Monthly Archives: November 2009

Cyber Monday All December

November 27, 2009

After reading up on the spending habits of consumers during the month of December, it has become clear that Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving that is famed with having the highest online sales for the year) should more accurately be called Cyber Monday’s in December. It turns out that while Monday is the most popular online shopping day, each Monday in December (including the Monday before Christmas, this year the 21st December) are all significant in terms of generating sales.cyber-monday-425

As the month progresses, buyers tend to be less concerned with the specific item and more concerned with cost saving – So online businesses with limited stock promotions can still move remaining inventory right up to Christmas. Shipping promotions, too, will help etailers attract visitors, with express delivery giving last-minute shoppers extra peace of mind.

Carol Tice, for Entrepreneur’s “Daily Dose” highlighted another important point for small business retailers to remember:

“I’ve always thought it a funny quirk of our American mindset that news of modest growth such as the NRF forecast depresses retailers. If there’s 2.2 percent growth, that means there will be more sales than last year! Yet all we can do is mope.

The key thing for small businesses to bear in mind is that averages do not have to be your personal reality. A small business represents such a tiny slice of the overall marketplace that your results can vary widely–they could be zero, or this could be your best year ever.” (read full here)

I for one am very optimistic about this year’s performance for small businesses.

What marketing promotions will you be running during the holiday season? Share here and learn from others!

Posted in: Events and Happenings, Know-How, Personal Insights, Trend Insights – No Comments

Turkey Sandwiches and Black Friday

November 24, 2009
The New Black Friday
As American readers will know, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, i.e. this Friday!),  signals the beginning of holiday shopping season and is frequently the U.S’s busiest retail day of the year.  If you are one of the brave people who like to take on the crowds, then keep in mind that Black Friday is also a good time for small businesses to secure an office bargain.
In her recent blog for USA Today (here), Rhonda Abrams suggest the following strategies which may prove helpful
Strategies for successful small business Black Friday shopping:
1. Make a list of stuff you really need. Don’t buy just because something’s cheap. It’s tempting, I know.
2. Check to see which version of Windows 7 you need. If you have a server you’ll need at least the Pro or Ultimate edition. Upgrades are very expensive so buy the right one.
3. Before Friday, find out whether Windows 7 will work with your current software and peripherals before you buy. Otherwise, things can get really costly.
4. Shop online. Many retailers and even manufacturers are offering deals online beginning as early as midnight Friday morning. You may find the best stuff for small businesses — higher levels of Windows 7 for example — online.
5. Apply for your rebates. Make copies of everything and send rebates out immediately.
6. Check the office stores. They often have equipment more suited for business, rather than just consumer, use.
Especially good buys for small business on Black Friday include media — jump drives, CDs, DVDs, media cards. These can be dirt cheap. And you can find really good deals on smaller office equipment like surge protectors, scanners and label makers.
Personally, I find the prospect of Cyber Monday much more exciting – But more of that later this week! For those preparing to take on Friday’s challenges and win, my recommendation is to pack a left-over turkey sandwich and use the event to burn off some of the Turkey Day excesses! Good luck.
To all my American readers, happy thanksgiving!

As American readers will know, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, i.e. this Friday!),  signals the beginning of holiday shopping season and is frequently the U.S’s busiest retail day of the year.  If you are one of the brave people who like to take on the crowds, then keep in mind that Black Friday is also a good time for small businesses to secure an office bargain.

thanksgiving

In her recent blog for USA Today (here), Rhonda Abrams suggest the following strategies which may prove helpful

Strategies for successful small business Black Friday shopping:

1. Make a list of stuff you really need. Don’t buy just because something’s cheap. It’s tempting, I know.

2. Check to see which version of Windows 7 you need. If you have a server you’ll need at least the Pro or Ultimate edition. Upgrades are very expensive so buy the right one.

3. Before Friday, find out whether Windows 7 will work with your current software and peripherals before you buy. Otherwise, things can get really costly.

4. Shop online. Many retailers and even manufacturers are offering deals online beginning as early as midnight Friday morning. You may find the best stuff for small businesses — higher levels of Windows 7 for example — online.

5. Apply for your rebates. Make copies of everything and send rebates out immediately.

6. Check the office stores. They often have equipment more suited for business, rather than just consumer, use.

Especially good buys for small business on Black Friday include media — jump drives, CDs, DVDs, media cards. These can be dirt cheap. And you can find really good deals on smaller office equipment like surge protectors, scanners and label makers.

Personally, I find the prospect of Cyber Monday much more exciting – But more of that later this week! For those preparing to take on Friday’s challenges and win, my recommendation is to pack a left-over turkey sandwich and use the event to burn off some of the Turkey Day excesses! Good luck.

To all my American readers, happy thanksgiving!

Posted in: Events and Happenings, Know-How, Personal Insights – 1 Comment

Method and Madness

November 20, 2009

Over the years I have been privileged to learn from some truly inspiring people; the sorts of people who have pushed me to not just be an ambitious entrepreneur, but an innovative entrepreneur, too.  I don’t always know these people personally, but I follow them and their companies in the media, through their books, on their websites and sometimes, even as a customer. That is because in order to understand how someone thinks, you have to watch what they do. And they are doing some really exciting things.Ecommerce Report

I’m planning to write in more detail about some of these people in the near future, but firstly I wanted to talk about differentiating your company – something the nets leaders have cornered. The most successful etailers are those who look toward the future and plan to make it more dynamic from the beginning. I believe in having progressive core values from the start is vital to ensuring your business will last the test of time. There are plenty of examples that prove this theory.

Amongst the competitive online marketplace, one way to measure whether or not your tactics are working is to pay attention to what people are saying around you and about you. If your company is raising eyebrows, spurring conversations and inspiring others, then you are on the right track.

When Australia’s Ecommerce Report editor, Stewart Carter, wrote this week that retailers would “be mad to ignore” my company, DHgate.com, I was reminded that recognition from peers is reassuring! Although we are still working to overcome many challenges faced by young companies and a rapidly changing marketplace, we are feeling positive. I must admit, it’s an exciting time.

You can check out Stewart’s full report here.

Posted in: DHgate, Personal Insights, Press – 1 Comment

Barack in Beijing

November 18, 2009

As U.S. President, Barack Obama, is currently visiting Beijing, much of the world media’s attention is focused on talks with the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, on the issue of trade and other economic disagreements.obama_greatwall

Putting these and other critical issues to the side for the moment, a resounding message which surfaces from the President’s visit is that the relationship between China and the US is growing stronger – And that, in the opinion of several leading commentators, is good news for the world economy - which means good news for businesses.

I’ve been doing some interesting reading on the subject today and thought I would highlight a couple of the opinion articles I’ve read to see what your thoughts are.

The Wall Street Journal’s Robert B. Reich comments that President Barack Obama’s wish to “rebalance” the economic relationship between China and the U.S. as part of his plan to restart the American jobs machine is wishful thinking. Do you agree? Read here.

Newsweek’s Michael Hirsh says that the U.S.-China relationship is not only the fulcrum of the world economy, but a good thing after all. What do you think? Read here.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Posted in: Events and Happenings, Personal Insights – No Comments

The Competitive Edge

November 11, 2009

Competition is a fact of life for any business.  While it can be frustrating and worrying, competition spurs innovation, improvements and can generate market hype. Personally, over the years I have come to relish competition, and just as well because B2B ecommerce has plenty of it!competition

Whenever people ask me about my business, they inevitably ask the difference between DHgate.com and the supplier listing site, Alibaba. Alibaba spent USD$30 mil on international advertising this year, so it is not surprising that they are making a name for themselves. In truth, until recently Alibaba were not strictly speaking a direct competitor; while their primary service involves providing information listings akin to Yellow Pages, they do not actually host transactions as DHgate does; also, the bulk of their users are domestic, whereas 100% of our buyers come from outside of China. Our business models also differ greatly, with ours a pay-per-performance model, allowing users completely free access and generating revenue only when an order is successfully completed. Alibaba generates revenue by charging memberships fees and paid keyword advertising.

DHgate was the first business to streamline the cross-border trade process in an ecommerce platform, combining the collective buying power of SME buyers to leverage significant cost savings not just to drive down product costs with suppliers, but also with shipping companies, payment providers and other logistics partners. Now, five years on, competition in this space is hotting-up.

More and more newcomers are trying their luck in this market, and even traditional trade companies such as Alibaba are diversifying their offering to include a small-scale version. Far from being concerned about this, I’m actually really excited. This means that the market DHgate created and grew is thriving.

With more companies following our lead, we will see awareness of our function grow – especially if those companies are using big budgets to spread the word! At DHgate, I’ve always let positive word of mouth and referrals lead our marketing approach. We’ve grown with our suppliers and our buyers and we have a deep understanding of their needs and wants and as we introduce huge innovations to exceed our users’ expectations, we are preparing for explosive growth.

We have a 5 year head start on any of the competition, after all.

The Wall Street Journal also had a comment on our competitive advantage this week in the China Real Time Report. See here:

AliExpress. This product has been in beta since last quarter, and allows for transactions online that can be paid for through AliPay, Alibaba Group’s online escrow service. Up until now, Alibaba.com only connected buyers to sellers, but didn’t facilitate transactions online, so this could also mean a major milestone for Alibaba.com. It will be interesting to see whether the company moves toward a transaction-based model, because that model is very different from the current pay-up-front membership fee they charge to customers regardless of how many sales they make. The company already has competitors like DHgate, which allows transactions online, provides keyword search results by popularity and relevance rather than keyword advertising, and does not charge any membership fees.

How have you taken on the competition? What competitive challenges do you face? I’d love to hear your experiences here.

Posted in: DHgate, Know-How, Personal Insights – No Comments
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