Online retail sales amounted to 143.2 billion in 2005 (Roberts, 5). What will it be this holiday season 2010? The internet continues to evolve and retailers need to look at the drivers of the internet economy. According to the online article, What Retailers Need to Know About Online Holiday Shopping, our economy poses some challenges this holiday season. According to emarketer.com; a survey was conducted in July 2010 by BIGresearch and it revealed that consumers plan to use the internet to save money on holiday gifts this year. They will do more comparison shopping and researching on the internet before buying online or in stores.
Consumers are:
• 64% spending less on everyone
• 42% only buying gifts on sale
• 36% doing more comparison shopping
• 22% doing more research online before buying in store
• 21.6% doing more shopping online
The markets that are created in this electronic world are about convenience and communities of interest (Roberts,18). Managers will need to use strategic planning along with the value chain concepts to be successful this holiday season. Retailers should stay up to date with changes and pricing taking place on popular search engines like Google. Retailers will need to think about what they price promote and the timing of promotion. Electronics will be in high demand.
I think it is very interesting that as consumers we are now able to get a better product at a lower price by making our purchases online. As an avid online shopper, I find the product reviews by actual constomers to have more influence on my buying decision than the descriptions given by the company selling the product.
ReplyDeleteI agree w/ Jessica S. The customer, not the retailer, has the advantage this season: we're looking for selection and deals; and it's never been easier for us to find both.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, Marketing Guru, retailers are going to need a savvy strategy to get their piece of the pie this holiday season.