Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Black Friday vs Cyber Monday

It's that time of the year again. Grab your checkbooks, sleeping bags, and running shoes! Black Friday is rapidly approaching and the anticipated sales are expected to be the same or less than last years according to the NDP group. While one of the reasons behind this may be the recession mindset, another contributing factor is Cyber Monday.

What's that? I don't need my sleeping bag or running shoes? I can just sit at my computer and shop without being pushed and shoved? Amazing.

Finally shoppers are starting to holiday shop via Cyber Monday. According to a survey from Compete research: 43% of respondents plan to shop on Cyber Monday while only 37% plan to shop on Black Friday.

Cyber Monday brought in $887 million last year, while Black Friday brought in $595 million.

Many retailers have been promoting their holiday deals through their social media campaigns. A number of huge retailers are getting in on the action via twitter and facebook.

Last year many companies did giveaways and special deals and notified shoppers via twitter. According to Mashable these are some of the ones to watch this year:
@NeweggHotDeals
- @SearsDeals
- @AmazonDeals
- @ToysRUs
- @KmartDealsnNews
- @WalmartSpecials
- @StaplesTweets

Other shoppers are also sharing great finds they found. If you search for hashtags like #CyberMonday, #coupon, or #savings you can find some great deals. Even searching an item you want such as #flip video or #sony tv can bring up results and potential finds.

So set your alarm clock, fire up the computer, and get that mouse ready. It's almost here!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Target embraces LBSN

Target has now joined other major retailers by adopting Shopkick, a location based shopping application and rewards program. It is currently on the Iphone and is soon to be released for the Android, and will be testing in 242 of the Target stores located in Chicago, New York, San Fransisco, Minneapolis, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Miami.

Shopkick is simple for customers to use. Instead of having to checkin like you would have to on Gowalla or Foursquare, Kickbox automatically checks you in. All they have to do is have the application up on your phone and you will automatically receive "kickbucks" just for walking in. These kickbucks can then be used to redeem rewards. For example at Macy's it may result in a 15% discount off a purchase. Shopkick gives customers rewards for walking into a store, and also scanning barcodes in the store.

This is a great way for businesses to keep track of its customers and offer rewards to encourage return visits and further customers brand loyalty to the company.

Target is also taking it a step further and stepping up to be the first retailer to offer mobile coupons. Your phone will automatically receive these mobile coupons when on the kickbox application and entering a store.

Here is a short video about Kickbox:

Do you think more retailers will start taking advantage of Location Based Social Networking? It seems to be very beneficial to the businesses already using them.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Google SOARS!

It looks like this year Santa may decide to fly Virgin America, Air Tran, or Delta. Now he can get on his IPad via complimentary WiFi from Google and check off the naughty and nice kids on his "Santa's list" application. Maybe we'll all get our presents a day earlier!

Not sure what I'm talking about?

Google announced that for this holiday season it will be offering free Wi-Fi from Gogo on all domestic U.S. flights on Virgin America, Air Tran, and Delta. Passengers no longer have to decide whether they want to pay an additional $10 to get online.

Last year Google offered free Wi-Fi at dozens of airports across the U.S. and are now stepping up the antics. This free service will last from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

It appears to be a good incentive to these airlines. And these holiday gifts from Google will definitely help them to continue to dominate the market. Will this cause a lot of fliers to change airlines?

It isn't that expensive on some airlines. Southwest announced last week that it will offer Wi-Fi for only $5 no matter the length of the flight for the next two years in the 32 planes equipped with it. An according to MaximunPC less than 10% of passengers actually use Wi-Fi. Will this drastically increase the number of in-flight Wi-FI users? Maybe this increase will lead to new consumers entering the market after the promotion and increase demand.

But is saving $5-10 off your $200 airline ticket going to bring in the business for these airlines?

Well, we are Americans and Americans like free stuff. So I think, yea, it will! After all how many of us waited in line for 20-30 minutes to get a free piece of grilled chicken from KFC or a free milkshake from Chick-fil-a? They would both cost under $5.

Is it worth it to you??

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Amazon embraces facebook

Amazon has recently decided to start allowing its users to buy gift cards online on their website and deliver them to their friend via facebook. Customers can post the gift cards to their friends wall, just like if they were sending them a gift off one of the current facebook apps using their facebook credits.

However, by giving out these Amazon gift cards, people can actually buy REAL tangible items!! Not virtual goods, but real ones! I'm sorry, I guess I'm a little cynical. It's hard for me to understand why people waste money on virtual gifts like pictures of a gifts as opposed to actually buying a gift. Regardless, Amazon's strategy is a great idea.

By going to their website you can select the delivery method of your gift card. Either: traditional mail, email, print it from your computer or the new method of a facebook post!

In order to encourage facebookers to adopt it, Amazon is offering $5 gift cards to the first 100 people to send 5 of the MP3 themed gift cards to their facebook friends. It currently offers 11 different gift card designs. This will be a great option for those wanting to avoid the Christmas crowds, and for those last minute shoppers who forgot what month it was.

This is a great example of how companies (even online) are taking full advantage of the social networks and opportunities that lie within them. Overall I think this will be a huge success. I am already trying to decide who I will be sending them to for the Holidays! I mean what can't you buy on Amazon? Even the pickiest of shoppers can find something.

I know one of the reasons my mom doesn't buy online is because she doesn't want to input her credit card information. This is a great way for her to buy what she wants online, and Amazon is able to reach a whole new type of customer it was unable to before. Maybe they will even convince her online shopping is safe and she will be willing to submit her credit card info and make several more purchases on Amazon. I hope so. I'm tired of those itchy Christmas sweaters she gives me every year.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Social Media Maniacs Anonymous

So I came across this HILARIOUS video on mashable. I liked it so much I decided to use it for my blog this week. Check it out!

Obviously it isn't a real news story. It's just a parody, making fun of how dependent we have become on social media. However, it does bring up a good point. How much of your day is consumed by social media? Is it slowly taking over our lives?

I don't have a twitter, foursquare, gowalla, ning, or many of the other tools out there. I have it limited to facebook and this blog. However, I have noticed how time consuming they can still be. I honestly can't recall the last time I've gone a full 24 hours without checking my facebook. And sometimes I can get really involved in it. I remember last summer when I was first introduced to Farmville, that was a lost summer I will never get back. I can't even imagine how much time I would waste if I was doing the same on twitter, foursquare, and all the other available mediums.

The apps for phones and apple products are another addiction I am slowly developing. I recently bought a new ITouch and was glued to it the first week after I bought it. I had no idea how many apps were out there!

Well I found out how dependent I was on it today when classes were interrupted by a tornado siren and we were filtered to the first floor hallway. Thank goodness for those apps! I was able to check on weather updates on the Tornado and Severe thunderstorm warnings from the Weather Channel app, check on friends through facebook, and do research for my next class on my Safari web browser.

Although it can be a great tool in cases like that, facebook as well as my ITouch apps have taken a good amount of my study and homework time away. I've learned over the years and have gotten better. But I know there are students, and others, who are literally as addicted as the characters portrayed in the news parody.

Social media can be a great tool for businesses as well as consumers. It has changed the way we get news (who relies on the newspaper anymore?). It has changed the way we plan events (does anyone send out paper invitations for parties anymore?). It keeps us in touch with old friends and helps us make new ones. It has given us as consumers a whole lot more power.We are able to voice our opinions publicly to companies and are considered much more of a threat when we're dissatisfied.

So all in all, I think Social Media is a great thing! I just think we should start developing a social media maniacs anonymous group or something for those who can not handle its awesomeness.

What do you think? Have we become WAY too consumed with all of this social media madness or are we, collectively, using it as a superior resource and getting the most out of it??

And just in case anyone feels they are in need of therapy here is an article for you on how to cope:

Top 10 Tips to Get Rid of Your Social Media Addiction!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

TICKETS!! (The good kind)

On October 14 Web development firm Remsen Media announced in a press release the launch of the first ever social music ticketing network, Twck.it. It is similar to Kayak in the sense of its use as a search engine. Twck.it allows its users to search for, buy, and sell concert tickets to other users. Sounds a lot like StubHub doesn't it? Well, although it is similar there are differences.

Advantages
It's a search engine in a sense so it allows you to look in several places for your tickets. Twck.it allows its users to look for concert tickets from others users on sites such as StubHub, Twitter, Facebook, Craigstlist, and ebay as well as it's own Twck.it users. It is definitely a good thing right now, since there are very few Twck.it users right now (they did just launch a few days ago).

It also seems a little bit more credible than sites like Craigslist. Twck.it requires its users to have an existing facebook or twitter account in order to use its services. This is meant to weed out the spammers and ticket scalpers. It recommends that you link your postings to your facebook and twitter accounts. It also allows you to look at live reports of listing views and how people found them. It also allows for users to rate each other after buying tickets, similar to the systems used by Amazon.com and ebay.

"Getting tickets from legitimate sellers into the hands of legitimate buyers is our goal. The currently available online marketplaces don’t solve the problem, as sellers can remain mysterious, or are forced by necessity to raise prices due to bidding and sales commissions. In the end, it’s about getting concert goers to their events as seamlessly as possible.”

-Read Roberts, President and founder of Remsen Media.

The best part of all... IT'S FREE!! Well the services are, maybe not the tickets. It costs nothing to post, search for, or buy tickets. No fees of any kind. And you don't have to register on the site. Just log in with your facebook or twitter account!

Disadvantages
One BIG disadvantage I noticed is the fact that you can only buy concert tickets. They don't offer tickets for sports games, charity events, theater productions, or other popular events such as the Kentucky Derby. TicketMaster and StubHub do and it doesn't seem like it would be that much more difficult to add those categories to its repertoire. It may be trying to specialize by concentrating solely on music artists, but it is missing out on a big market by excluding sporting events and others.

Another problem is the layout of the site is very simplistic. It doesn't allow you to look for specific seats or sections like StubHub or TicketMaster do. It is just very simple. I don't know if there is another word for it. This does make it easy to navigate through but rather dull when utilizing it.

One MAJOR flaw they must fix immediately is their facebook filter results. I did a search for Lady Antebellum tickets and noticed that many of the numerous "sellers" weren't trying to sell any tickets. The majority of them were updating their facebook statuses regarding their plans to attend the concert. It seems like this could be quite frustrating if you were looking to buy tickets from people who weren't willing to sell them. And it would get very old if you were the Facebook user posting about the concert in your statuses and kept getting random messages from people trying to buy your tickets.

Twck.it does offer a warning in fine print above the search results:

"Please note, that we've tried to only show updates from fans selling tickets, but search results from Facebook may not be accurate and are not strictly for the Date & Location of your search."

And also for Twitter results:

"Please note, that we've tried to only show updates from fans selling tickets, but search results from Twitter may not be accurate and are not strictly for the Date & Location of your search. "

They may warn us, but if they don't fix this problem soon, they are going to have a much bigger problem in the future when more people are utilizing their site.

The layout of the site is very simplistic. It doesn't allow you to look for certain seats like StubHub or TicketMaster. It is just very simple. I don't know if there is another word for it. This does make it easy to navigate through but rather dull when utilizing it.

Is this as good a tool as many are predicting? Possibly. It has a great start, but in order to reach its full potential Twck.it needs to work out the kinks...soon.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Wal Mart on Facebook?

I personally don't like to shop at Wal Mart. I avoid it as much as possible. In fact the last time I shopped there was two months ago. Well, I broke the cycle and went yesterday to pick up something. After the self checkout lane printed my receipt, I noticed on the bottom of it a big advertisement ,"Find us on facebook." Really? I mean I guess it makes sense for the number one retailer in the world to have a facebook page, but I was just caught off guard. I've never seen any "find us on facebook" ads on any other receipts or flyers from big chain stores. Don't get me wrong I see them a lot in other places. Usually just small, locally owned businesses and groups on campus. Well, I decided to take Wal Mart up on their offer and "find them on facebook."

I'm not sure where they were as far as number of fans before their current promotions, but now they are currently at 1,735,541 fans. That is a pretty large number, but considering they are the biggest and baddest retail giant there is, I thought they should have a fan base to match. So I compared their page with other big chain retailers: Target, Kohl's, and Victoria's Secret Pink.

It turns out. Victoria's Secret Pink had the most with an astonishing 5.5 million fans, next came in Kohl's with 2.7 millions, and Target with 1.9 million. That leaves Wal Mart in last, but not that far behind Target.

So why is the big man on campus last? Considering its market share it should be number one on the leaderboard easy. There are two potential reasons I see.

Number one. I don't know many people, personally, who particularly like to shop at Wal Mart. They do it because it's convenient and cheap. It's crowded, noisy, can take forever to check out, and I can't remember the last time I saw a friendly face behind the counter (that's why I started using self check out). I wouldn't expect for there to be many "fans" of Wal Mart, based on all the complaints I hear from their customers.

Number two. It's facebook page is just a bunch of advertisements. I guess at least 1.7 million people like it, but there really is nothing special about it. One of the last few ads was

Walmart We love a simple grilled cheese and Campbell's Tomato soup on cool day. Try adding a jar of chunky salsa to liven up your soup.

Walmart.com: Campbell's: Tomato Soup, 26 Oz: Canned Goods & Soups

tinyurl.com

Shop Low Prices on: Campbell's: Tomato Soup, 26 Oz : Canned Goods & Soups

Well 1,173 people though it was an amazing idea. I guess Wal Mart has some loyal followers. Then there was:

Walmart Get in the Halloween mood tonight. Rent a scary movie and pick up a Marketside 12” pizza for $5 for movie night. What’s your favorite scary movie?

I don't find that all too fascinating but 484 others did.

If you look at Target's page, they are offering special deals and coupon codes to redeem online. The latest was,"

Target SAVINGS ALERT! 15% off furniture at Target.com - use coupon code EMFURN25. Offer good through 10/12. http://bit.ly/ac9NMD

Target Furniture- Living & Dining Room Furniture , Bedroom Furniture

bit.ly

Shop furniture at Target. Choose from a variety of chairs, upholstered chairs, desks, bookcases, dining sets, headboards. Receive free shipping on select items over $50.

They include updates on news stories, promotions, and contests, and has a lot more substance. Now let's look at Kohl's.

Kohl's has done an AMAZING job on its facebook page. The first comment I saw on its page was a negative one, and they had responded in less than 30 minutes to his comment. I scrolled down further and there was another from a woman complaining about spammers.

Gina McNulty Why doesn't Kohl's page admin Block these people wanting me to join their "hot society"..... ever see that word "HIDE" or how about a good ol "DELETE". Very annoying to those that are scoping out the deals at Kohls. Every post has one attached to it... watch after I post mine.... slick spammer. C'mon Kohls' giddy up, get on it.

They responded right away and offered her a discount as reparation from the looks of it. The best thing about their page was the personal approach. I felt like they really cared and valued feedback. They responded to just about everyone's comments on their page. Both good and bad.

Victoria's Secret PINK. The winner!! What do they do that's so great? Its focus seems to be news releases on goings on with the company. It does have several advertisements for special deals and promotions, but it offers several updates on what is going on with the company.

Victoria's Secret Pink Over 10,000 WVU students attended our Gold & Blue Bash with PINK model Chanel Iman and a live performance by Drake!

WVU Gold & Blue Bash

34 new photos

Victoria's Secret Pink Introducing PINK’s Style U: Game Day Style Spotter! See fashion from real girls on your campus. Join PINK Nation to add your favorite look to the mix at http://bit.ly/StyleU

Style U: Game Day Style Spotter

9 new photos

In order to get full use out of it's facebook page it needs to do something other than advertise soup and frozen pizza. Try showing everyone what Wal Mart is doing in local communities. How it is helping out. Start some fun contests, offer some special deals for facebook fans, show that you really care about customer service like you say you do. Come on Wal Mart, do something! Somebody poke it with a stick and see if it moves.