Selling Points: Optimizing E-Commerce

Waiting for what seems like hours in store-length checkout lines gives us time to wonder about futile things like, “Why is today called ‘Black Friday?’”

It’s quite common to think that the nickname represents a day of major profits for retailers. This theory stems from traditional accounting practices where red ink represents losses and black ink represents profits. However, retailers began marketing this misconception in the 1980’s to transform the connotation of shopping day’s nickname from negative to positive.

Because in reality, the name “Black Friday” is associated with instability and chaos. It’s a play on Black Thursday, Black Monday and Black Tuesday—three frenzied days of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 that helped spark the Great Depression.

The earliest published use of the term “Black Friday” dates back to a January 1966 article from The American Philatelist called “Philadelphia’s ‘Black Friday,’” where Martin L. Apfelbaum stated:

"'Black Friday' is the name which the Philadelphia Police Department has given to the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. It is not a term of endearment to them. 'Black Friday' officially opens the Christmas shopping season in center city, and it usually brings massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as the downtown stores are mobbed from opening to closing."

Wherever the name came from, Black Friday will always signify the start of the holiday shopping season. So we’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday and a happy shopping experience.

--Melissa Antonelli

What are you going to bet on? Black or red? comScore predicts e-commerce growth will be downright lethargic this holiday season. Many e-commerce sites are slashing prices unusually early in the season, hoping to claw their way out of the red. And according to The New York Times, the "Holiday Price Wars" have already begun.

Every mention of the economy rings in more doom and gloom. Frankly, I am a little tired of hearing about it, but being directly involved in online sales for thousands of companies, it is definitely on my mind. With Cyber Monday just around the corner, the biggest indicator of the year is upon us.

The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in Cyber Monday online promotions this year, which will in turn cause an increase in online shopping (Hmm…not exactly a Nostradamus-style prediction. Anyone with a pulse who has read a few headlines could have come up with that idea). And with the low expectations for Black Friday this year in retail stores, perhaps Cyber Monday could be the highest-volume shopping day of the season.

Most of my contacts at major e-commerce sites are pretty bullish about the upcoming Monday online. Some are shoring up their consumer nets with deeper discounts than ever before, but overall they are more upbeat than the current economic news of the day. They all clearly see one winner, though: consumers.

Come on black...Come on black…No Whammies…No Whammies!!!

--Matt Quirie

I recently received an e-mail promotion from H&R Block, which bundled TaxCut Premium Federal 2008 with Laplink PCsync, Laplink PCmover and Webroot Spy Sweeper—all for just $69.95. Plus they threw in a free laptop case. Had these products been purchased separately, they would have cost more than $200. TaxCut on its own costs just $34.95. But this promotion convinces customers interested in TaxCut to spend twice as much by enticing them with $130 in savings on products that go hand-in-hand with the tax preparation software. Bundles such as this are effective marketing strategies and are widely used for several reasons: 1. They increase sales and revenue by giving customers more value for their dollars 2. They boost average order values by convincing customers to spend more than they had originally intended 3. They allow companies to expand their product catalog beyond the items they produce 4. They let lesser-known companies leverage the brand recognition of those that are more renowned 5. They help create customer loyalty by offering such a great deal Have you seen any great bundles lately? Post your comments below. --Alex Rampell

Looks like eating pizza and watching Sunday Night Football just got a little more convenient.

TiVo and Domino’s Pizza recently announced that sports fanatics, movie lovers and couch potatoes across the country can now order pizza directly through their television sets.

TiVo’s broadband subscribers can order Domino’s pizza through the main TiVo screen or through ads that pop-up when Domino’s commercials are displayed. 30 minutes later, the pizza’s at the door. It’s a novel way for Domino’s to directly interact with a highly relevant customer base—and an innovative way for TiVo to evolve TV commerce from standard shopping channels and infomercials.

With DVR systems making it so easy to fast-forward through commercials, and companies craving a more results-oriented advertising model, we could soon see an abundance of products to purchase through our TVs—which could make traditional television advertising seem passé. If so, people will have little reason to get off their couches. Unless of course the pizza delivery person is at the door.

--Lisa Contoyannis

Remember back in college when credit card companies gave away free t-shirts at your campus for filling out credit card applications? Chances are, many of you filled out the application just to get a cool t-shirt for free, not for the credit card. Yet you probably ended up being a valuable customer to the credit card company, even after graduation.

College campuses are great venues for credit card companies to acquire new customers because most college students want or are in need of a line of credit. Plus they love getting cool stuff for free. By sweetening the deal with a free product, these companies are almost guaranteed to gain thousands of new customers with long-term value. This is incentive marketing at its best—acquiring new, relevant customers by enticing them with a free product that they really want.

TrialPay takes incentive marketing to a whole new level by approaching high-quality customers at the point of purchase—customers that are actually looking for the t-shirt and have transactional intent. And TrialPay uses the efficiencies of the Web to pair online shoppers with an unlimited amount of compelling offers, which means you can get almost any product you want to buy for free just by signing up for one of thousands of premier services.

For example, you can get free Fandango movie tickets for signing up with Netflix. Or you can get free photo prints from dotPhoto by signing up with PerfectMatch.com. But if you’re still in the market for a credit card and you really want a free T-shirt, don’t worry. TrialPay can make that happen too. Simply sign up for a credit card (or choose from thousands of other offers) to get a free $20 gift card from 80sTees.com.

--Melissa Antonelli