Trust and Online Shopping – What Drives You?

As the holiday season wraps up with end-of-the-year inventory clearance specials being promoted by many online retailers, early reports are that spending was up a little this year versus 2008.  Each year it seems that online shopping gains more ground in terms of dollars spent as well.  Shoppers point to the many conveniences like being able to find the best price, inexpensive or no shipping charges, easy transactions that don’t require dealing with traffic, in-store crowds, and the patience-wrecking check out lines.  In years past, this Santa has utilized a number of sites including those that are known as the traditional big-box giants as well as specialty retailers that offer expertise and a wider selection of unique gifts (get your mind out of the gutter, I am talking about motorcycling and outdoor adventure here).

As technology develops and makes it easier for marketers to present, promote, and sell and for consumers to research, compare, and buy online, the ever-lurking specter of identify theft is never quite vanquished is it?  Let’s face it, technology has to stay ahead of the nefarious high-tech scoundrels hacking, scamming, and outright stealing whenever the opportunity arises in the online market place.

Researchers continue to measure all the intricacies of consumption and new and emerging media is like a new and expanding frontier for them to observe, analyze, and publish their findings.  The issue of trust is vital to the well being of e-commerce as one might imagine and marketers are continually funding research to better understand consumers – the how’s, the why’s, and the how often’s.  Central to this research is finding out what puts consumers at ease – what factors facilitate transactions online?  After all, if consumers don’t trust the site for whatever reason, they won’t be divulging the information required to conduct business online that is for sure.

So what factors influence your decisions to shop and conduct transactions with particular retailers?  Conversely, what factors cause you to take pause and opt to shop elsewhere?  Here are some of the facets that impact my online shopping habits.

1. Aesthetics – A poorly designed site just doesn’t instill a lot of trust for me.  If the design is crude or unprofessional I tend not to tarry long on the site.
2. Navigatability – Actually, this is closely linked to the look of the site.  Usually a poorly designed site is harder to navigate.  Either I have a hard time finding what I want, or there are other issues like broken links, etc. that just diminish the credibility of the retailer in my opinion.
3. Suspect information – This happens a lot when I shop on eBay, especially when I am looking at a big-ticket item like electronics.  Of course the seller’s reputation and feedback are primary factors, but the content of their item descriptions also make or break it for me.  Content obviously lifted from a manufacturer’s web site is cause for concern.  Poor grammar, a lot of misspellings, and/or the obvious lack of ability to speak or write in coherent English and I am off to the next listing.
4. Pricing – One of the biggest advantages of shopping online is being able to shop for the best price.  But my radar goes off when I see pricing that is just to good to be true.  You cannot buy something for a fifth of the price unless it is a) stolen; b) damaged; c) a knock-off; d) a complete scam; or e) all of the above.  The online shopping experience is cluttered with what amounts to the “For Sale: antique Corvette in pristine condition.  $500 obo.” Of course the Corvette is being sold by a little old lady who has no idea what it is really worth.  I was born, but not yesterday.

There are others, but these are among the top factors that cause me to doubt the veracity or motives of online retailers.  Of course, sticking with reputable retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, and Borders to name a few really up the trust quotient.

What online factors drive your shopping patterns online?

Kind regards,

Chris Daniel

Marketers Target Children with Powerful, Subtle Online Tools

New and emerging media provides a wealth of information and entertainment for millions across the globe.   Along with the good content there is a fair share of bad.  Some content may be intended for a mature audience so adults wanting access to that content would argue that attempts to label and control what is allowed on the Internet smacks of censorship of the worst kind – subjecting everyone to someone else’s idea of what is suitable and depriving users of their right to freely choose.  Whether you like all of the content online – and believe me there is a lot out there that I could not begin to justify on any level – it is impossible to set standards that would please everyone.  Modifying an old cliché to suit the theme here, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”

Ultimately, parents do need to set some guidelines about acceptable use of new and emerging media and the technology that literally can bring the whole world streaming right into their homes and the impressionable minds of their children.  While software can help parents set controls on what can be accessed via a home computer and they can even limit the amount of time their children spend online per day and week, they should remain vigilant as some inappropriate or questionable content is delivered in formats that might otherwise be overlooked.

Whether you know it or not, children are targeted and bombarded by marketers and brands relentlessly.  It might be a fast food chain or a toy manufacturer promoting unhealthy foods or encouraging poor behavior, which can be bad enough.  Or perhaps children might be exposed to content that usurps the parents’ authority by teaching viewpoints that go against the religious, political, or general principals of the family.

Marketers today are taking full advantage of new media to communicate with children in powerful albeit sometimes subtle ways.  Online videos often incorporating cartoon content, advergaming that blatantly promotes a product, service, or theme or incorporates such content seamlessly into the action, and behind-the-scene web analytics that track, measure, and then target children with tailored online advertisements are but a few of the powerful ways marketers and others are making inroads into children’s minds.  The bottom line is that parents can’t simply rely on software to keep their children safe nor can they assume children are mature enough not to be affected by the online content they are purposefully exposed to on a regular basis.

Just this past week for example, Build-A-Bear Workshop gained a great deal of unwanted notoriety on a national scale for online content that critics claim targets children with climate-change indoctrination.  I first heard about the issue listening to Glenn Beck’s radio program where a mother and her daughter phoned in to discuss advergaming on the Build-A-Bear Workshop web site that incorporated a climate change message.  This was soon followed by traditional media coverage of the site’s three-part video series entitled, “Under the North Star: An Uplifting Christmas Experience,” featuring a cartoon polar bear warning Santa about global warming and how it was wreaking havoc on the environment – going so far as to say that the North Pole could vanish by Christmas.

Headquartered in Overland, Missouri near St. Louis, Build-A-Bear quickly removed the content and issued a statement insisting that the message was intended to inspire children to make a difference as individuals and not intended to indoctrinate.  Radio hosts and bloggers opposed to the notion of global warming continued to report on the issue with some calling for a boycott of the toy company. Maura Flynn, a contributor on BigGovernment.com, stated that the Build-A-Bear online content is “brainwashing on the sleaziest and most sinister” level.  She goes on to write, “People, we have the means, if we have the will, to topple these charlatans who shamelessly prey on little children.”

Regardless of whether you believe global warming is a threat or not, most can agree that the topic is an overly politicized one.  Much of the outrage stems from the belief that companies shouldn’t overstep their bounds and should instead leave such topics to parents to discuss with their children.  That is the point.  Marketers have a great deal of latitude when it comes to targeting children whether the message promotes a kid’s meal with the latest movie toy, sugar-drenched cereals and snacks, or “pick your political topic sure to enrage half of the nation.”  This is why it is essential that parents remain vigilant about the content their children are exposed to.

Regards,

Chris Daniel

Resources

Build-A-Bear Draws Global Warming Fire

http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2009/12/build-a-bear_draws_fire_in_global_warming_debate.html

Toy Company’s Animated Series Riles Global Warming Skeptics

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,581093,00.html

GPS Enabled Mobile Marketing – Invasion of Privacy or Good Tradeoff?

Someday in the near future marketers may seek to strategically utilize GPS technology to track and target you with mobile advertisements and promotions.   The technology exists already. In fact GPS apps are already avaible for cell phones including both the iPhone and Blackberry.  Some experts believe brands will continue to develop and offer free or low cost “apps” including GPS variations that users can download onto their phones or hand-helds – the idea being that users will “opt in” to receive promotional messages via text or e-mail in order to access and utilize the particular app or apps of interest.

Other variations and strategies may be employed although marketers are aware that over-zealous use of GPS-enabled mobile marketing campaigns, especially those targeting users who have not given permission to receive such communications, could very well result in regulatory intervention similar to the “do not call” registries aimed at curbing telemarketers.  Obviously getting consumers to opt in is advantageous for marketers and could be seen as beneficial to some consumers interested in low-cost GPS functionality.

Once users have opted in and downloaded the GPS app, marketers can track and send promotional offers directly to them based on their proximity to particular distribution points.  Imagine walking or driving down the street and receiving a mobile promotion for a discounted value meal as you approach a McDonald’s or other fast food restaurant.  Consider the same scenario but this time you receive a digital coupon for an oil change as you approach a Jiffy Lube or PEP Boys.  There might even be a day when your GPS-equipped device might send and receive data that enables marketers to delivery digital coupons as you pass certain sections in the supermarket or to cause coupons to print out from stationary devices affixed to the store’s shelves.

So far those scenarios don’t raise too much concern – or do they?  Some consumers might be a bit wary of marketers and potentially other entities tracking their every move.  Would you consider the “privacy for GPS functionality” a reasonable tradeoff?  Would you rather pay for GPS functionality for your mobile device without the compromise – even if the price was much more expensive?   Are you overly concerned about being tracked and information about your habits stored by marketers?

Kind regards,

Chris Daniel

2009 Viral Video Retrospective – What Made Your Top 10?

As December comes to a close and people begin to embrace the coming new year (or bracing for it if you are a bit more pessimistic), the unavoidable lists of the best and worst of 2009 are sure to make their way onto television, radio, print, and yes, even new media.  Whether it is the best and worst movies, music, or viral media, the lists will either rekindle some humorous or enjoyable memories or perhaps clue us in to some items we may have missed in popular culture over the past 12 months.

Maybe you joined the millions who followed Susan Boyle’s meteoric rise thanks to Youtube videos of her incredible audition and subsequent performances on the television program Britain’s Got Talent.

Or perhaps you were unable to resist the “Wedding Video”.

Of course there were many other viral sensations that were viewed and shared digitally that showcased musicians, dancing babies, surprised kittens, sleep walking dogs, stupid people doing dangerous things, and many others.

For me, I must admit Susan Boyle’s first in-your-face performance and the stunned reaction by a dismissive audience and panel of judges captured my attention and kept me coming back to Youtube for subsequent performances.  Maybe it was the classic appeal of the “underdog.”  One thing is for certain though as we head into 2010, Youtube and other Internet-based video sites will continue to springboard the unlikeliest of people, animals, and video content to viral acclaim.

Looking back over the past 12 months, what Internet sensations caused you to stop and take notice?  As you mentally compile your list, also consider how likely you were to have forwarded either a video or link that was e-mailed to you to someone else.  How often did that occur?  Did you share the link via Twitter?  Facebook? Other social media?

Here’s to your health and happiness in the new year.  Stay tuned, you never know when the next viral sensation will appear in your e-mail inbox.

Kind regards,

Chris Daniel