UPS delivers over 5 billion packages a year….FedEx adds a bit over a billion per year and the U.S. Postal Service employs almost as many people as WalMart, to deliver packages.

The actual number of packages moved by these parcel delivery giants and their smaller cousins is probably in the 6-Billion packages a year range.

Parcel delivery services have been the fastest-growing transportation segment in the United States over the past two decades. This market has more than doubled its share of the nation’s transportation budget since 1980 and now carries at least 10% of each day’s gross domestic product in the United States.

The package delivery business may be huge and growing, but it is still dull and unimaginative!

A recent paper distributed by the Association for Postal Commerce revealed that there are two main uses for package delivery in the US:

Business to Business and Business to Consumer.

From the APC study, we find that Business to Business (B2B) represents 83% of all Overnight Parcel Deliveries and 68% of all Ground Parcel Deliveries. It is OK for these deliveries to be dull, because efficient and speed trump emotion in this delivery category.

The Business to Consumer (B2C) numbers are a bit different, with Overnight at 17% and Ground at 32%. These packages move from a business that has a more consumer-centered mind-set. Emotion is the rule of the day in retail, and many of these deliveries were initiated by individuals to meet their personal needs, or as a gift for someone else. The B2C shipment involves people who are personally invested in a good delivery result. Good results are especially critical in the delivery of a gift.

To prove the personal emotional tie to the B2C delivery category… Just miss the delivery date of a customer’s gift for a grandson’s birthday, and then watch how the customer service line lights-up!

The B2C parcel delivery category represents what Amazon, Overstock or Target and WalMart do with their products when they ship. Before shipment, these retailers do everything possible to keep the customers engaged, so that they will return to purchase from them often.

So, if they are working very hard to keep each customer happily involved during most of the purchasing process, why do they allow the final part of the delivery process to be so uneventful? Answer: they haven’t thought imaginatively…

The solution to continued engagement during the shipping process is to provide memorable experiences ahead of the actual delivery at the doorstep. You know… Something fun between the time of purchase and the time that the UPS guy arrives.

EXAMPLE:
Let’s assume that Grandma purchased a Lego Batman set for her grandson, and that Amazon had a plan to keep everyone engaged beyond just the point of purchase.

Now let’s pretend that Amazon/Grandma sent a email note to the grandson, via his parents, suggesting that Batman was coming to visit his house very soon. Do you think that the grandson would become engaged in the process of delivery? Curiosity is a powerful emotion.

Then two days later, another email is sent to the parents, suggesting that they print off an attached note from “Batman” informing their son how special he is and how much his grandmother talks about him and loves him. The boy is engaged, the parents are participating, grandma is involved, and the delivery is anticipated. When the UPS guy arrives and the box is opened, all the memories of the experience flood in…

Imagine if Batman followed-up with a message a few days later saying: “I hope that you enjoy your new Lego set, Love Grandma and Batman”

Emotional ties and lasting memories among family and friends can be enhanced, even in a the middle of a process that is usually dull and unimaginative.

What would you do to make Business to Consumer parcel delivery more fun?

I got a tip from Itamar Kestenbaum, a social media expert, that Twitter was being used to send real gifts between users.

Mashable ran the story of five Twitter applications that provide ways to share real gifts through network connections.

As I looked over the report, I was struck with the very limited gift selections. We would hope that selections might increase over time, or maybe the author was just looking at a sampling of the gift offers and they really do have more items on the shelves.

To illustrate what I am saying, here are some of the quotes from the article, where a product was mentioned:

“Love Hearts and strawberry lip gloss the current most popular items…”
“…if you’re looking to send a Twitter contact a Whoopee cushion, or a badge that reads “boob inspector” then this is your new go-to place”.
“…with books and movies catering to any get-well soon scenario, flowers and food great for thank yous, and comedy tees”.
“…mostly cookies and a few geek-themed phone cases and jewelry”.
“…as well as some sexy underwear”.

As I examined these sites, I found them to be mostly a way around getting the delivery address directly from the user.

Whatever the case, we appreciate the trend toward actual gift commerce coming from social networks. We know that Facebook, Twitter and other networks can facilitate the sharing of real items and will eventually be the go-to locations for gift giving.

We are happy to be involved in the leading edge of this emerging market.

white elephant party hosting tips –

Amazon runs huge product warehouses. In fact, there are now 24 of these massive distribution centers world-wide, stocking everything from CDs to bicycle tires.

The online retailer moves 3-times as much product through these warehouses than it’s next closes competitor.

Over 40% of the products that move through the supply system are sold by merchants other than Amazon itself. There are over 1.3 million suppliers who provide the products that are for sale on Amazon.com and through these other merchants.

When consumers  rank the trusted technology companies for privacy, they usually put Amazon in the top 5.

In 2009 PartyWeDo was looking for an e-commerce partner for the gift party application, AlbinoPhant. The natural choice was Amazon.

Amazon works great for a gift merchandising application because of their massive selection and top-notch customer service.

The gift exchange system uses a level pricing system for each custom AlbinoPhant marketplace. Each host selects the level at which their invitees will spend for the gift and the AlbinoPhant software sorts through the Amazon Warehouse to display products in that pricing category.

PartyWeDo hired the Utah based e-commerce software firm Gyrofly, to build the special interface that would allow each party guest to pay one price and cover the cost of the gift, the shipping and the fun.

The resulting markets are filled with thousands of gifts that can be used to share in the fun of a Yankee Swap or White Elephant Gift Exchange.

When any gift is selected from one of the AlinoPhant markets, it is identified by a unique number. This number allows us to use the image of the gift during the game play period and also ship the correct item from the Amazon warehouse to the correct players doorstep.

This system allows the virtual world of the internet to marry seamlessly with the real world of gift shopping and delivery.

All of these marvelous technologies and efficient shipping systems allow family and friends to purchase gifts, share them online and then receive a present at their home.

Thank you Amazon, for joining the party!

Gary Hayes has created this dynamic chart that demonstrates the real-time growth in social media. Pay attention to the ratio of virtual product sales and the REAL gift sales on Facebook. Then ask yourself 2 questions…

1. Is there room for growth in selling real gifts in social media?
2. Who is moving the real gift sales in social media forward, besides Facebook?

We watched the chart for 60 seconds and determined that over $10,000 was spent on virtual goods in the same time that less than $140 was spent on real gifts in Facebook.

We realize that this is an apples to pears comparison, because virtual goods encompasses all social media channels and Facebook gifts only measures a portion of a small service on one social network. And the chart does not track all of the real products sold by affiliate links from social sites. But it does show an opportunity for growth, especially when you consider that social media is a virtual mimic of real human interaction and that virtual purchasing mimics real-life  purchases.

Here is the thing you might want to consider… If people gather together in these internet social spaces and spend money on virtual things for each other, why wouldn’t they do the same thing for real gifts?

Think about this comparison:

Let’s assume that you sell me a virtual gift at $1 dollar, as a birthday wish for cousin Earl…
The result: You, Earl and I are all somewhat happy with this small gesture.

Now assume that you could sell me a $25 real gift at a 12.5% profit.
The result: Earl gets something real that he can enjoy beyond his computer screen.  I get the satisfaction that comes with providing some true support to Earl.  And you get $3.12 for facilitating the gift-giving.

Now all we need to do is find a fun way to pass out the real gifts in the social networks…. Any ideas?

The white elephant party is called AlbinoPhant, and the Christensen’s have been testing this online game with their grown children for the past 3-years.

“When our youngest got married and left the nest, we started sharing our gifts through playing this game, and we loved the party atmosphere and fun conversations this allowed us” stated Sarah, the mother of five and grand mother of seven.

The AlbinoPhant party is a mimic of the traditional White Elephant gift swaps that are common among social groups during the holidays. The Facebook game provides real shopping markets from Amazon for selecting and purchasing a gift for the event. Players virtually wrap the image of the selected gift and then the party is ready to start.

“The game is just like the real party in many ways. The gifts are opened on the web page, there is gift stealing among the players and all the fun conversation that a group shares in a standard party”, explained Bruce Christensen.

Like a regular gift exchange, the AlbinoPhant party selects players at random to open gifts and then displays them on a common playing page. There is a comment box which allows players to share banter and poke fun at each other during the activity. There is the option to add YouTube videos and other images into the conversation. All of this is accessed by individuals as they play on their computers, from anywhere in the country.

Sarah continued, “Our family is scattered from New Hampshire to California, so this online party saves all of us the travel cost to attend family events, while still allowing real fun and personal connection with each other”.

The AlbinoPhant party is a Facebook application and takes full advantage of the social networking tools available. The host uses Facebook’s network to send the invitations and then the Facebook sharing system allows party conversations to spill out onto the web.

“We built the application to be as close to the traditional party as possible, so that families and friends would feel comfortable with the game. We use trusted brands, like Amazon and PayPal, and when the party is completed gifts are delivered using standard shipping companies”, added Bruce

This online party is a real gift exchange, so players use ecommerce to purchase the presents for the party. Then after the party is finished, these real gifts are sent out to each player’s doorstep. This party breaks new ground for Facebook, where virtual gifts have been the norm, and adds a new partnership between online retailers and social networks.
AlbinoPhant is now available thru the internet for family and friends to share gifts, steal gifts and banter together just like they have done for years, and McMinnville is this white elephant’s delivery room.

The Facebook application link is: http://apps.facebook.com/albinophant/

Albinophant is a mimic of the traditional Yankee Swap or White Elephant parties used in social circles in the US and Canada. With this online version, players purchase real gifts, share them, steal gifts from one another, and then the present for each individual is shipped to their door by conventional methods.

The party is hosted on Facebook so friends can easily join and invite others into the gift exchange within the social network platform. Each player uses custom ecommerce markets to shop for a gift, then they virtually wrap their present in preparation for the party to begin.

There is a common game play page in the AlbinoPhant application that acts as the virtual living room where all players gather for the fun. The game play page has a comment area where players banter, share videos and images, all while opening and stealing presents from each other.

The application is remarkably similar to the actions that millions are familiar with in the traditional White Elephant exchanges. But there are extra enhancements that are not possible with the regular event. Players can actually share a part of the party experience on Facebook, with friends not in the party, which expands the fun. In addition, posting YouTube videos in the party allows players to embellish their comments to other players. There is also a gift rating system and player awards built into the actions of the online party.

Hosting a party is simply a matter of joining the application, selecting a time to start and then scouring Facebook for those you want to invite. Explaining the rules is easy and the game allows players from any part of the US to join and share in the fun.

This year the Elephant in the Room has become active and is a party animal on Facebook. So invite your family and friends to join in an online fun party this holiday season.

So it seems a group of bloggers gather in a bar to socialize and share in a white elephant gift exchange. And they organize and promote the party online. This is a trend that we see developing as a result of great web communication tools.

This group also gathers to make predictions for the future, while watching a football game and discussing politics. It seems like an eclectic combination of activities, but it seems to work for them.

So in the spirit of the Real Debate party… I predict that online social parties will trend upward in 2010, as people learn that combining social web tools with personal gift giving will work on the internet. Further, I see a day when activities to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations and all holidays will find their way into the social networks like Facebook…

We will eventually celebrate using online parties when our team wins a divisional title and the Super Bowl… We will join a party online, when our political candidate gets the vote, and to just play an online white elephant gift party. The future is bright for online parties…. That is what I predict!

Painted toe-nail camo...

HOW DO YOU HIDE AN ELEPHANT?

We can thank the artist who are members of Worth1000 for this great piece of creativity…

Our online white elephant gift party is grateful to pochiex2 for allowing us to include this great image!

Great Stocking Story

Some good ideas and great causes come from a loss or tragedy. I learned of a wonderful way to use the gift exchange concept to share with children this season.

Julia Chambers, crochet artisan and the author of several blogs, including “The difference between a duck”, shared a stocking stuffer gift exchange that has its genesis in a personal loss. Some family friends were tragically killed in an accident near Christmas.

She and her daughter decided to gather small gifts for children and wrap them for a gift swap, as a way of healing the wounds of the community. They started a stocking stuffer swap for kids in their area.

“The gifts were meant to carry on the spirit of gratitude to our community, both givers and receivers.  To bless friends and neighbors…” Julia Chambers

All ages appreciate a great party, and a White Elephant / Yankee Swap party is a great way to be social in a group. I would caution that small children may have trouble grasping the “stealing” component of the white elephant style of gift exchange, so an alternative might be better.

I would recommend for the child-version, that you stick to just a simple exchange of wrapped gifts.  Make sure that you mark boy or girl gifts and share them appropriately. This is the style that Julia and her daughter have chosen and it seems to be working well for them.

Every challenge in life can be turned into an opportunity, with a little creativity and some care. The stocking stuffer exchange sprung from a challenge, but with thought and charity it shows others what it means to truly care.

Have a great holiday season of sharing.

Thanks to Turn Back to God for image