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Greetings!
Welcome to the 4th edition of The HockeyVoice.
It's no surprise why Christmas 2010 sales experienced some good growth compared to 2009. Take a look at the growth in consumer credit in the chart below:
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Social Buying is Hot--is it right for your business?
Groupon is one of the most popular social buying sites on the internet. The site creates discount coupons for businesses that it sells at a discount to its database of online subscribers via the Internet. The revenue from the coupons is then split 50-50 with Groupon and their business customers. To activate the coupon, an agreed upon number of coupons must be sold.
It clearly is a tool to build traffic quickly and has worked for that purpose. But a recent study performed by Rice University says that Groupon may be bad for the health of your business. The University surveyed 150 businesses spanning 19 U.S. cities and 13 product categories. The survey revealed that 32% of the businesses found the promotions unprofitable. More than 40% said they would not repeat the promotion.
Some recommendations for giving you the best chance of success: 1) offer discounts only on a particular product and not the entire bill; 2) focus on your less popular products or underutilized services. Hopefully this helps make your experience with Groupon a profitable one. |
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Newspapers---finally losing to the Internet
The year 2010 will be the first that companies will have spent more money with online advertising than newspapers. This trend is expected to continue. Print advertising totaled $46.6 billion in 2006, but it's only projected to total $22.8 billion in 2010. Online is projected to total $25.7 billion. (eMarketer.com) |
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NHL licensed product---huge on Black Friday
Shop.NHL.com recorded its second highest grossing sales day ever on Black Friday at an 153% increase over 2009. In addition, 50% of the customers were first-timers at Shop.NHL.com. |
Shopping on smartphones---too large to be ignored
If you have not made your website smartphone friendly, the likelihood is that you are losing online business. Before the holidays, the National Retail Federation predicted that 28% of all holiday season purchases would take place on smartphones.
Promotions on mobile phones stimulate impulse buys, and knowing the actual location of the shoppers permits retailers to deliver timely coupons and highly focused offers.
In addition, research by Booz & Company found that on orders below $200, conversion rates in stores increase by as much as 240% when consumers view ratings and reviews while shopping. |
Let's Play Hockey--Las Vegas--January 17-18
Staff from the Hockey Dealers Association will be participating in the Let's Play Hockey show. Please visit us at booth #812. Also, HDA will be hosting a seminar from 8 - 9 am on Tuesday, January 18 entitled "2011 Outlook for Small Businesses" led by Dr. Stephen Brown, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. |
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Top Selling Helmets on Amazon.com
- Mylec
- Easton Stealth S7
- Bauer M10
- Bauer 5100
- Easton Stealth S19 Z-shock
- Bauer 4500
- Mylec Junior
- Mylec Senior
- New York Rangers Franklin full size youth
- Washington Capitals Franklin full size youth
(12/25/10) |
Special Charter Rate Membership of $80 expires on December 31, 2010
Build a voice to represent the interests of Hockey Dealers by joining the Hockey Dealers Association today! By joining your fellow Dealers before December 31, you can take advantage of the special charter member rate of $80. Visit www.hockeydealersassociation.org to learn more, and to take advantage of the charter rate today!
Sincerely,
Dan Kasen Chuck Suritz
dkasen@nsga.org csuritz@nsga.org |
