Posts Tagged ‘ecommerce’

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Can Ecommerce and white elephant gift shopping combine?

“…the future will be owned by those companies that harness technology to the make the consumer shopping experience easy, efficient and fun.”

These are the words of Todd Hale, senior vice president, Consumer & Shopper Insights, as he reported on the Nielsen Retail 2015 forecast.

The future looks very bright for any consumer retailing that is tied to technology,  and even better when the shopping experience becomes personally engaging.

The big winners in the next 5-years will be mass Super-centers and the E-Commerce providers.  Other retail sales channels will lose share because of the growing success of these two sources of consumer product distribution.

We like the word FUN discussed by Mr. Hale, especially when it is associated with E-Commerce.

The ease of shopping and the purchasing efficiency of online retailing creates many leadership opportunities.  Now, all that is missing is some FUN at your local Amazon.com or Overstock.com site…

How about a game?

Engaging game activities will enhance the future fortunes of gift retailers.  Games equal fun… they always have!

But why target gift retailing as the source of FUN-based selling?  Because gift giving is associated with  personal engagement between people, and so are games.  Gifts are outward expressions of an inner commitment to make someone else happy and games are happiness generators.

The  E-Commerce gift store that finds a way to efficiently market white elephant gifts, with a tie to something fun and supportive, will be a big winner in the race for the consumer pocketbook in the future.

Then if you add in a white elephant exchange party game and a way to connect even the most distant friends, we will have a shopping experience like none other.

 

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

We are on the hunt for a technical partner or co-founder for the PartyWeDo network.  We have reached out to a few individuals that we have met during the AlbinoPhant development process. They have been very helpful in pointing us to several resources. 

We have also sought the advice of various internet based experts as we refine what we are offering. These experts suggest a well crafted Elevator Pitch as the basic introduction to our plans. We appreciate the suggestions from the guys at Venture Hacks, who have written much on this subject.

We also stumbled upon a post from Dave McClure on pitching the problem and not the solution.

I don’t use the language that Mr. McClure often chooses to make his points, but his post on problems makes a great deal of sense. 

Dave’s suggestion is that the “problem” that needs the clearest definition,  as opposed to a discussion concerning building a solution.

So… Dave McClure… Here is a problem:

You don’t live close to all the people that you love and want to share gifts with. This distance causes you to miss personal gift delivery opportunities. You feel guilty that you can’t be there to offer your support at birthday parties, weddings, baby births, graduations and holiday gatherings.   Sure, you know how to shop and ship, but UPS doesn’t deliver your love and personality with the package.  It is sad that you can’t be in several places at the same time, because you will miss some of the great parties that are planned by those you love.

You, me, and millions of other people face this same problem, because we live to far away to really show our love and support in person.

While I am thinking about problems Dave, here is another one…

Facebook, and other social platforms are very dependent on advertising as a business model.  This model really has nothing other than eye-ball volume to sell. These networks must rely on limited advertising budgets to fund their business; and there are many advertising choices.

NOW FOR SOLUTIONS:

1. Give distant friends and family the opportunity to join in the party and share their personality and presents from wherever they reside.
2. Partner with a vast number of eCommerce companies to sell the gifts for the party and earn commissions to fund a socially-center business.

Mr. McClure I would appreciate your thoughts on these problems.  (Oh yes, if you could recommend a technical co-founder I would appreciate the lead)

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Nivi and Naval produce a blog called Venture Hacks. They also advise start-ups and have written a book or two. Their advice has been very helpful and I appreciate their responsiveness whenever I have personally reached out for advice.

They posted a suggestion today that I have taken as a personal challenge. They want to know if our company has an aspirational vision for the future. Nivi and Naval illustrated this vision statement process in a “What we aren’t VS what we could be” format.

They gave the example of the Google vision: Google isn’t a search engine. They “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

Yes, AlbinoPhant the party game and PartyWeDo the online party developer have a vision… But until now I have not written it down for our readers to review.

I know that you have read our “Cause” in the past, but now we offer our VISION:

AlbinoPhant isn’t a social game, it is a gift distribution system for friends and families.

* A Gift Distribution System wrapped in a mimic of a traditional party game.
* A Gift Distribution System supported by eCommerce giants like Amazon.
* A Gift Distribution System designed for the distance separated gift shoppers.
* A Gift Distribution System positioned to support important life events among close family and friends.
* A Gift Distribution System hosted on the well connected Walls of Facebook.

While we are still in the process of putting all the technical pieces together to demonstrate traction for our party applications, we do see a day when family and friends will rely on us to pass out their gifts in a fun and social way.

I hope to get a bit of feedback on our VISION from our friends at Venture Hacks, and from you…

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Regular readers know that we are obsessed with understanding the U.S. gift giving market.

So you can imagine how excited we are to read that the National Retail Federation and BIGresearch have published the findings of the Easter Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.

U.S. consumers will spend over $14 billion on Easter this year, or just over $135.00 per consumer. The 25 to 34-year-olds will spend the most on this holiday at $151.41 each.

The shopping baskets will include food, decorations, candy, cards, clothing, flowers and gifts. But only Food and Clothing will bring in more sales than Gifts!

The average Easter consumer will dish out $21.42 for these gifts, or about 15% of the total spending. And each consumers with a young family indicated that they will spend about $22.71 on gifts alone.

Another statistic that we follow is the amount of gift purchases that are moving online. This research indicates that Easter online sales accounted for 13.1% of the total, just behind traditional specialty gift stores.

We understand that gift giving at Easter is not even the “big-dog” of gifting holidays, but it does demonstrate that gift sales for every holiday is a big business for US retailers…. Heck, even St. Patrick’s Day pulled in $3.44 billion in sales this year!

What also makes us excited is the fact that associated with each of these gift giving holidays are a huge number of family and friend gatherings designed to pass out the presents that have been purchased for the occasion.

Parties and gift giving are partners in making holiday events more social and supportive.

We are betting that many families will find ways to join in the social networks to share gifts during Easter and every other holiday on the calendar. How much are you going to spend this Easter?

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

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Time reporter Dan Fletcher recently tried to use Facebook as his florist, with mixed results.

He chronicled his adventure in a piece titled:
Gift Giving on Facebook Gets Real

This tongue in check portrayal illustrates the challenges that retailers will have as they attempt to move from virtual gift selling to the real deal on Facebook.

Dan attempted to use a Facebook application to purchase and deliver some actual roses to three women on his “gift list”.

In the end, only his mother would take the roses from him, and here is why…

Facebook is not designed to be a convenience store. If retailers are looking for another distribution channel like 7/11, they will fail in this space. Purchasing convenience is not what social networker’s need when they come to Facebook. They are there for something different.

Facebook is a friend and family gathering system with the potential of being a fabulous retailing format. It can be the perfect place for passing out real gifts to people who WANT to stay connected. But the key is not the convenience of the purchase; rather it is the simplification of the gift sharing process. Even then the sharing must be a part of the engaging conversation within the Facebook experience. Retailers who can facilitate the sharing of gifts within these walls will find the gift selling process simplified.

Facebook is more like a party than a convenience store. Retailers who can inject a fun atmosphere of a group activity within the gift giving process will fit the Facebook model perfectly.

Until Dan’s real flowers can join the Facebook party, they will wilt in the delivery box.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Americans find a way to enjoy the company of family and friends during the holidays. They share gifts and the go to parties to be with, and to support each other socially.

But is there any money to be made servicing the party goers? Do Americans spend their money to attend parties?

We and American Express agree that the money is there…

And if a research study by the American Express company is any indication, the party spending is very big.

The December American Express Spending & Saving Tracker 2009 reports that, “In addition to spending money on gifts, consumers also plan to spend money on parties related to Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve. More than to-thirds (69%)  plan to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, and 90% of them plan to make purchases related to festivities.

If this study is correct, then about 207,000,000 people will join in some sort of party with family and friends during the holidays. And further math would suggest that 186 million will spend money for something to bring to the party.

There is a lot of Partying going on! And a bunch of money is being spent as well….

Both brick and mortar and online e-tailers benefit from the sales to these festivity participants.  But the online merchants seem to be smiling the brightest this holiday season.  It is a fact that many retailers make or break their year based upon the sales results between Thanksgiving and New Years.  It appears that parties play a big role in fueling their sales.

This same tracking survey showed that 79% of consumers will use the internet as a tool for holiday shopping, with 45% planning to make a purchase online.

So,  it appears that without the party, the holidays may not be all that fun…  at least financially and socially.

The following is a list of popular parties from a Party Planner site.

All of these events pluck some money from the Party Money Tree…

• Anniversary party
• Bar/bat mitzvah
• Birthday party
• Bon voyage party
• Children’s party



• Cocktail party
• Dinner party
• Engagement party
• Family reunions
• First communion and confirmation party
• Fundraisers
• Graduation party
• Holiday party
• Open-house party
• Retirement party
• Social events for business
• Theme party
• Wedding showers

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Today marks the start of Hanukkah, a symbolic religious tradition for Jewish families around the world. A candle is lit each night for eight days; A present is shared every day, and they play traditional games.

Other faiths are preparing for the tradition of sharing gifts on each of the 12 days leading up to December. 25th.

Still more are shopping and wrapping presents in preparation for one of the largest single gift opening days of the year; Christmas day.

Gift giving in the holiday season has become a tradition for those with or without religious connection. It seems that retailers start this seasonal “rush to buy”,  earlier every year.  Many  use traditional party activities to distribute these gifts.

All based upon a Tradition of giving…

Even with the recent popularity of virtual gifts, the traditional gift is still a REAL one. The gift card, which has become extremely popular, even carries the promise of something real, rather than a silly image on a computer screen.

Gifts have become an important part of the traditions which support our family and friends during various life milestones or seasons. We take the gift selection, presentation and delivery very serious, because it is part of our traditions.

“Giving gifts to family and friends is a way to show our love for them. Our gifts don’t have to be lavish or expensive. In fact, the best gifts are often simple and inexpensive.” Suggests Writer and Editor Lillie Ammann.

Billions of dollars churn through the world economy as we both give and receive these real expressions of support. We are also aware that this spending is not limited to the final quarter of the year, as the gifting tradition includes many holidays, birthdays, weddings, baby births and more.

The tradition of opening, touching and experiencing a real gift can never be replaced by a virtual item from any social game. Nor will the virtual gift ever find its place within any popular traditions.

PartyWeDo is leading the movement to help social networks facilitate the tradition of sharing real gifts with family and friends. The online party blends a virtual connection for dispersed families, with the convenience of eCommerce and efficient shipping.

This fun gift sharing system will never completely replace the warmth and reward of presenting a gift in person, but it will allow some of the tradition to extend to those who can’t be home for the holidays.

May your season be bright and your hearts full of the tradition of giving…

Thanks to Refinery 29 for the image

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Black Friday is behind us and we are awaiting the numbers from the retailers. One thing that is certain, the online gift purchase is the “New Cool” in many households, and I think that I know why…

Sarah and I braved the crowds in one retailer yesterday for just two items. It was an experience that I can add to my been-there-done-that list! After a 3am start with the lines at the store and in the parking lot… I want to be one of the cool-kids who shop online.

That experience is why I agree with the Marketing Charts blog survey; that online gift shopping is cool.

The survey reports that “85% of web-shoppers say that the primary reason for shopping online is still time savings.” In fact, “last year was the first year that the web surpassed the store as the preferred way for multi-channel shoppers to purchase holiday gifts.”

As the gift purchasing public continues to shift toward the convenience and variety of the ecommerce world, the social networks will play a larger roll. Combining the “Cool” of the networks, like Facebook and Twitter with the trend of online shopping, should create great retail opportunities in the future.

The marketing study found that “social networking sites will influence shopping behavior for 37% of online shoppers vs. 24% last year.” These numbers would indicate that by adding the friend to friend influence of social networks and hot-links out to retailers, the cool-crowd of online shoppers will continue to expand.

As the trend toward online gift purchasing grows, so does the list of gift-selling facilitators. Entrepreneurs are building applications that allow social networking friends to influence others into the online buying experience. A growing group of links between Amazon, Facebook and PayPal are allowing developers to facilitate these purchasing interactions between friends.

The new mimics of traditional off-line activities like gift parties are providing ways for the network of friends to make shopping online even more fun.

So in 2009 the cool kids are moving the rest of us toward the convenience of online gift shopping. Combine this pressure, with the growing number of businesses that want to assist us to make the move, and 2010 looks hot for online gift sales.

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PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists