With Ecommerce being Hotter than Ever, be part of the (R)etail (R)evolution…

Exactly as predicted by e-gurus 15 years ago, e-commerce is hotter than ever. Whether in mature markets, where consumer spending is shifting online, or in growth markets where rapid urbanization and increasing (mobile) internet penetration are unlocking new shopping habits, shoppers are ‘e-commercing’ it up.

Some obligatory stats:

  • US e-commerce sales will grow 62% by 2016, to USD 327 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).
  • European e-commerce sales will grow by 78% by 2016, to USD 230 billion (Source: Forrester, February 2012).
  • Brazilian e-commerce sales will grow 21.9% in 2012 to USD 18.7 billion (Source: eMarketer, January 2012).
  • Chinese e-commerce sales were CNY 780 billion (USD 124 billion) in 2011, an increase of 66% from 2010. E-commerce is expected to rise from 3% of consumption to 7% by 2015 (Source: IDC, March 2012).
  • India’s e-commerce market is expected to grow to USD 70 billion by 2020, from just USD 600 million in 2011 (Source: Technopak Advisors, February 2012).
  • Indonesian e-commerce sales are forecast to grow from USD 120 million in 2010 to USD 650 million by 2015 (Source: Frost & Sullivan, February 2012).

Now, consumers’ current ‘online’ experiences are of course fundamentally different to those during the early dotcom boom: e-commerce is no longer just about choice, price, convenience, reviews and ratings, but also about everything that consumers look for in any purchase: status, the right product and a compelling experience.

So, time to learn about and profit from the latest innovations that are transforming e-commerce, and ultimately, reshaping shopping behavior. Both on and offline. Click here to do so…

Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world’s leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.

‘Follow the Money’ Business Lessons from the Apollo Bay Music Festival…

The Apollo Bay Music Festival seems to reinvent itself every year, and this year was no exception. Whilst I could spend time discussing the pros and cons of such a move, the 2 key “Follow the Money” lessons revealed to me were far more pedestrian than that. To explain…

1. A talented, young, dread-locked, guitar-playing busker was doing his thing in the main street. He had captured the attention of a few of the dawdlers, us included. As it happened, the crowd was slowly but surely building. It started to rain. He was under shelter, as were his listeners. All were morphing into a very nice little groove. And then he announced it was his last song, and stopped. Just like that.

The lesson:
When you have a captured audience, don’t stop playing.
If, how you make your money is what is thrown in your hat sitting out front, then don’t stop playing; at least not until the rain stops. Nobody was moving around, so its not like the replacement or the organisers were hot on the tail…

2.  After experiencing a fabulous midnight musical collaboratory treat, the following day, the crowd were hungry to keep it alive and purchase their memento to take home. When I was in the Merchandise tent around 3pm, there seemed to be some confusion. The showbag, together with the CD, badge and sticker were not being sold as expressed the night before.  Oh oohhh, how many had been asking and not being able to purchase?

The lesson:
Always ensure the money trail is locked and loaded before playing!
I know for many artists, “it’s not about the money man”. But you know what, at a festival like this one, it is. With this festival being one of the few that do NOT take a cut of the purchases, that’s more in the musicians pocket. To leave many sales flagging is just not kosher, and is certainly not smart business.

It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, always follow the money to ensure that it is flowing into your pocket, where it should be, and not leaking into the ether…

The Unasked Question: How Do You Run a Company?

“Just ask someone today this simple question: ‘How do you run a company?’ Invariably, you’ll be met with a blank stare. Because nobody ever asks that question. Because no one expects that there’s an answer. Yet it may be the most important question we need to answer if we want to grow our businesses and fix our economy.”

By Dick Cross for ChangeThis.com

Stop Selling and Start Storytelling…

“After a lot of thought, it’s pretty apparent to me what the most valuable overall skill is for future CEOs and world changers—the ability to tell a story. We live in a world where we are sold to hundreds of times a day and have become ridiculously blind to those trying to sell us something. But we’re always up for a good story.

Storytelling is what made us love the advertisements in magazines that, as children, we would rip out and put on our walls and asleep under with inspired awe. Stories are the most powerful form of inspiration and persuasion in the world.”

By Jason L. Baptiste for ChangeThis.com

The 7 reasons why Business Owners sell the business…

Recently, Business Brokerage Press released a study on reasons businesses were sold. They determined, based on the results of that study, that the reason an owner would sell a business had a direct effect on the probability of their business selling at all. Brian Mazar, CEO of American Fortune Mergers and Acquisitions, shares his comments (and issues a challenge) on the released information.

The study listed seven reasons a business owner would state to a potential buyer about why they were selling a business. These reasons (and there probability of sale) were:

  1. retirement (30-35%)
  2. health problems or a death (25-30%)
  3. partnership/family problems or divorce (15-20%)
  4. burn-out/other business investments (15-20%)
  5. under-capitalization (10-15%)
  6. insufficient profits (5-10%)
  7. profit motivated (0-5%)

In every sale there are two perspectives a buyer considers. The first is their emotional involvement in the deal; how do they “feel” about the business. The second perspective is how successful they think the business will be once they own it. The key, according to Mazar, is to have them feel good about both perspectives. Read on…

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