SmallBusinessNewz

Google and Digitas Reflect On A Mobile Mother's Day

Google is giving mobile advertisers access to new mobile marketing insights and usage research, as the result of a partnership with brand agency Digitas. The two companies are combining search and marketing data to "forecast trends, inform investment strategies, and drive the creation of mobile optimized websites."

The Impact of Mobile on the Holidays

Although consumers are embracing mobile at a rapid rate, most businesses are not jumping on the bandwagon as quickly. A recent report from eCommerce Know-How actually showed that 58 percent of companies are not utilizing mobile marketing or mobile commerce. Is this number surprising to you?

Small Businesses Should Plan For Holiday Vacations

At the end of the year, offices often become near-ghost towns, with a significant percentage of employees taking time off to visit relatives or just enjoy the holidays.  The trick is to make sure there's at least a skeleton crew on hand, and it's a good idea to work out the details early.Anybody catch last night's episode of Outsourced?  In it, an American company neglected to plan for the Indian holiday Diwali, and as a result, one guy got stuck handling calls that a workforce of perhaps 20 people would usually field.

Burst Media Predicts Stable Holiday Spending

The holidays are a magical time of year when kids can tire of mountains of toys and more sensitive people can fall in love with a well-picked card.  Fortunately for small businesses, data from Burst Media indicates most consumers won't try to opt for cheap stuff and homemade gifts this year.Burst surveyed 2,600 American adults before reaching this conclusion, so its findings should be somewhat sound.  The only thing worth noting is that the people were surveyed online, so the results might skew towards the tech-savvy.

NRF Predicts Tolerable 4th Of July Spending

It's time for sales of fireworks and hotdogs - and/or earplugs and trash bags - to take off again.  The National Retail Federation found that lots of people intend to celebrate the 4th of July, but not everyone will be out waving a flag or staring at the sky.

It's Not Too Early To Start Preparing for the Holidays

It's June, so it must be time to start preparing for the holidays right? Seriously, it's never to early to start thinking about it when you're in retail. That's precisely why Google has run down some takeaways from the 2009 holiday season on its Retail Advertising Blog. Google reminds us that last year, 44% of shoppers had already started their holiday shopping and researching in August. That's not so far away. Some other stats the company points out:

NRF Predicts Father's Day Spending Will Rise

It's not a bad year to be a dad, as new statistics from the National Retail Federation indicate that other family members will be spending significantly more on Father's Day this time around.  Spending should in fact (on average) reach $94.32, up from $90.89 last year.

Increase In Mother's Day Spending Predicted

It shouldn't be a bad year to be a mom, according to new stats from the National Retail Federation and BIGResearch.  These organizations believe spending on mothers will be up this year compared to last, and by a significant (though not huge) 2.4 percent.

Easter Forecast Points To Increased Spending

It looks like small businesses are going to benefit from two "up" holidays in a row.  Less than a week after the National Retail Federation predicted that people will spend more on St. Patrick's day this year than last, the organization issued another forecast suggesting that Easter will also be more profitable.

St. Patrick's Day Spending Estimates Up

St. Patrick's Day should be a slightly more festive - and profitable - occasion this year than it was in 2009.  The National Retail Federation, working together with BIGresearch, forecast that consumers will spend more money to celebrate the holiday, with young people being particularly likely to get in the spirit.