Joshua Sophy says, “The holiday season often brings the busiest time of the year for small businesses and increasing demands from the owners’ family and friends. By being well prepared, owners and their families increase their chances for a happy holiday season — and a happy and prosperous new year. Staying Ahead of the Competition Let’s face it. Yours isn’t the only business out there that’s hoping to take advantage of the busy holiday season. So it’s important to stay a step ahead of the competition. These five tips will help prepare you and your business for the holidays. 1.... [...]

Matt Lindner says, “The online shopping holiday accounted for more than 8% of overall online sales in November, according to comScore. The good news surrounding the holiday shopping weekend just keeps on coming for online retailers. Shoppers spent a combined $3.118 billion online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, or Cyber Monday as it’s known, up 20.5% from $2.586 billion in sales on Cyber Monday last year, according to comScore Inc. That’s in line withdata released by Adobe Systems Inc. on Tuesday, which reported that online sales reached the $3.07 billion mark, the first time online... [...]

Sujan Patel says, “The latest forecast for this holiday sales season is $965 billion – a number big enough that no savvy business should dare to miss out. Unfortunately, as you’re probably already aware, this rich retail environment results in a lot of white noise when it comes to holiday promotions. With what seems like every other business out there running splashy ads in magazines and on every TV channel, it can be difficult to see where and how you’ll stand out if you don’t have a big budget. Fortunately, there are other options to explore that don’t have to bust your holiday... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Last week, my dental hygienist told me she was taking Monday off “for Cyber Monday.” Not Black Friday, but Cyber Monday. The irony of taking off the day that started strictly as a workplace shopping experience is rich, but her choice turns out to have been an early indicator of a broader trend. Consumers didn’t flock to offline deals on Black Friday, and sales were lackluster this year; meanwhile, Cyber Monday produced another e-commerce sales record. Online sales topped $3 billion on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe. The company says 200 million visits... [...]

Ajay Kapur says, “The holidays are approaching, and mobile is going to play a bigger role in eCommerce than ever before. Last year, mobile holiday shopping traffic surpassed desktop for the first time. Retailers are expecting even higher mobile traffic this year. Below are six key mobile holiday shopping trends we’re seeing take shape for 2015, and how to optimize your mobile site for the forecasted web traffic. 1. More Holiday Purchases Will Be Influenced by Mobile Than Ever Before Consumers are turning to their mobile devices during all steps of the shopping journey, from inspiration... [...]

Matt Linder says, “Through the morning, Cyber Monday online sales rose 14% year over year. The holiday shopping season is off to a lucrative start for online retailers. Data from IBM shows that online sales grew 25.2% year over year during the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, traditionally the kickoff to the holiday shopping season. On Cyber Monday, as the Monday after Thanksgiving is called, IBM was projecting online sales to grow 18% compared to 2014 on what is often the busiest online shopping days of the year. Traffic and sales on mobile devices are helping to drive that growth. As of... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “On Thanksgiving and Black Friday, while many companies were working to lure customers in with hefty discounts, one company decided to ask customers to give it money in exchange for nothing at all.  Cards Against Humanity, maker of politically incorrect playing cards, ultimately convinced nearly 12,500 people to literally gift it $71,145. Why would anybody give a company $5 or more in exchange for nothing? As Cards Against Humanity’s FAQ explained… Because the greatest Black Friday gift of all is buying nothing. We’re offering that for the rock-bottom... [...]

Greg Sterling says, “Black Friday ain’t what it used to be. The cultural ritual (if I can call it that) appears to have lost some of its mojo, as many retailers, seeking attention and competitive advantage, make Black Friday-style deals available before Thanksgiving. There has also been a shift of some in-store shopping to online (and mobile). According to in-store analytics provider ShopperTrak, brick-and-mortar retail sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday this year came in at roughly $12.1 billion, which is lower than in 2014. Specifically, Black Friday brought in $10.4 this year versus... [...]

Zak Stambor says, “Email accounted for 25.1% of e-commerce sales referrals on Black Friday, says one report, while another finds that marketing emails drove 25% more online sales over the weekend than they did a year ago. Email marketing may not be flashy, but the channel drove a significant share of e-commerce orders over the holiday weekend and today. 25.1% of e-commerce transactions on Friday stemmed from shoppers clicking from emails, according to report by marketing platform vendor Custora. Another report, by Adobe Systems Inc.’s Adobe Digital Index, finds email marketing accounted... [...]

Patricio Robles says, “The holiday shopping season is one of the marketing world’s annual highlights, but for many non-retailers, the last two months of the year are nothing more than business as usual. Even so, the billions of dollars that retailers pour into marketing during this period can complicate matters for non-retail brands. How can they market effectively when just about everybody is being bombarded with retail-related campaigns? Here are five tips. 1. Don’t sit on the sidelines The holiday shopping season can be an intimidating time for non-retail marketers tasked... [...]