Some retail forecasters are saying that there is no need to bundle up and leave the house early on Black Friday. Forecasters are saying that online retailer sales are expected to be anywhere from 4% to 10% higher in 2010 than last year. Not bad for retailers, as most consumers are beginning to see the light at the end of the recession tunnel.
Cyber Monday was a term coined to describe the Monday after Thanksgiving as being the day that consumers flock to the internet to do their holiday shopping. That is no longer the case because online retailers have online sales running from the end of October through January. According to Comscore, December 15th is the biggest online shopping day.
Retailers benefit from having an online storefront for many reasons. One reason is that online retailers can customize the shopping experience by offering customer feedback. People are more likely to purchase a product that they can see how other customers just like them rated a product.
Another reason is location. When you are online, you have the potential to be everywhere, not just local. Online storefronts also save on overhead because they don’t have to pay sales associates and all the amenities that come with a retail location.
Living in Minnesota, November and December weather can be brutal (however, thanks to climate change, we haven’t had to worry about that for a while). With online shopping, the weather is not as much as a factor. Just the opposite, if we have a blizzard, online retailers may actually make more money because we can’t get out of the house to shop.
Online storefronts benefit retailers as much as they benefit consumers. Consumers can now find that special gift they couldn’t find in the stores and find it cheaper. Consumers no longer have to look to Consumer Reports to find out what others think about a product, they can just look at customer reviews online and see what people just like them think, not a paid corporation. Online storefronts bring the product to the consumer in the comfort of their own homes.
Technology has made shopping so much easier for everyone. I, for one, am looking forward to holiday shopping from the comforts of my own home and in probably half the time it would take me in the stores, giving me more time to really enjoy the holidays. Happy almost holidays!
2 Responses
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Lynn Smaagaard Says:
I do a fair amount of my shopping online because after years of working in retail, I prefer avoiding the crowds. I love Etsy. I can buy all kinds of lovely handcrafted items. It is like going to a craft fair in my pajamas!
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