The Power of Retail

As a frequent traveler, I cannot state just how important it is to get yourself some travel insurance before you leave. One usually ignores the need for it, especially if one is young and healthy, but travel insurance is for so many other things than just getting ill. It is in essence your back up policy for pretty much anything going wrong on your trip and just by getting it you can ensure that you will have a good trip and will not have to worry about anything at all. Getting travel insurance is really very simple these days and if you travel often, then you can have it set up so that you can get it automatically each time you head out for business or leisure.

Consumers and retailers in the US enjoyed a profitable shopping weekend, with shoppers responding to aggressive marketing tactics by retailers in their hunt for sales. Retailers are however still worried that the strong Black Friday weekend sales might not guarantee good sales for the remainder of holiday season. According to ShopperTrak, sales on Friday totaled to $10.3 billion, an increase of 8.3% over Black Friday sales last year. ShopperTrak is the leading monitor of sales and traffic at US retail stores.

According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), the foremost retail association of the US, shoppers visiting stores rose by 4.8% over last years figures, however spending was down by 3.5% this year. Most years, the sales on Black Friday do not reflect the mood of the holiday shopper, so there is still time for sales to pick up further. The NRF forecasts that holiday sales will increase by 4% to an estimated $474.5 billion.

The main rush on Black Friday was due to aggressive price cutting tactics and special price promotions by retailers for that specific day. Today being Cyber Monday, retailers are switching their attention to special deals online, that people can access when they go back to work. The NRF estimates that 72% of online retailers will be offering special deals online, as compared to 42% in 2005.

Walmart.com is having special online deals not only for Cyber Monday but for the entire week. Usuallly, the busiest time for online shopping happens around three weeks before Christmas. According to Forester Research, online sales for the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas will increase by 21% to $33billion this year.

I downloaded Veoh and Joost this morning and am testing them out, trying to get to see some interesting videos and shows. So far, Veoh.com is by far the more user friendly of the two, in fact I can even see any video on Joost since it says I do not have a required driver installed, or some such thing. I downloaded and installed the VeohTV as well, which is like TiVo for the internet and lets you record a program and watch it at your convenience. I’m yet to use it, but it seems like a fun program to have for sure.

Some marketers are changing the way shoppers decide on purchases during the holiday season, with things like free gift wrapping, mobile phone chargers, free food and drinks, parking-spot reminders and a place for shoppers to rest and use the restrooms. All these tactics are geared to make shoppers think of their brand as preferable and make them want to come back for more shopping.

According to Dave Rich, senior vice president of strategic marketing at George P Johnson even agency, “This time of year, marketing is at its peak. It’s never louder than during the holiday shopping season.” Adding that these kind of services can break through the clutter because they are “the ultimate form of engagement: bringing the brand to life.”

Case in point, the Bank of America’s Gift on Fifth store that it opened on Fifth Avenue and provides a crafting area for kids, gift wrapping, hot chocolate, coffee, photos etc, so that consumers can sign up for a BankAmericard, which is a visa card and offers 1.25 reward points for every dollar spent on it.

Read more such innovative branding tactics that marketers have used this holiday season.

One of the the hot selling items this year have been bustiers, which although have been around for quite a while, are selling more now than before. The Christmas sales have started and the lingerie sector has been seeing a pretty decent sales forecast so far and hopes that it will continue on for the coming month as well. Overall, clothing and apparel have not been doing too well, with unseasonably warm weather cutting sales of jackets and coats rather drastically. Concerns over the economy, higher gas prices and uncertainty over the economic scenario has also led to consumers holding back on purchases that are not absolutely necessary.

Burger King could be starting a price war with its plans of a $1 double cheeseburger, which will be a challenge to McDonalds best selling item. According to the chief marketing officer for Burger King, “It is our belief that the dollar double cheeseburger is the most powerful weapon our competitor has to continue their growth and steal disproportionate share from the category.” Burger King is the country’s second largest burger chain and will be unveiling its $1 double cheeseburger in three US locations at the beginning of 2008.

At present a double cheeseburger costs more than $2, with prices very close to its flagship item the Whopper. While most Burger Kings have only the junior Whopper on their value menu, some franchises in the Los Angeles area have been charging 99cents for double cheeseburgers. According to Russ Klein, president for global marketing, strategy and innovation, “The fact remains that we are still at a double-digit disadvantage to McDonald’s and Wendy’s in ‘Best Value for the Money’ ratings.”

The one kind of vacation that we’ve never been on and are thinking of taking is one of the caribbean cruises that take you from island to island and you get to get off the boat and wander around on land and then go on to the next island. It sounds really nice to be able to not have to pack and repack for each new destination, and have an ever changing tableau for a week and not get bored at all. While I’ve always been against any kind of tour that forces you to a set routine, this sounds a bit more independent than a lot of cruises that I have read about. We like to be able to do as we please when we go on vacation and that’s why we’ve been resisting this kind of vacation, but it’s good to give everything a try at least once right? We think so too.

Retailers have found that it makes sense to leak their black friday ads themselves so that customers know what deals are available at the store. It is one of the best ways to get customers committed to buying something before they even walk into the store.

Several retailers just give their sale circulars to web sites that specialize in black Friday sales so that shoppers who decided to shop only based on price can get a head start. Some of the retailers who gave copies of their ads to sale sites include Home Depot, Pacific Sunwear, CompUSA and OshKosh B’Gosh.

This has been an interesting alliance since retailers and sale websites were once the number one enemy for each other, but this year with holiday sales expected to be the lowest in five years, both are coming up with new ways to shore up profits. The most popular of the black Friday sale sites is Bfads.net, which is the place for any retailer’s holiday circular to be to ensure customers coming in on Black Friday.

According to Michael Brim, founder of Bfads.net, the fact that retailers were reaching out to them this year was “definitely a change of pace from a few years ago when they all wanted to file lawsuits against us.” According to John D. Morris, senior retail analyst at Wachovia Securities, said that the fact that retailers were suddenly keen to to work with the sale sites “is so telling about this holiday season.”

With our busy schedule, even though one is part of a gym one doesn’t get the time to go there most of the time. My neighbor got a new machine, one of the ellipticals I believe, which is supposed to be a really good overall exercise. I haven’t used it so far, but I am quite keen on trying it out, so I can see if it would work out right for me. What would be a really good idea, is for everyone to contribute and set up a gym right here in our apartment complex, since we do have a spare room in the common area. That way, all of us could use a variety of equipment which would be available to us at any time of the day and night.

Today is the biggest day of holiday shopping. Black Friday has indeed arrived, and consumers are going all out to get the best deals possible, while retailers still remain quite worried and anxious over the outcome of the holiday season. Black Friday is the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and has been receiving greater attention than earlier times, thanks to the competitive nature of the industry. This year, retailers are seeing a tough situation, with fall sales declining due to the warmer weather and consumers not willing to spend large amounts of money due to concerns on the economy.