'Net Features : e-tail

Holiday Hosting Discounts From Codero

Michael Garrity — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:00:00 GMT

For many merchants, the influx of online shoppers that e-commerce sites see during the holiday season brings with it a need for more bandwidth. That is why hosting service Codero is offering special hosting discounts just in time for the inevitable increase in customer demands.

In an apparent effort to fall into the line of thinking that "Christmas season comes sooner every year," many retailers are expected to start their big holiday promotions as early as October (which is two weeks away, for those of you keeping track at home). This means that the time for e-tailers to increase the usability of their website is now, if they expect to compete with other online stores this holiday season.

With many predicting that a major portion of holiday retail shopping will be done online this year, ensuring that your website is functional and competitive is important. Codero seems to realize this, and has thus decided to offer its own holiday special.

"Before Cyber Monday arrives and the busy Christmas season, we've made it easier to shop Codero.com and launched valuable discounts," says Shelby Garlock, Codero's Director of Marketing. "The September specials are a way to help our customers be more visible to their won customers during the holiday season and assist those who are working on projects for the upcoming season. This is a great way to get quality servers that fit your IT needs at a discounted price that fits your budget."

Their discounts are based on some of the latest processor technology, namely the Second Generation Core i7 and Core i5, which are both bolstered with Intel Turbo Boost Technology to provide increased performance on demand.

Codero's servers also come with 12 TB of bandwidth in order to avoid having to charge overage fees to small businesses and e-tailers. Those familiar with the pitfalls of hosting a smaller e-tail site can tell you that without enough supporting bandwidth, they often face these charges when they are hit with increased traffic.

In addition to the discount, Codero has also enhanced their website to make it more e-commerce-friendly through updated navigation and purchasing designs.

Top 10 Reasons Consumers Will Shop Online

Mike Phillips — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:26:00 GMT

In a recent Shop.org eHoliday '09 survey, consumers were asked to give their top 10 reasons they would shop online this holiday season rather than head to brick-and-mortar stores. Many of the responses are expected, but a few stand out as good opportunities - and potential pitfalls - for online retailers. First, have a look at the top 10:

24-hour shopping convenience
Ability to compare prices
Free shipping offers
Convenience
Not wanting to fight crowds
Ease of finding wanted items
Variety
E-mail promotions
Not having to pay sales tax
Wanting to avoid checkout line

Reasons like convenience, price comparisons and not wanting to fight crowds are expected. A little unexpected is #8, e-mail promotions. This is a great opportunity for online retailers to grow their e-mail subscriber list for this holiday season and beyond. Of course, only those e-mail campaigns that provide real value to the consumer will be successful - be it e-mailed coupons, discount codes or special (and meaningful) product announcements.

Free shipping is high on the list, at #3. This is unsurprising and, for online retailers, almost expected at this point. However, when asked about return shipping, more than half of respondents stated that free shipping for returns is "very important" to them. This is an area where merchants can offer value over their competitors. According to Shop.org, Davis Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh believe that offering free return shipping "removes many of the fears, uncertainties and doubts of online shopping."

Finally, note #6 from the survey - ease of finding wanted items - bears watching. Make sure your site's search function is easy to locate and functions properly. Consumers expect online shopping to be fast and accurate when they are searching for what they want. Make it cumbersome and they will find another website to shop.

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2009 Holiday Shopping Trends: Consumers to Buy Early, Buy Less

Mike Phillips — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:07:00 GMT

Performics, a performance marketing solution provider, has released details of a September 2009 consumer survey, “2009 Online Buyer Economic Trends Study.” The results are not shocking - of those surveyed, 29 percent will be shopping earlier than they did last year, and 60 percent plan to spend less. But a look into the details of the study reveal some interesting insights for retailers and marketers.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents who said they will spend less report buying fewer items, not necessarily spending less per item.
Two-thirds will not be buying gifts for some people who they bought for last year.
Of those who won't be getting holiday cheer, friends, co-workers and extended family top the list.

There are also significant differences by gender in this year's expected holiday shopping trends.

35 percent of women will start shopping earlier, compared to 19 percent of men.
A full 66 percent of women will spend less, compared to just 48 percent of men.

For retailers, this is a strong reminder to start holiday promotions ASAP. It does not suggest, however, that retailers need to slash prices. While fewer items may be purchased, there is no indication that big-ticket items will fall out of favor. Performics also reported on a recent projection by the National Retail Federation, who says that overall holiday sales will fall one percent this year - an improvement over last year's 3.4 percent drop.

Yet another study by NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, shows a less grim picture than the Performics data. NPD's study shows that only 30 percent of shoppers plan to spend less this holiday. Also encouraging is that there is no change in the top five categories for consumer holiday spending. They are:

Apparel - 49%
Toys - 34%
Movies - 29%
Books and Electronics - 28%
Peripherals, Digital & Video Cameras, MP3 Players - 24%

And from those categories, books and electronics; and peripherals, digital & video cameras, MP3 players are the only ones that saw an increase over 2008.

The bad news from all of this is that consumers are undoubtedly planning to spend less this year. The good news? Consumers are still ready to spend money on popular online retail items. And even if they buy fewer items, they are not necessarily going to spend less per item.

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