Tag Archives: Communication

by | Sunday, December 17, 2023 · 8:42 pm

Holiday Shopping: Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2023

Ready… Set… Shop!

Yes, it’s that time of year again as Black Friday has become a big shopping excursion for consumers. It also seems to get longer. This year, Black Friday sales started weeks earlier and the deals continued on for weeks afterward.  

While we might suspect that spending is still leaning towards online shopping, brick-and-mortar stores and malls saw an uptick in visitors and shopping. Foot traffic in top-tier indoor malls jumped almost 300% compared to the visitor traffic during the first three quarters of the year. Consider that Target had 160% more visitors and Best Buy gathered 700% more traffic.

According to Adobe, Cyber Monday also grew at a rate of 9.6% compared to last year, making it the biggest online shopping day, ever. Electronics, smartwatches, TV, and audio equipment were big sellers along with gaming products. Top gifts were clothing and accessories, toys, gift cards, books, video games, and beauty products.

Some additional shopping highlights:

  • 200.4 million consumers shopped over the five-day holiday shopping weekend from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.
  • Black Friday was again the most popular day for in-store shopping at 76.2 million shoppers.
  • Black Friday was also the most popular day for online shopping at 90.6 million shoppers
  • Shoppers spent $9.8 billion online (an increase of 7.5% from last year)
  • Mobile devices accounted for 54% of online sales, exceeding revenue from desktop shopping.
  • Cyber Monday was the season’s biggest online shopping day at $12.4 billion.
  • Shopper traffic in stores was up 2 – 5% compared to 2022.
  • Big categories for in-store shopping were health and beauty, jewelry, apparel, and home stores.
  • Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) rose significantly by 42% compared to 2022.

No matter what is happening with the economy, people still like to shop and give gifts.

What did you buy?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss spending over the Thanksgiving weekend. Show video: https://youtu.be/lDw6EhPgwXU?si=t03H0qw8u9lhhb8c
  2. Show the NRF shopping charts: https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/thanksgiving-holiday-weekend-sees-record-number-shoppers
  3. Poll students about their shopping over Thanksgiving Week – Cyber Monday.
  4. Where did they spend? How much?
  5. Divide students into teams.
  6. In teams, have students tally how much they spent, which products were sought after, etc. See which teams are the biggest spenders.
  7. Have each team design a holiday sales promotion for a company of their choosing.

Source: Kohan, S. (26 November 2023). Black Friday online sales up 7/5% and in-store shopping visits climbed. Forbes; National Retail Federation. (28 November 2023). Thanksgiving holiday weekend sees record number of shoppers; Norfleet, N. (29 November 2023). Shoppers flock to Black Friday deals. Minneapolis Star Tribune.

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by | Tuesday, August 1, 2023 · 12:06 pm

Meta launches ‘Threads’

X (previously known as Twitter) is under attack from Meta’s new app called ‘Threads.’ In less than a week after its launch in July, Threads signed up more than 100 million users. (It’s even a trending topic on X/Twitter.) While this level of new users is good news for Meta, the key will be getting people to use Threads long-term.   What is Threads? Threads is a social media app and microblogging tool. While it isn’t taking advertising placement – yet – it has access to all Facebook’s users plus Instagram and WhatsApp users. Threads allows users to log in using their Instagram or Facebook accounts, making the sign up process fast and easy. So easy that it signed up 30 million users in the first 24-hours of launch.   As a direct competitor to X, X’s lawyers immediately alleged that Meta hired X employees to help build Threads. X is used to controversy and, with recent limits on posts viewed daily and content moderation, no stranger to users ire at it. The biggest problem though is X’s loss of advertisers.   Threads is similar to X in many areas, including posts up to 500 text characters, reposting others’ threads, and posting photos and videos up to five minutes long. Threads is also free compared to users paying $8.00 per month for a X Blue subscription. Another allure of Threads is its quick connection to all your friends on Instagram. However, Threads does not have direct messaging yet, which keeps all posts in the public domain.   Time will tell how the marketplace, and eventually advertisers, bonds with Threads.   What do you think?      Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has used Threads? Why? What is the experience?
  2. Show information about Threads: https://about.fb.com/news/2023/07/introducing-threads-new-app-text-sharing/
  3. View video about Threads: https://youtu.be/hbMJSn5GyOE  (there are many other videos also).
  4. What will move users to Threads from X/Twitter? What will move advertisers?
  5. Who are the competitors for Threads? (ex: BlueSky and Mastodon)
  6. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  7. How should Threads position itself to beat out competitors?
  8. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for Threads.

 Source: Chen, B., and Issac, M. (12 July 2023). Threads review: How Meta’s new app stacks up against Twitter. New York Times; Jackson, K., and Aguilar, N. (14 July 2023). Threads keeps growing, and new updates have arrived: What you need to know. CNET; Rodriguez, S., and Haggin, P. (6 July 2023). Meta’s Threads app see early success, drawing advertiser interest and Twitter’s ire. Wall Street Journal; Rodriguez, S. (6 July 2023). Day after Threads launches, Twitter accuses Meta of using its trade secrets. Wall Street Journal; other news sources.

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by | Wednesday, July 19, 2023 · 7:13 am

Get Ready to Navigate the Office

Entering the real work world can be a startling experience for new college grads and for college students working an internship or part-time. They may have technical knowledge about their area, but are they confident going in to an office? Hiring companies look for not only technical skills and abilities, but also the softer skills needed to get along and build relationships.

Soft skills are commonly thought of as how to communicate, how to dress, how to act at meals, and how to network properly. While students have been social and probably done many group projects, there are still skills to be built to make sure they know the basics of getting along and being productive.

For today’s graduates, they were in college during COVID and they may have been remote or distance workers. Even as students, many had virtual classes where they didn’t need to relate personally to their counterparts, and subsequently have not built the skills needed to be part of, or lead, teams at work.

One basic needed skill is emailing. They need to recognize messages, and commit to time deadlines. (No paper extensions are given in the work world.) Another big topic is determining what to wear. (What actually is business casual?) Students need to learn how to formally address someone, not just write “hey, what’s up.”

Networking is another needed skill. Knowing how to mingle and make small talk can help build relationships in business. Another relationship building activity is the business meal. For too many students, manners and meal etiquette are often lacking. Knowing how to be at a business meal means knowing what to order (and not to order), how to contribute to the conversation, and how to watch for clues from business leaders.

The real world awaits. Go get it!

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: How comfortable do they feel entering a professional work environment? What are their top concerns and questions?
  2. Based on the topics posed by the students, divide students into teams and have teams address training for that topic.
  3. Example: Have students practice professional email skills by writing a memo to a boss and a project delay.
  4. Example: Have students determine a wardrobe of clothing that can be worn in an office or out to a business event.
  5. Example: Have students prepare and deliver a professional-level presentation.
  6. Example: Design a network event and have students mingle together as if at the event.
  7. Example: How to dress and travel for business.
  8. INSTRUCTORS: Talk with colleagues or career services on hosting networking and business dinners for students.

Source: Ellis, L. (16 June 2023). New grads have no idea how to behave in the office. Help is on the way. Wall Street Journal.

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