per month. The genius of the company, like many others recently, is the fact it takes a niche within the deal industry and focuses on it. If you have a friend that puts a stocking up for their canine companion, BarkBox is a must for your online holiday shopping destinations this season.
Source: Mashable
Groupon replacing lackluster sales staff
No slacking allowed if you’re on the sales staff at Groupon. The daily deals giant is replacing the 
bottom 10% of its sales staff as it attempts to procure more lucrative deals from merchants to assure its continued growth. This is a step they hope potential investors will see as positive, in their mission to sell their IPO.
CEO Andrew Mason told investors in Boston that the action was designed to improve the quality of the deals, which would ultimately lead to Groupon’s profitability.
Groupon’s current sales force tops 4,800 according to the IPO prospectus.
As of the end of the 3rd fiscal quarter, Groupon had 143 million subscribers, but in that same quarter, only 30 million bought Groupons. The number of repeat customers from the second quarter increased
but the total was just 16 million. Merchants have also complained that Groupon didn’t help them maintain new customers. Instead the only provided one time bargain seeking customers that didn’t come back.
If Groupon doesn’t work on maintaining its repeat customers and pleasing and maintaining relationships with its merchants, it may make investors wary of diving into the IPO, and effect the company’s long term value.
“At the end of the day all they’re offering the merchant is the ability to cut price … you can cut price any time you want. You don’t need Groupon to do it,” said a portfolio manager whose firm manages more than $20 billion and who attended the presentation in Boston.
Mason doesn’t see it from that point of view. According to him, the merchants are paying for “risk free performance marketing.” He explains “They pay for customers through the door. You’re not going to get this from the yellow pages”.
He also stated that deals from new merchants make for a better experience, and there is some bias towards signing up new merchants versus repeat business with old ones. As part of their online IPO Road show, they say that only half the businesses that participated in the 3rd quarter, had done some previously.
Will the replacing of the sales staff help Groupon’s IPO cause? I supposed we’ll see when they price on November 3rd and hopefully start trading on the 4th.
Read more about this here and keep up with everything “Groupon IPO” here at Daily Deal Media
