Posts Tagged ‘online parties’

Share

Why do we need an online gift distribution system?

There a millions of people on social networks who are connected ether by strong friendships or genealogy. These relationships often result in gift giving opportunities several times during the year. The gifting process works well when using traditional distribution methods.

But this process has been a bit of a problem for social sites like Facebook, so they have attempted to replicate gift giving using virtual gifts. These “Un-Gifts” don’t have the same value as something that is real, so there is not much real support provided with these virtual items.

Families and friends give gifts during birthdays, weddings, baby births, holidays and more as a means of support.

These actual gifts for important life events have traditionally been handled outside of any online social network, so we need new applications developed to pass out the real gifts on Facebook.

Gift distribution is very important all year long…

We are now in the graduation season and Americans will spend an average of $88.01 on gifts for about two students this year. According to the National Retail Federation, total spending on graduation gifts is expected to reach $3.9 billion in 2010.

Distribution of these gifts is usually accomplished through one of three methods:

Personal; where the gift is handed directly to the recipient.

In a Party; where gifts are shared and opened as a group.

Shipped; where the gift is sent through the mail or via UPS.

This slide presentation will explain how one company is preparing to help us pass out the gifts on Facebook, for any occasion.

———————————————————-

PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Share

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?

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

———————————————————-

PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Share

PayPal and Facebook have signed an agreement to work together on a payment system.

We think that this recently announced partnership is a great idea!

This combination of heavy hitters will work, and we have proven it with our party, for the past several months. This action represents a validation that we are on the right track, and have some forward vision that we hope others eventually will recognize.

AlbinoPhant has been using PayPal integration with its Facebook application since the release of our test white elephant game in December. The online Yankee Swap format uses PayPal so that friends and family can purchase gifts through Amazon and have them delivered to everyone’s door…

Yes, we are also combining Amazon with Facebook and PayPal… (and UPS for delivery!)

Not many people realize that we even exist, but I guess this news demonstrates that some of our ideas are on the cutting edge…

Thanks for the validation you two!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

———————————————————-

PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

There are studies that suggest that older Americans, 55-plus, are less reliant on social networks than most demographic groups. This seems to fly in the face of recent reports that Facebook is rapidly expanding its 50-plus user rolls.

Baby boomers are joining the social networks, but are they being social? There are some indications that they only join for specific reasons, and they don’t participate like younger demographics. Does this mean that social networks fail the Boomer?

No, it just means that Boomers need the networks for different reasons, and they may not have been invited to the right party just yet.

This age group sees Facebook and Skype as tools and not entertainment.. And if the tool doesn’t connect them generationally and historically it is the wrong party.

Generational, in that they want connection to their parents, children and grandchildren. And historically so that they can reach out to people from their past and get “caught up”.

Penny Ireland’s family is so scattered around the world, that Facebook has become the family’s No. 1 way to communicate.

Margaret Brooks, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, joined the site because there was no other place for her to see her grandson’s artwork.

Sarah and I relate to both Penny’s and Margaret’s needs.  We have raised our family, but don’t want to miss out on the great things that are happening in their lives, right now. Boomers want to be able to continue to provide support, even when distance works against their efforts. Facebook provides a place to use the social networking tools in an efficient and pointed way.

Facebook has been growing particularly rapidly amongst people over 45 in the US, with growth of over 165% amongst both men and women 45-54.

And all of these Boomers are beginning to become Seniors Citizens, reaching sixty years old. As the social networks build the tools that older Americans need, they will be inviting even more people into the party. And reaching the Boomers today, with the right social components, will deliver marketers with a well trained, well financed group of customers for many years to come.

Cynthia Edwards, posted the following in an email marketing blog;  “Seniors are a rapidly growing segment in our society, and one of great potential value to marketers. According to the US Census Bureau, in the next five years alone, the population of those over 65 will increase by 40%, from 36.8 million to 51.7 million.  In the U.S., that could add up to 88.5 million people over 65, comprising 20% of the population”.

Facebook does have more active users in the younger demographics, but some of the tools that are associated with this network giant are the perfect fit for the boomers and seniors of tomorrow.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

———————————————————-

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

———————————————————-

PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists

Party hosting is not for the weak or timid. Successful parties are the result of the extraordinary efforts of a committed host.

For any event to succeed, someone steps up and takes on the responsibility to lead. It is amazing that millions of parties actually happen every month, when we measure the effort it takes.

We appreciate the efforts of the host…

There must be a compelling reason that drives a host to be a host. The fact is, the rewards of completing a successful party must outweigh the work, or parties would never happen. The recognition and gratitude of guests push a host to invest their time and resources.

In the end, we are all grateful to our host for putting out the effort on our behalf.

Parties require many tasks that are not visible to the attendees, but yet are on the checklist of any host.

• Guests see the invitation, but the tasks of collecting of the addresses, designing and printing the cards are invisible. The labeling, the sealing of envelopes, the stamp placement and the delivery to the post office are all completed behind the scenes.

• A guest enjoys the venue and decorations, but misses seeing the reservation process, the running of the streamers and the clean-up of the room.

• The cake and the drinks are enjoyed openly, but bakery visits and the punchbowl filling are hidden from view.

Even with this large checklist, a host moves through these tasks knowing that the finished result will reward them with social capital, or just a sense of accomplishment.

We salute the host and pay tribute to the extra effort it takes to provide the party for us.

At PartyWeDo, we stand ready to assist a host in providing a fun party atmosphere, when they decide to host a party online. We are building applications that will expand the opportunities for hosts and hopefully make their job a bit easier. We want family and friends to find a way to make a party work for them, even when distance stops personal attendance. There is no reason that parties cannot be hosted from any computer in any local.

The advancements in internet tools, partnering with committed and willing hosts, will move parties into a new dimension, and we are happy to assist in the process…

———————————————————-

PartyWeDo
The AlbinoPhant Creators
Your Party 2.0 Specialists