But many consumers are now sitting by warm fires with their computers instead of waiting in the cold weather to buy their products on Black Friday. In fact, EBay has several sales going on right now and throughout the weekend to attract customers to their online experience. Even along the busy streets of retailer stores, EBay has been advertising easy and convenient shopping, hoping to gain more market share of traditional consumers.
According to a Washington Post article, "EBay is planning holiday “pop-up” locations in New York, San Francisco and London that will let consumers scan a barcode and buy products on the spot, using mobile phones." These new tactics seem to be working for EBay, as their stock prices have gone up by four percent this year compared to Best Buy's drop of twenty-four percent.
Personally, I am happy to see the trend of shopping shifting towards a more digital form. Of course, I'm biased as I'm having a hard time feeling my toes from the cold this morning. But in any case, it is a great convenience that will hopefully keep people warmer and safer during the holiday season.
Enjoy shopping!
--Tim Chu
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/11/the-best-tech-deals-this-black-friday
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/black-friday-2011-amazon-ebay-launch-campaigns-to-lure-more-customers-to-shop-online-during-holidays/2011/11/23/gIQAyOQsoN_story.html
Online auctioning allows people to save time and money, especially during the holiday season. By EBay participating in Black Friday, consumers no longer have to wait in lines for hours at a time in order to get in the stores when they open at midnight. EBay allows them consumers the opportunity to shop at the convenience of their home computer. Also, since they are able to participate in auctioning, they are able to search for the best price of the product they want.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great business decision for EBay. The newest trend seems to be online shopping and EBay is now offereing the complete package: saving money and saving time. With this new way to buy items digitally, I predict that EBay's stocks will continue to rise.
ReplyDeleteI personally prefer online shopping over in a store any day of the year. Why would anyone want to run all over town from store to store hoping a particular product is still sitting on a shelf? In addition, it its highly improbable that everyone on your shopping list wants something from the same store. It makes so much more sense to stay at home with billions of products at your fingertips that in my experience are far more likely to have products in stock.
ReplyDeleteOnline shopping is great, no doubt. But, it's always fun to go out and shop while physically touching the item you are about to buy. But then again, I don't really buy much so I have no comment.
ReplyDeleteActually, I do. It really is a convenient thing to shop online instead of waiting in the cold for the doors to open. I think the more people move to online shopping the harder it will be to get those items when the time starts. Also, it sucks that you might miss an item that has a time limit, like I just did yesterday. I will never see the item again.. with the same price.
Nice picture Tim!
I feel its a great decision for ebay and I heard a lot more other websites had crazy black friday web deals. I think its amazing to go shopping and pick things out in person, but its also nice not dealing with the crowds and wondering if the store actually has what you want in stock. I think the new web shopping is a great idea especially for shoppers who know exactly what they want or need
ReplyDeleteI love eBay! Maybe not as much as i did 6 or 8 years ago, but I love the thrill of winning. How much do I love it? Well not as much as some people. Though online retailers have definitely taken a bite out of eBay's deals, there are still those times when you find something that just beckons you to buy it. The price is low, the bidders are scarce and the time is almost expired, then suddenly, that idiot outbids me. Damn! No you don't! So, I throw down and bid up. Yeah, that will show him. What?!?!, he outbid me again? No, it must be a dumb blonde (pardon the mental lapse in reason) that has no eBay skills and doesnt know how to get a deal. Well, take this. And suddenly I have bid up the price to twice what it was 10 minutes ago, and more than I could have purchased it for through BestBuy online or Aamzon. Too often I have seen auctions take this route while watching something I was interested in climb past even retail prices, just because someone needed the win. Be careful, plan how much you want to bid, don't revise your max bid unless you can justify it with comparitive shopping, and be emotionally detached from the preocess.
ReplyDeleteEbay is such a great alternative to waiting in those lines. i was unaware that ebay held such sales. since ebay is from private auctions i did not think that these sellers would cooperate with lowering prices for the holiday.
ReplyDeleteBlack Friday is pretty crazy I try to avoid it at all cost. The Ebay idea sounds pretty cool, I would have liked to see one of those pop-up stores they set up. I think its a smarter idea to move the Black Friday sales online to alleviate some of the craziness of the holiday shopping season.
ReplyDeleteI never use eBay. It's to confusing. I usually use Amazon instead because I don't want to bid I want what I want now! I think the whole cyber monday is a good idea. It is a safe alternative to "black friday".
ReplyDeleteI agree that sometimes depending on where you are, Black Friday can get a little hectic. Depending on who you are, maybe online shopping for the holidays is better for you. I, however, enjoy the crazy chaos that comes along with holiday shopping. I recently spend this past Black Friday in NYC and I enjoyed every moment of it! There are some things I may purchase online, but I feel that it takes away from the Christmas shopping you can go out and do. (Plus great exercise!!)
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