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Home » Family Articles » Are You Ready For Holiday Shopping This Year

Are You Ready For Holiday Shopping This Year?

Know the holiday retail and spending trends

With the increase in gas prices, and the slow down of the housing market, you may think consumers will cut down on their holiday spending in 2006. But many reports and surveys have shown these concerns will have little to no impact on what consumers will spend this year. According to a report from the Radio Advertising Bureau, consumers have withstood challenges this year from energy costs, slow growth in jobs and softness in the housing market, and they will continue to be bullish about the economy and their own financial well-being. Overall spending is expected to be up for many key categories.

Gift Cards

Same as last year, gift cards are expected to be the top holiday purchase this year. Last year, 66 percent of consumers bought at least one gift card. Gift cards are an excellent idea if you are not sure what the person will like. However, many people think they are too impersonal. Retailers on the other hand, like gift cards. They like the idea when consumers come in to use the gift cards, there is a good chance the consumer will want to use the entire gift card balance and even spend more than the gift card.

Department Store Credit Cards

Everyone knows when the holiday season approaches, many department stores offer zero-percent financing or an additional percent off for consumer purchases. A survey conducted by Roper Public Affairs, stated that when consumers were asked how likely they are to make a major purchase this holiday season using either a zero-percent financing or a no payments/no interest offer, fewer than two in ten (18 percent) say it is very likely that they will. Additionally, 71 percent responded that if they were to take advantage of such an offer, they would plan to pay off the total due before incurring any interest charges.

This same survey also found a correlation between age and income level. Ninety-five percent of consumers 65 and older say they are highly unlikely to take advantage of store credit card offers. Twenty-five percent of consumers with household incomes $50 k or greater say they are very likely to take advantage of such an offer. Eighty-one percent of consumers with household incomes $50 k or greater say they would pay off the whole purchase before the interest is due.

If you choose to take advantage of such deals, make sure you pay the purchase off as quickly as possible. Department store credit cards are known for charging ridiculously high interest rates after the promotional offer expires. If this happens to you, the initial savings you received on the product when you first bought it will turn into a net loss, especially if you rack up late payment fees. Online Shopping

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) offers tips for safe online shopping

• Know the seller. Confirm the online seller's address and phone number incase of problems

• Know exactly what you are buying. Look out for descriptions like "refurbished," "vintage," or "close out." These terms may indicate that the products are not in mint condition.

• Compare prices of the same product on different website.

• Check the privacy policy to make sure the website will not share your personal information with anyone.

• Pay with a credit card. Credit cards offer consumers the most protection. Do not send cash!

• Use a secure browser. Buy only from websites that offer secure payments.

• Consider shipping and handling costs.

• Print records of your online transactions. (receipts, confirmation e-mails, bank statements, etc.).

• Understand the return policy.

• Check delivery dates. A FTC rule requires sellers to ship items as promised or within 30 days after the order date.

Retail store information for 2006

According to Forbes.com, here are their holiday picks. Specialty stores like Victoria's Secret, Coach and Aeropostale, will do very well because consumers want premium products. Another specialty store â€" Gap, is introducing their limited edition "Product Red" clothing line just in time for the holidays. Product Red is being promoted by Oprah Winfrey and Bono to raise money for AIDS victims in Africa. Forbes.com says Product Red will bring a whole new customer to Gap stores, some who have not shopped there in years. Huge stores like Wal-Mart and Target have already shown a holiday shopping increase in October. Wal-Mart is now selling top notch electronics such as High Definition (HD) televisions. JC Penny is also expected to do well due their large advertising budget and their "Red Box" holiday campaign. The Red Box campaign will feature 20 â€" 30 items in advertisement across the whole country.

Protecting your purchases

If you decide to shop with a credit card, choose one that offers a purchase protection plan. There may be an instance that you buy a product that you do not want or a product that breaks or falls apart. Since many stores have a no-return or return for store credit only policy, you are usually out of luck. This is when purchase protection plans come in. If you shop with a credit card that offers return protection, you can receive reimbursement for the purchase price even if the store of origin has a no-return policy. Return protection programs typically involve a limit on the amount per item and an annual limit for the cardholder. Other qualifications such as the condition of the purchased item and the existence of any return/satisfaction guarantee programs at the store may apply. These plans also offer manufacturer's extended warranties. You may not need to buy additional warranties on major purchases because some credit card companies will extend the terms of the original manufacturer's warranty. This service could save you the expense of purchasing extended warranty programs. Make sure you familiarize yourself with coverage restrictions before making your final decision.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

8 Ways to Get More from your Existing Customers

For many of us - especially those in service businesses - our existing and previous customers are vital for three reasons:

1. They have already bought from us, so providing they had a good experience, they might buy from us again. We also know that getting a new customer is much more expensive than selling to an existing customer, so by continuing to sell to them, we are really saving ourselves some money.

2. They can give us invaluable feedback on how we did. Was our service good enough? Did we delight them or were we 'just ok'. Did our product meet their expectations? Was it good value for money? And so on.

3. They continue to save us money because they should be our major source of referrals and new business. So through them, we get access to new clients who already know about us and have a positive opinion of what we do.

Most clients I meet are not leveraging their existing customer database, and by not doing so, are losing out on a cost effective source of potential new business. Many receive referrals - for which they are grateful - but it's not because they actively sought the referral, or had a strategy in place to ask for it.

Here are 8 ways to maximize the value from your most valuable asset:

Delight your Clients

Anyone with half a brain can satisfy a customer. But only when you continually delight customers will they keep coming back. You should aim to exceed your customers expectations on every interaction that they have with you. Do this consistently, and you will have a customer for life.

For example, you think your loyal client could benefit from reading a section of your ebook or an article you've written? Surprise them and make it a gift. Sure, you could say, "I'll give you a fifty percent discount." Forego the money. Give your client a reason to stick around and spend a thousand dollars instead.

Personalise, personalise, personalise

"We are entering an era where one size no longer fits all-or even a few. We are entering an era where one size fits one. It is highly personalized, customer-centric, customer-driven." (From One Size Fits One: Building Relationships One Customer and One Employee at a Time).

Known variously as customer relationship management (CRM) and one-to-one marketing, personalisation is being practiced by businesses large and small across all sectors of the economy. The message here is simple: you want to lavish personal attention on customers who are going to reciprocate by being consistently good purchasers of your product or service.

Give these customers an incentive to share information about themselves that you can use when you contact them next. The more your customers feel as though you are treating them individually, the more likely they are to continue their relationship with you.

Provide Guarantees

A guarantee is a powerful tool for keeping your customers when they might otherwise go elsewhere. With a good guarantee, you tell your customers where and how to complain, and that complaining is worth their time and effort. It also shows that you care. A good guarantee is unconditional, easy to understand, meaningful, easy to invoke and easy to collect on.

Ask for Feedback

If you don't know what your customer thinks about you, your business, your product and your services, then you might as well close shop.

People will endorse your business not because they think it looks good, but because they know it is good. If they have problems with your services, customers are the best source of objective advice on how to make improvements. So have a process in place where you regularly ask them for feedback. And once they've given it to you, let them know how you are going to use it. They will begin to feel involved in your business, and are more likely to send other people your way.

Reward them for being Loyal

Loyalty marketing programs are designed to engender loyalty and increase sales from your best customers. When properly designed and executed flawlessly, loyalty programs provide a vital link between your business and your customers, improving customer satisfaction and increasing sales. Here are some commonly used ideas for creating your own loyalty program:

 preferable rates for loyal customers

 provide bonus product or service if they have bought before

 programs that promote multiple purchases (buy 3 and get the 4th free)

 Points program - each purchase is worth points. When they amass a certain number of points they get a reward of some kind

Keep in Touch

Keeping in touch with your customers is about maintaining relationships. Customers are most likely to keep buying from you if you have a strong relationship - if they trust you and your product/service. Your keep in touch strategy should consider:

 the best way to stay in contact (email, telephone, hardcopy newsletter etc)

 frequency (monthly, quarterly event-based), and

 what to talk about (what your company is doing, industry information, tips and hints, useful resources etc)

A Keep in Touch program is not the place for a hard sell. Keep it information based, concise and interesting

Implement a Referral process

Be very clear about who you want as a referral and why. The quality of referrals you receive depends on how well your customers understand what you are looking for. The best way to do this is to write it down for them, or discuss it in some detail - don't assume they already know. At the conclusion of every sale, ask them if they know of any other people who would be interested in your service.

Thank them for referrals - every time

Finding a way to thank your customers for referrals lets them know that you value them for their efforts. It makes them feel recognized, and it reinforces the behaviour so they consider referring to you again. A thank you can be as simple as a hand written card, sent through the mail, to a set of movie tickets, a voucher, or even just a phone call.

There are so many ways that we can go one step further with the people who already buy from us. Make this a focus of your marketing efforts and you will soon see the rewards come back in the form of increased referrals and increased sales.