December 2003


   Happy Holidays!

Welcome to the December issue of the Wholesale Marketer Newsletter, the Marketer Monthly. We wish all our readers a prosperous, peaceful and joyous holiday season! We hope you find the articles informative and useful. If you ever have suggestions of what you would like to see in future issues of the Marketer Monthly, please let us know.

  • Holiday Sales Crunch - Trends and Tactics
    		•
       Results from the Atlas Institute's third-annual holiday shopping study, released this week, revealed that the online holiday shopping season peaks approximately 10 to 14 days before Christmas, compressing what has been a crucial season for online retailers. In its study, Atlas has also compiled some other interesting findings about past online holiday shopping behavior that small business merchants can use to gauge future trends:
    • Mondays were the most popular shopping days online, which is indicative of weekend offline shopping and weekday comparison and bargain online shopping.
    • The most active online shopping day last year was December 10 -- 47 percent higher than the average holiday shopping day.
    • Weekdays remain the most active for online shoppers during the holidays, peaking between noon and 3 p.m. EST.
    According to the Atlas Institute, the annual study aims to inform marketers of the upcoming online holiday shopping trends. Therefore, small business marketers can leverage these findings in a number of ways, including the following:
    • Focus marketing efforts on the first two weeks of the month; advertising dollars spent during the week of Dec. 8-12, will be the most efficient.
    • Tailor holiday online advertising messages to the at work audience, especially since weekdays remain the most active for online shoppers.
    • Emphasize ease and speed of shipping in messaging. Let shoppers know they still have time to shop, purchase and receive orders in time for Christmas.

    So, now that you know when shoppers will be burning up the fiber optic lines, credit cards in hand, it may help to know just how much money they'll be parting with, and what factors will motivate them to buy from your online store.

    According to Jupiter Research, it's going to be a busy holiday season, as shoppers will take to the Net, buying and spending more than they did in previous years. Jupiter expects 2003's online holiday sales to be led by new shoppers, resulting in a 21 percent increase over 2002.

    According to the firm's holiday shopping report, nearly 40 percent of surfers plan to do some or all of their holiday gift buying online, ringing up an average of $265 per person.

    The main motivation online shoppers cite is convenience, with a large percentage indicating that they shop when stores are closed. Others look to avoid holiday crowds or wrapping presents.

    Reasons Shoppers Cite for Buying Online
    Save time by not going to store 70%
    Can shop when stores are closed 69%
    Avoid the holiday crowds 68%
    Might be able to find better prices 59%
    Can find products online more easily 52%
    Find products not available in stores 50%
    Easier to compare prices 47%
    Have gifts sent directly to recipient 36%
    Can avoid wrapping gifts 13%
    Can earn loyalty points 13%
    Purchase from wish list 10%
    Source: Jupiter Research/IPSOS

  • Monthly Marketing Tip
    •    In the last two issues, our monthly marketing tip has emphasized helpful services such as the Free Alexa Toolbar and Andale's eBay Research tool. This month's tip is not a service, but helpful information that comes from an article by Beth Cox at www.ecommerce-guide.com. The article is titled "Eating an Elephant" and describes A/B testing. A/B testing is a method for making the best improvements to your advertising, your website, or the appearance of your auctions (though this isn't mentioned in the article, the principle can and should be adapted to auction selling as well).

    At Wholesale Marketer, A/B testing is an integral part of our marketing effort, and we consider the information contained in the article to be invaluable to any online marketer.

    Read the full article now...