By Andrew Leonard Here’s a new term you’ve probably heard recently: “The sharing economy.” In the “sharing economy,” cheap access to resources that would otherwise go unused (a spare bedroom, a car, a weed whacker) is just one click away. And for many consumers of...
According to new data from the e-commerce firm Topspin Media, the average band or musician makes $3.78 in sales every time someone gives them his or her e-mail address. Arcade Fire does rather better than that — its fans are worth $6.26 each. While this might sound...
If you’ve been venturing a bit in the online marketing world like me, I’m sure you’ve heard the term “marketing funnel” before. To be frank, it was never something that appealed to me. It always seemed like just a way to optimize how many people are giving you...
Yesterday, on eBay's earnings conference call, CFO Bob Swan had some worrying things to say about the outlook for U.S. consumer spending going into the holiday shopping season. "First, from a macro standpoint, Europe and [Asia-Pacific] — which created a bit of...
A new Forrester report finds that fewer consumers deleted marketing e-mails in 2012 than in 2010. It could be that marketers are doing a better job at sending personalized e-mails with products or offers that shoppers are actually interested in, or perhaps it’s that...
When it comes to non-traditional marketing, North American retailers have mostly cottoned on to hosted social networking sites (75%), but are far less likely to have implemented other strategies such as SMS (40%), 2D barcode scanning by customer smartphones (30%), and...
According to the 2012 Mobile Advertising Survey by Hipcricket, young (ages 25-34) customers have the most interest and interactivity with mobile ads. 70% have made a purchase as a direct result of a mobile ad, and 58% would be willing to provide personal information...
You might have seen recently that iconic retailer JC Penney is slumping badly. You almost certainly have seen the reason why: A massive, creative and aggressive new advertising and pricing campaign that promises simplified prices. No more coupons or confusing multiple...
1. Cash-Strapped Consumers Shift Brands According to a blog from Gian Fulgoni in Ad Age Digital, about 54% of consumers said they bought the brand they wanted most in 2008. By 2010, this had dropped to 45%, and 43% this year. Declines were observed in every category,...
Retailers are so desperate this holiday season that they're willing to lose money to get you to spend yours. Take online jeweler Stauer. It's offering a $249 amethyst necklace for free — provided customers pay the $24.95 it costs to ship it. Stauer will lose money on...