Archive for July, 2008

Gas Prices Boosting Ecommerce?

Published by brian on July 25, 2008 in retail. 1 Comment

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Gas is expensive, Brett Favre didn’t want to retire, & working on Fridays in the summer is lame.  None of this should be new to anyone with electricity.

What I find new & interesting is this latest eMarketer article which talks about high gas prices possibly boosting ecommerce sales.  It makes sense, on the surface; people don’t want to drive so they buy what they want online.  Although, if you ask most retail clients in the industry right now, sales are down.  Cut budget, get a better return on investment, and drive more sales.  Can we get more for less?  Please turn that magical dial on our paid search campaigns…I can continue to get a 10:1 return on my marketing spend if I dump a million more dollars into Google, right?

Sorry, mini-rant.

If gas prices are boosting ecommerce, is this something that is sustainable?  Sure, in the short run, higher gas prices may keep people from driving to the store.  But, how do those products get delivered?  Trucks & airplanes are the most common mode of transportation for FedEx, DHL, UPS, etc.  Last time I checked, those vehicles use gas. 

 So my question is, will this increased cost in gas negatively affect shipping companies & will they, in turn, pass this cost onto online retailers?  If they do, does that cost get passed along to the customer?  Granted, the customer will probably have no idea…but it’s something worth thinking about.  Everyone LOVES free shipping; ask anyone which of their promos consistently works the best & they will tell you it’s FREE SHIPPING.  Will online retailers be more reluctant to offer free shipping if they are losing too much money on it?

Ps. eMarketer…can we get on board with the 21st century & remove the hyphen from ecommerce?  No one calls email e-mail anymore unless they’re from a third-world country or come from the direct response or retail catalog industry.


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Rittenhouse Square - Looking for More Non-vagrants

Published by brian on July 23, 2008 in social media. 2 Comments

If you live in the Philadelphia area & are active on Twitter, you may have recently received an email telling you that @rittenhouse is now following you.  While it is fairly obvious what @rittenhouse would be referring to, there is a good chance you were not quite sure what you would find.  Further extending their reach into the Social Media space, they have also created a Facebook page that allows members to become a fan. 

For those of you not familiar with Philadelphia, Rittenhouse Square is a small park in center city Philadelphia with plenty of open space, trees, park benches, a few statues & the obligatory floral landscaping.  It is a popular destination that offers a lot of versatility.  Parents with children, artists, musicians, couples, groups of friends, the daily lunch crowd, people watchers; pretty much anything you would expect traverses through the park each day. 

The underlying beauty is in the history.  The peripheral beauty, literally, is the immediate, surrounding area; fashionable & trendy shops, top-notch restaurants, bars, clubs, even a five-star hotel.  Well known to those who frequent Rittenhouse Square, you will also find your fair share of homeless people. 

So why the sudden foray into the Social Media space?  My guess is that more people who are looking for a place to relax &/or spend money need to come visit;  @rittenhouse is lonely & misses you.  I love Rittenhouse Square, but admittedly am not there enough.  Sure, life happens & you spend your weekends in Avalon; but if I feel I could be in & around the Square more often, there are definitely plenty of others who should as well. 

Did I mention they’re also creating buzz around an upcoming potluck picnic?  Seriously.  What a great way to bring attention to something different that could build a physical & interactive community.  Initially the interaction starts online, is strengthened in the real world, & then can continue both online & off afterwards.  Should you be looking for a great example of Social Media integration (& something that embodies the real value of it), you’d be well advised to observe what @rittenhouse is doing.


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Live Blogging - FriendFeed Registration

Published by brian on July 9, 2008 in social media. 2 Comments

From the buzz I hear & read on a daily basis, having a FriendFeed account is a must. 

  • First Impression: Simple & clean.  As you will read immediately below, creating an account is done in two steps & doesn’t require a lot of time or hassle.

  • Registration Process: Creating your account name is quick & easy; it should take you less than a minute.  The next step lets you find people you know through Facebook or your existing email accounts.  The Facebook application did not work after a few attempts, but finding people through my Gmail & Yahoo mail accounts was simple.  Unsurprising to me; I can only find two people I know, but luckily, before completing the registration process I am taken to a screen of popular friend’s friends.  Subscribing to their feeds is done with the click of a button.  Nine appear at a time & new subscription recommendations auto fill each time a new one is added.  Once you are done with all of this, you are taken to your friends page & can begin seeing what they publish or add your own.

    • friendfeed-create-account

     

friendfeed-find-friends

 

  • What It Is: An aggregator for just about every social media account you manage online.  Currently there are 41 services you can add to your FriendFeed.  There are four main tabs - friends, rooms, me, & everyone.  Friends shows you all subscription updates with the most recent displaying at the top of the page.  You can join or create your own discussion room; a great way for niche topics, interests, etc. to become more in-depth conversations.  Your me tab removes everything but your updates.  In the everyone tab, you see just that; everyone’s updates.

 

  • Potential: If you are ahead of the game & you frequently update things like your blog Twitter, Flickr, Del.icio.us, & StumbleUpon & have a healthy FriendFeed subscription list your ability to reach many increases.  It is a great way to engage & share your content with others while pulling the same type of content from your friend’s feeds.

 

  • Why You Should Join: Once you sign up for FriendFeed & realize the connection potential, you will instantly realize the value of this service.   Many of us spend a lot of time updating others about the various types of content we post; problem is we are usually wary of spamming our friends.  However, if someone finds you compelling enough to subscribe to your feed, chances are they will want to participate in many of the things you wish to share.

 

  • Why You Should Avoid: I honestly cannot think of one.  Yes, FriendFeed could be a little prettier in presentation.  BUT like RSS, you can easily keep yourself up to date with content you find interesting or valuable.

 


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