John Borkowski, November 21, 2011
Kenneth C. Wisnefski, online marketing expert and founder / CEO of WebiMax, announces how the evolution of the internet has changed the way merchants and consumers navigate the holiday season. Components including E-commerce, reputation management, reviews and social media have supported the online marketplace that acts to end the traditional shopping experience people have enjoyed for many years.
“If we simply focus on the 2010 statistics of ‘Cyber-Monday’ versus ‘Black-Friday’ (on-line versus in-store), we see that Cyber-Monday experienced 16 percent growth to just over $1 billion in online revenue, whereas Black-Friday revenue only experienced a small increase of 0.3 percent compared to 2009”, states Wisnefski. “The simple fact is that it is more convenient, consumers can read online reviews, and compare products and purchase from the comfort of their own home (not to mention they don’t have to deal with holiday crowds)”.
These figures are parallel to the success of small business start-ups entering the online advertising market. Wisnefski’s firm, WebiMax, founded in 2008, has flourished due to the heavy demand for search engine optimization, search engine marketing, E-commerce solutions, social media, pay per click management and more. The company’s revenue is up 400% year over year compared to 2010 and Wisnefski says “companies are investing more resources than ever before in to these online services.” He furthers “we represent many retailers that are conducting most of their holiday business online versus in-store”.
It is well-documented that investments in E-Commerce are on the rise as consumers move on-line to make their holiday purchases. In fact, comScore reported positive growth in E-Commerce spending for the last 8 consecutive quarters.
“The present-day consumer is more price-conscience and aware of competition amongst manufactures which are more reasons why demand is shifting heavy to on-line purchases versus in-store”, states Wisnefski. “There is a plethora of resources available to the on-line consumer including reviews and ratings, product comparisons and customizing options which ultimately leads to a more educated buying decision by the consumer”.
The fact that companies are investing more and more each year in to E-Commerce and illustrated by recent holiday revenue statistics, it is strongly believed that on-line revenue will outpace holiday in-store shopping over the next few years.
“I will close with this. Everyone loves A Christmas Story when Ralphie sees the BB gun in the store window. Nowadays, Ralphie would have found the BB gun online and his parents would be reading reviews about how many kids actually shot their eyes out with it”!, exclaims Wisnefski.
