Marketing Pilgrim Published: “Online Spending for the Holiday Up 15.4%” plus 1 more

Online Spending for the Holiday Up 15.4%

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 06:40 AM PST

Now that Christmas 2010 is behind us it's time to look at just how well the holiday shopping season was for the online crowd. If we are to believe the numbers reported by the Wall Street Journal and MasterCard Advisors it was very merry indeed.

According to a WSJ article there are more than one source reporting an increase

The current year’s increase is “a very healthy growth rate and one of the positive stories of 2010,” said Michael MacNamara, vice president of research and analysis at SpendingPulse.

Sales over the Internet now account for about 10% of all retail sales, excluding purchases of automobiles and gas, according to SpendingPulse.

Other surveys of Internet sales in the holiday period show big gains as well. ComScore Inc., which looks at individuals’ purchases rather than stores’ sales, said Internet buying grew 12% through December 19, to $28.6 billion.

This is good news for the online world, which has shown strong holiday growth over time and is likely to continue the trend as people look for deals and convenience through the online channel.

While there is plenty to celebrate there is also some legitimate concern around the issues of sales taxes and online purchases. While reports of online sales may sound nice, state and local governments had a very bad 2010 and are looking for revenue from anywhere they can get it. Since online sales tax has always been a sticking point so don't think it's going to go away in 2011. In fact, be prepared to see the battle for more tax dollars heat up considerably, especially after the growth in online business continues to go up rather than slow down.

While we are on the subject what is your take on the future of the online purchase that is currently untaxed? Is that a thing of the past or will it survive these tough times? What kind of impact do you feel it would have if current purchases that do not get taxed are no longer available? Does convenience outweigh the additional dollars that the online purchase would then cost?

E-mail and Social Media To Get Larger Slice of Budget Pie in 2011

Posted: 27 Dec 2010 05:20 AM PST

It's the time of the year when the Marketing Optimists' Club convenes daily and tells how 2011 is the year of (fill in the blank here). There are wonderful predictions that are based on surveys of nameless companies and their so-called executives who break out their crystal balls and give service providers hope that there will be business in 2011.

Today's version comes from Strongmail via eMarketer. Strongmail (I always think of Homestar Runner’s Strong Bad when I see this name) provides solutions to integrate e-mail and social media so I'll give you one guess what their survey found. Ding! Ding! Ding! You got it! Both e-mail AND social media will see increased spending in 2011 and will merit more attention than search by a longshot.

Here is the graph, which proves that this prediction is right on the money (because pictures don't stretch the truth, marketers do!).

I don't disagree that e-mail and social media are important and deserve attention in marketing budgets. They are both important when used by the right kind of company in the right way. What I always have trouble with is 'research' that tells the perfect story for the people who would benefit from that 'research' being true. In this case, StrongMail gives it the double whammy by giving a rosy picture to both areas it is concentrated on. Gee, since they already know who these people are I suppose StrongMail is going to see the same growth as these budgets do, right?

As for just how this plan to integrate email and social media plays out, the numbers tell the story of a lot of folks getting ready to get ready as 72% of the respondents range in answers from "We are looking for a way to do this” to "I don't know what you're talking about".

So as it is at the end of every single day as these numbers come out to confirm the relevancy of the research source, we ask you to read and apply with caution.

This prediction season, let us serve as your marketing designated driver. If you drink too much "This Is The Year of ___________" brand Kool-Aid, turn to us here at Marketing Pilgrim. We'll sober you up by looking at the source of these prognostications. Then we’ll remind you that the only thing that matters is how this applies to your efforts today not whether someone tells you its degree of importance tomorrow.

Join the Marketing Pilgrim Facebook Community