To gain a competitive edge in online sales this holiday season, companies including eBay Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are turning to a new weapon: people like Jaclyn Widtfeldt.
On a recent Tuesday just before 7 p.m., the 23-year-old was driving around downtown San Francisco when her employer eBay sent a message to her iPhone that customer Luke Maffei wanted a springform pan, stat. So Ms. Widtfeldt sped off in her Ford Fiesta to Macy's, purchased the $21 pan and delivered it directly to Mr. Maffei by 8 p.m....
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Online Black Friday Sales Could Hit $1 Billion
November 23, 2012
From News
This year, eCoupons.com predicts that Cyber Black Friday sales will grow to almost $1 billion.
Last year, shoppers spent $816 million online. This year more than one thousand retailers are starting their online sales ahead of Cyber Monday, and this could lead to 20% more sales.
Industry Voices : The Art of the Possible
November 1, 2012
From Dealerscope
In order to survive and grow, a retailer’s rate of change has to accelerate faster than the rate of consumer change.
For the last 60 years, retailers have collectively trained and motivated consumers—through advertising and marketing across every demographic—to be hyper-sensitive to price. J.C. Penney, for example, recently learned that you can’t take away coupon promotions, discounts and savings from consumers and expect to grow profits.
