Click on the image below to see Santa trying to get down the chimney
. He could be struggling this Christmas for many reasons. While Search Referrals are Skyrocketing For Shopping-Referral Sites online, Consumer Reports WebWatch said: "one-fourth of adult Internet users have stopped buying things online out of fear of identity theft. In its survey of 1,501 users, WebWatch also found that 30% say they’ve reduced their use of the Internet in general to combat identity theft."
This post came to mind while doing my post on "WebmasterWorld PubCon Las Vegas 2005 Review". The session that concentrated on e-commerce tracking was "Tracking, Logging, and Conversion Rate Measurement". However, tracking may be disappointing to some retailers this Christmas due to another reason Santa has to struggle to get down the chimney: "CNN/Money says "holiday return policies are becoming even more tricky and nasty." This is elaborated in "Herb Weisbaum: Store Return Policy Tips". Wait, the best is yet to come.
While most people are trying to get the best value for their money by buying quality brand name products at the lowest possible prices available, some sellers like Office Depot are trying to stop, and or, punish entrepreneurs that have started web sites that "leak" upcoming sales for many retailers. This recent NY Times article entitled "Shop-Till-You-Drop Specials, Revealed Here First" tells of how the growing "Information Age" is changing retailing.
Michael Brim was the focus of that NY Times article, and the details of how: "Office Depot sent a lawyer letter late last week demanding he take down their name, sale items, etc. claiming copyright infringement, etc. (A week or two earlier, Sears and Kmart made similar demands.) Dissatisfied with Michael's comments and actions after getting the letter, Office Depot has sent a second letter further threatening Michael." with a link to the actual legal documents are at a post on "Consumer World Blog by MrConsumer".
I agree with "MrConsumer", Edgar Dworsky, when he says "Hey, retailers, wake up. BFADS.com and BlackFriday.GottaDeal.com are giving you the BEST publicity one could ever ask for: free promotion of your sales to an audience of millions of eager shoppers. These sites create BUZZ about your products and prices -- and buzz marketing is one of the hottest methods currently being used by savvy companies to promote themselves. You should be thanking Michael, rather than threatening legal action." So, Santa may be struggling the most due to a backlash of consumers against the stores that try to not live in ,or maximize the marketing potential of, the "Information Age". What do you think?
Animated image courtesy of www.artie.com.
Comments