What will the Holiday Season be like for Online Retailers?

More than half of online retailers (56.1%) expect their holiday sales to increase at least 15% over last year - although last year's survey had found that three-fourths (77.5%) expected their sales to grow more than 15%.



Overall results show that “Retailers will be heavily promotional to attract shoppers on a budget, but have also invested in new site features to improve the online buying experience," according to executive director of Shop.org - retailers will suffer from the economic slowdown but nevertheless they are believed to be resilient.

What are retailers doing to manage the economic slowdown this holiday season? What online strategies will be applicable this year?

1. Majority of retailers (78%) plan to offer free shipping with conditions* at some point during the holiday season, consistent with last year’s levels.
2. Compensating for increased shipping costs by renegotiating terms with shipping providers (40.4%), closely managing company headcount (33.3%), and reducing other promotions (15.8%).
3. One-fifth (21.3%) of retailers will require a higher purchase amount for customers to be eligible for free shipping, and one in ten (10.6%) will cut back on usage of free shipping with no conditions.
4. 42.9% of retailers added or improved their website since last holiday season, to help customers navigate sites more easily.
5. Websites now provide product video (42.6%) and customer reviews (32.7%) can give shoppers more information to make buying decisions.
6. Website enhancements in clearance-sale pages (27.1%) and featured-sale pages (31.3%).
7. Nearly one-fourth (25.0%) of online retailers added a Facebook page this year

What are buyer behaviors (consumer patterns) this holiday season?

1. Consumers acknowledge that 24-hour shopping convenience is one of the main reasons they choose to buy online (58.6% this year vs. 58.5% last year).
2. Shoppers’ other top reasons for buying online instead of in stores include not wanting to fight crowds (41.1%), easy price comparisons (36.4%), and free shipping (33.3%).
3. Nearly one in four shoppers (23.1%) says they are spending more online due to high gas prices, more than double the number which said the same last year (9.0%).
4. One in five shoppers (20.1%) say they simply have less money to spend this year for the holidays, while 10.6% cited a poor economy as a factor.
5. One in ten (11.0%) plans to spend less online this year due to high shipping charges.

Findings shown here are from the eHoliday Study conducted by BizRate Research, a Shopzilla company, for Shop.org, surveyed 2,040 online buyers (defined as anyone who has made an online purchase in the last 12 months) from September 29 to October 3, 2008, as well as 60 online retailers from October 1-20, 2008.

Top 10 Project Management Tips by Smartdraw.com

Here's an article I got from SmartDraw.com. It essentially revolves around project management. It includes categories like planning and research, documentation, training as well as implementation. I think they know their stuff. It shows with SmartDraw's helpful list, created by project management specialists, is designed to help business professionals get their projects off to a quick and successful start.

1. Planning List. When beginning a new project, make a list of all departments within your organization and what you may need from them. This will give you a step-by-step checklist of how to begin nailing down the specifics of your project plan.
2. Know Your Enemies. Prepare a list of the possible risks to the successful completion of the project plan. Have a meeting and get input from others on what potential risks might be. Risks are the enemy, so know them and keep them close.
3. Documentation. Document all aspects of a requested change to a project plan (no matter how small), including who is requesting the change and where it falls as a priority. If it changes other priorities, write a detailed explanation of the change itself, and note who is authorizing the change. This not only gives you a clear picture of what you will need to do next, it serves as personal protection in the case of any miscommunication among others in the organization.
4. Priorities Change. This is a fact and a course of life. Yes, it makes project planning more difficult, but an effective project manager will let changes roll off their back and re-prioritize.
5. In the Loop. Project managers need to make themselves known to all of the departments involved in their project. If a department loses an employee, this may affect the project timeline, so it's important to be in the loop for any changes. Request that you be added to relevant departmental e-mail groups—the sooner you get information, the sooner you can revise your plan.
6. Urgency & Momentum. Convey a sense of urgency during the course of a project in order to keep the momentum going. Once you let your guard down, those around you who you need to help you meet your milestones, may start to feel relaxed too. As the PM, communicating an impending deadline in a productive manner is your key to keeping staff motivated.
7. Give Away the Keys. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Giving ownership to others on the team keeps them close and involved in the project, and they realize that the success or failure of the project is tied directly to them.
8. Training. Keep in mind any training that may be necessary for people on your team. This training time will need to be included in any timetable you create, as training can happen before and during a project life cycle.
9. Revisions. Your project plan will most likely go through many revisions. When communicating with others, make sure you are all referring to and working from the most current revision.
10. Audience. When communicating your project progress, keep in mind which audience you are addressing. Your supervisor may have different priorities than the client, so try and stay specific. Spending too much time talking about an area not directly related to your audience may give the impression that their aspect of the project is not being given the proper attention.

Lessons From Chrysler's Billion Dollar Loss

USA Today reported that Chrysler will lose about $1.6 billion this year, worse than the $1.4 billion operating loss it posted for 2006, a source says CEO Bob Nardelli told a group of designers and engineers recently, and the automaker still plans to break even in 2008.

Apparently the Chrysler CEO told employees during a webcast last week that although he believes the automaker has cut as many workers as it needs to, Chrysler will continue slashing jobs if it cannot meet its goals. The company said previously it would cut 25,000 jobs, including 1,000 buyouts. Chrysler announced 12,000 of those in November, just after employees represented by the UAW ratified a new four-year contract.

It is worth noting how difficult it is for businesses these days that even such a well-known brand such as Chrysler is reporting such major losses. The way they are handling it though is quite respectable. The open communication lines and transparency with regards to what is happening and what is going to happen is far better than just laying off employees with a slight of the hand.

A rule of thumb in business strategy is that if you're not meeting top line, then you'll have to cut the bottom line. This is what they're doing by letting go of so many people. It's sad how thousands will lose their jobs, but the entire ship will sink (and everyone in it) if it is not done.

I have experienced having to let go of so many people because the business can no longer handle the cost. And it's quite painful. Nevertheless nothing can be done if management decides to do so.

Chrysler's other strategy to picking up business is a review of their existing products. Weeding out the non-profitable ones and launching more competitive brands. Chrysler already has said it will eliminate four products through 2008: Dodge Magnum wagon, convertible version of Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chrysler Pacifica crossover SUV and Chrysler Crossfire sports car. Chrysler plans to add two new products: Dodge Journey crossover SUV and Dodge Challenger sports car, along with gasoline-electric hybrid versions of its Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUVs.

There is significant cost to swallow as this is done, but if they've done their homework and market research, the newer lines should sell better compared to the products they are letting go.

(image from diseno-art.com)