Distracted By Discounts

Recently I've been enthralled by a slew of invitation-only, private sale, online shopping retailers like Gilt Groupe, ideeli, and Rue La La. I'm sure there are many more sites like these that exist, but I don't even want to know about them because I don't want the temptation.

These sites create demand for their products because of the exclusivity of the sales, the deep discounts, and the lure of the limited-time offering. For instance, on the wildly-successful Gilt Groupe, sales only last 36 hours. This time component increases the pressure to buy. If you snooze you lose (or maybe you save money).

Each day I receive an e-mail from these retailers announcing the special sales of the day. Hordes of women watch as the timer ticks down on the website to start shopping for their favorite designer brands when the sale goes live at noon. Items often sell out quickly so I won't be relying upon Dragon Speak to complete my purchases. ideeli even sells membership to "front row" seats to these sales, allowing you to shop an hour before the commoners.

There's definitely a viral component to the shopping sites. Participants are encouraged through various referral bonuses to drag their friends into the ring.

Although these sites initially focused on fashion, many are now selling a more broad, holistic, discounted luxury lifestyle (if there ever was a more oxymoronic concept). Now you can get 1000 count Egyptian cotton sheets or buy a complete vacation that comes with the sheets included on the Tempur-pedic mattress in your room.

Recently Gilt Groupe launched Jetsetter, their version of a limited-time travel discount site(fortunately you get 5 days instead of 5 minutes to decide your travel plans). I'm considering using Jetsetter for an upcoming vacation to Canada, the allure of a glamorous 4 star hotel at 2 star prices is too much to resist. The only caveat being, unlike other hotel booking sites that allow for cancellations there's no backing out once you click to commit to your new luxury accomodations.

I even bought a six month membership to a high-end gym on one of these websites for much less than I would have paid walking in off the street. I also skipped out on enrollment fees and unbreakable gym contracts. Not having to deal with the typical cheesy gym membership salespeople was an added bonus.

I like learning about new designers and brands through these sites, as well as shopping designers and brands that I normally can't afford. I think the sites are worth while for people who have money to burn (which does not describe me), because it's fun to browse and shop for the designer of the day. For those that don't have unlimited discretionary funds you might find yourself spending money on things you really don't need. If you're looking for something specific that they are offering, you could be in luck.

P.S. If anyone wants a subscription to one of these sites let me know. I'd be happy to get my referal bonus , just stay away from the size 7 pumps!

Leapfroggers

Traditionally, marketers for tech gadgets ignore late adopters such as me. The standard practice is to lure the early adopters who in turn create buzz, eventually persuading the masses. The recent Wired article, Clive Thompson on Why Gadget Makers Should Target Late Adopters, makes a case for why marketers may want to rethink this strategy and show people like me a little love.

Marketing academic Jacob Goldenberg’s recent work suggests that laggards, which make up about 16% of the population, are a crucial high tech demographic for marketers because of their “leapfrogging” tendencies. Laggards may hold out on buying every new product on the market, but when they get around to buying they often skip several generations of products and end up leapfrogging ahead to the latest and greatest version.

According to Goldenberg, the economic impact of converting leapfrogging laggards is huge and can really drive profits. Also, word-of-mouth endorsements from these late adopters are especially powerful (i.e. “If Erin is using this thing, it must be easy and accessible”)!

Thinking about this potential shift in marketing strategy, I wonder what it may take for tech marketers to effectively reach me. They would have to meet me where I am, which until recently was not tech blogs. More mainstream avenues, perhaps my favorite New York or Lucky magazines, might be more effective. The message would have to be simple, emphasizing how the new product or service would add value to my life—I won’t be sold on cool, new features, because I likely won’t understand how I benefit from them. Speak my language.

Many late adopters like me have the motto, “if it ain’t broke…” and the lens “is this worth my while?”—show us that it is worthwhile, give us a fair price and you may win us over after all.

Social Media Revolution

Wikipedia defines a fad as "any form of behavior that develops among a large population and is collectively followed with enthusiasm for some period, generally as a result of the behavior's being perceived as novel in some way." Fads are pretty awesome, especially in retrospect, like Cabbage Patch Kids, the Atkins Diet, tight-rolling your jeans, ratting your bangs (in junior high I looked like this family), and Crocs (can that go away already?).

A trend is less fleeting than a fad and evolves into a relatively permanent change. Social media is definitely not a fad, it's a trend. One that is changing our lives in profound ways. We can largely credit those pesky millennials for this trend.

Check out this short, recently updated YouTube video, Social Media Revolution, based on the book Socialnomics by Erik Qualman to see how this trend is evolving.

This video evoked a little fear and excitement in me, but no doubt reinforced why I need to get with the program!