Our entry into the ‘ber’ months signals the beginning of the holiday season.
But it’s only September, you say. Yes, for now, but before you know it, everyone’s in a Black Friday shopping frenzy and splurging on Christmas presents.
As early as now, start preparing your online store to ensure that your sales and profits go up, and never down.
Aside from going over your inventory and making sure that everything that is in demand is in stock, you need to have a look at the shopping plans of your customers.
We know it’s a daunting task and you won’t be able to attend to more important things if you must spend your time conducting a poll.
So, worry not as we have here the questions which CPC Strategy, a digital retail marketing agency, asked 1,500 consumers to find out how they intend to do their holiday shopping this year.
Take note of their answers and refer to them later when you start developing marketing and promotional campaigns for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.
When do you plan to start shopping for gifts?
CPC Strategy’s report revealed that 35.5% of their survey respondents, mostly from the 45-54 age bracket, plan to start buying Christmas gifts before Thanksgiving, while 32% of them said they prefer to wait until December before doing their shopping.
Where do you plan to look for gifts?
72.1 of shoppers plan to purchase gifts on Amazon, 60.4% of them are considering physical stores like Walmart and Target, while 38.6% said they’re shopping on the online stores of the aforementioned retailers.
If your store focuses on one item or category, be ready to rake in the green as 46% of the respondents said they prefer to shop at a specialty store which focuses on the item that they’re looking for.
How much are you planning to spend?
Budget is in place for older shoppers.
79% of those aged 55 to 64 plan to spend the same amount as they did last year; that’s from $500 to $1,000 on presents.
On the other hand, 23% of younger consumers aged 18 to 24 confidently stressed that they intend to spend more.
If you price check products on your phone while in a store, where do you look first?
While in store, 32% of shoppers said they price check products on Amazon, while around 23% of them go to Google.
What factors affect your decision to shop for holiday gifts at a specific retailer?
Overall price, brand quality and shipping speed turned out to be the most important factors that a customer considers when deciding to buy holiday gifts.
An item’s price carries the most weight for 46.1% of the respondents, 16.2% of them put importance on brand, while 8% said time is of essence so they’ll go for a retailer that can ship their order in the shortest time possible.
Now that their shopping plans are no secret to you, you can start taking concrete steps to guarantee the success of your online store this holiday season.
Multichannel marketing is the quickest route to reach your customers, so don’t be left behind. Find tutorials on Magento, M2E Pro, Magmi and other eCommerce tools that will help you sell and earn more on Amazon, eBay and your own website at UnderstandingE.
During the pre-internet era, it was impossible to think about working from home. But now as the internet has made its presence in every sphere, be it education, research, job, etc., the possibility of working from home has increased. Now one can convert his or her home into office with the help of internet connection. However, there are still some limitations and the flexibility to work from home is not possible for all types of jobs. For example, a construction worker cannot execute his or her duties from home. Even a mechanical engineer who is responsible for maintaining machines, and equipment cannot do so. Such jobs need people to be at the workplace.
So, why the trend of working from home is catching up with the present generations? And why some organizations are willingly offering this kind of flexibility to people? Well! The reason is simple. By offering and preferring to work from home, the organization as well as the employees are getting benefited. Here are some of the advantages that are fanning this trend.
Easy sharing of documents
Easy accessibility to high-speed internet has enabled downloading, uploading, and sharing electronic files in real-time possible. You can also stay connected with your co-workers through video calling and online chatting. Further, ease in sharing and saving documents on Google Drive, Dropbox using cloud storage has made it convenient in staying current with the current issues. Since using the new features on the Internet is a second nature to the present generations, they are getting more inclined towards working from home.
Cost-Saving
Commutation to and from the work eats away a better part of income. Above that, the high retail price of gasoline and diesel is just adding to woes of working professionals. With the opportunity to work from home, you can save on traveling costs. And when the usage of your vehicle is cut short, there is additional benefit drawn due to low maintenance. The money thus saved can inflate your bank balance.
On the other hand, companies can also save a significant amount of money by allowing their employees to work from home. They don’t have to purchase and install computers for employees. They can also save money on electricity as well. In addition to cost-saving, you can fetch several advantages of working from home.
Low Stress
While there is no way to avoid the workload, there are other things that add to the stress. And getting stuck in the traffic is one of them. We all know how tiring it is to be on the road during the rush hours. By working from home, you can be free from the need to commute. Besides traffic, you are also free from attending meetings physically. You can easily participate in meetings through video conferencing.
No Restrictions
All modern offices follow some rules and regulations like in and out time, lunchtime, dress code, etc. But when you are working from home, you are released from all these restrictions. You are free to work in any dress you are comfortable with. You can roam around, watch movie, and listen to music while working. Thus, there will be no restrictions, and you are free to do anything while working.
Better Health
Along with money, you can also save enough time by working at home. You can invest the free time in activities that are beneficial to your health such as yoga and exercise. As there is no need to step out of your home for work, you will not face air pollution, and your lungs can stay healthy. Besides, you can also take a short nap if you have completed your target and are waiting for another assignment.
Video games are no longer considered to be an idle or obsolete activity, which was once considered to be a waste of time. In the present-day world, when a majority of the world population prefers playing them, it is an activity that has been termed as one which can bolster a person’s decision making capacity and give a boost to their analytical skills. Allowing people to play video games has been researched to have positive impacts on their reasoning, decision making, and processing skills, all of which aid in improving mental functioning.
Evolution:
These games were once considered to a waste of time and were thought to not have any productive contribution. Parent considered gaming to be a luxury only to be given to children in order to motivate them to study harder and use as a tool for encouragement. However, the present day parent views gaming from a different perspective. Video games, with productive content and platforms, have emerged as informative and constructive today. With various platforms, that actually have the capacity to aid mental development, they are being widely used by instructors and parents in order to help their children with their mental development and growth. Today many genres of video games are available in the market:
• Educational.
• Adventure.
• Action.
• Dress Up (and other game targeted at girls).
• Strategy.
Advantages:
Besides having positive impacts on children, the activity has positivity attached for the grown-ups as well. Video games involve quick decision making and high levels of situational analysis which aid in bolstering these activities. By playing more video games, a person is able to quicken their decision making skills by improving them as they increase their level of playing games. Video games have also been known to aid in improving hand to eye coordination. This involves a quick situational analysis and decision making, which then enable a gamer/person to make a quick decision and then execute it, thus improving their hand to eye coordination.
Health benefits:
The activity of gaming is also good for mental health and depression. The activity acts as a source for letting out anger and piled up emotions. This is primarily due to the fact that video games involve high level of brain engagement and activity. Such high levels of brain activity lead to a person focusing on the virtual world, and reduce his/her action by being engaged in the mentally tiresome activity. These video games can likewise be a social outlet, permitting the individuals who are forlorn an opportunity to get some connection. Online gaming is a major source for offering people to interact with gamers from around the globe and play with or against them. This further aids in improving their coordination and team work skills, which can help them immensely in the real world where such skills are highly demanded and appreciated.
Conclusion
Video games are a great source to give the brain some nutrition and to keep it healthy and engaged. It keeps the brain involved and polishes it, making its muscles work harder. They are now being used to improve brain functionality in children as well as adults, which proves the fact that they have the capacity to be productive and beneficial. Though there are certain games with violent and raw content that most people might tend to be disturbed by, but there are still numerous options available and various genres in the market that can aid brain development to a great extent. These games played on consoles are now not only a source of recreation but have been deemed as an activity that can improve a person’s performance and boost his or her competence and efficiency by making them more aware and alert. Thus, it can be said that the activity has evolved from being a recreational sport to a helpful and productive act.
While a Realtor must abide by, respect, and maintain both the words, and intents of the Code of Ethics, he must also effectively represent his client, and his client’s best interests. This is his fiduciary responsibility, as well as a reality of life, because unless a house sells, a real estate agent, will not get paid his commission/ fee. In order to do so, one must be able to identify the best points/ assets of a particular home, as well as being able to visualize and articulate the possibilities! While maintaining integrity, and full, legal disclosure, quality agents develop the skills and abilities, to best present, the STRENGTHS of the house.
1. Style: We all know houses come in a variety of styles, such as Cape Cod, Split Level, Colonial, Ranch, High Ranch, Contemporary, etc. Each of these has certain strengths, as well as weaknesses, and a real estate agent must fully understand and be familiar with, the advantages of the particular style of house. Who might be the best niche audience for this style? How can it be articulated in the best light, and motivate a potential buyer? Obviously, it all begins, with the ability to listen to what a particular buyer is seeking, and to explain how this particular home, is well – suited for them!
2. Tendencies: What specific attributes, unique characteristics, etc, does this house and/ or property possess? Consider tendencies/ factors such as ease, energy – efficiency, property characteristics, etc.
3. Region; rooms: Why is the region, this house is situated in, a positive? Think about the area, in general, as well as the specific neighborhood and block! What is exceptional about the rooms, or any specific rooms? Obviously, one should accentuate the positive!
4. Energy – efficiency: Are there any green features, environmental pluses, or energy – efficient characteristics? Examine factors such as windows, doors, appliances, HVAC, insulation, etc.
5. Necessities: Listen carefully to what a potential buyer is seeking, and be prepared to point out, how this particular house, addresses these necessities!
6. Grounds: What characteristics about the property, are most exceptional? Is it beautifully maintained and landscaped? Is it low maintenance? Are cement and paved areas, well – kept? Is the lot size, shape, dimensions, and layout, a positive?
7. Treatments: Are there any special treatments, which will come with the house, which might attract a potential buyer? This might include kitchen layout, entry foyer, closets, flow, window treatments, etc.
8. Heating: Is the heating and air – conditioning system, efficient, quiet, effective, and a positive? Are the boilers, burners, and other units, reasonably new, and in good condition, and have they been consistently well – maintained?
9. Strong – points: Quality agents always know the strengths and strong – points, of a house they represent. Focus attention on these, whenever possible!
Real estate agents must be honest, helpful, and friendly, but also effective salespeople! How will you present a home’s STRENGTHS?