Tag Archives: consumer behavior

by | Friday, December 6, 2024 · 7:29 am

Holiday Shopping: Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024

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

Spending is still leaning more towards online shopping increase. In-store sales saw only a small uptick in visitors and shopping. Online shopping doubled from 2017 (when sales were just over $5 billion).

What did people buy? Well, consumers bought a lot of toys, jewelry, appliances, clothing, and appliances. Some of the most popular toys were Harry Potter LEGO sets, lots of “Wicked” toys and game, Disney Princess toys, and gaming consoles were also big winners.

Some shopping highlights:

  • Total number of shoppers grew by 17 million from 2021 to more than 196.7 million consumers over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
  • On Thanksgiving day, consumers spent a record $6.1 billion online, up 9% from last year.
  • Black Friday spending online was $10.8 billion.
  • This amount is up 15% compared to in-stores sales.
  • In-store sales increased less than 1% though.
  • More than half of all online sales on Black Friday were placed on mobile screens.
  • Cyber Monday shopping was more than $13 billion, up 6% from last year.
  • Average consumer spending was $325.44 on holiday-related purchases.

No matter what is happening with the economy, people still like to shop and give gifts. Consumers also like to indulge themselves with an increase in self-care product categories.

What did you buy?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss spending over the Thanksgiving weekend. Show video: https://youtu.be/m7jY0yAq2RY?si=boh64UoWVMMJjJ7o
  2. View National Retail Federation statistics and charts: https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/record-1967-million-consumers-shop-over-thanksgiving-holiday-weekend
  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: Hadero, H., and Grantham-Philips, W. (2 December 2024). Cyber Monday shoppers expected to set a record on the year’s biggest day for online shopping. Associated Press; Moore, J. (30 November 2024). Black Friday shoppers spent a record $10.8 billion online: What did people buy? ABC News; other news sources.

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by | Wednesday, November 6, 2024 · 7:43 am

Can These Glasses Make You Smarter?

It’s often said that wearing glasses make you look smarter. But do glasses actually make you smarter? Well, if they are the Ray-Ban Meta glasses with AI, then yes, they can make you smarter – or at least help you to act smarter.

The glasses were first introduced in 2021 and Meta sold about 300,000 pairs in 18 months. However, less than 10% were still being actively used two years later. Version 2 of the Ray-Ban framed glasses now available has sold more than 700,000 units.

The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are full of cool features as well as having the iconic Ray-Ban frames. They incorporate a camera, microphones, and artificial intelligence. Want to video with the glasses? Press a button to start a video for 30-or 60-seconds, or longer to three-minutes. Curious about something you see? Ask the AI for help.

Using Meta AI, you can ask questions while wearing the glasses and get a handy assist. For example, you might ask about a building, animal, or something else in your view. You can also take photos and videos, make calls, play music, and message. Voice commands and voice chatbots are available in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

The glasses can also be outfitted with prescription (and transitional) lenses and are compatible with iPhone and Android. The glasses are priced from $299 to $379, depending on style and lens type.

What do you see?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Would they buy smart glasses?
  2. Discuss the rise – and fall – of smart glasses (e.g., Google Glass, Spectacles by Snap).
  3. Show video of Meta’s glasses: https://youtu.be/scDLJAYrHaE?si=Ll1M9CQkirycQ1MF
  4. Show website for the glasses: https://www.meta.com/smart-glasses/
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team research and compare Meta with competition from Google, Snap, and other companies.
  6. What are the features and advantages of each? Negative aspects?
  7. In teams, have the students develop a profile of the target customer for the glasses.
  8. Next, have the teams determine the elements should be in the marketing campaign.

Source: Bobrowsky, M. (24 September 2024). How Meta’s smart Ray-Ban glasses spawned a Silicon Valley Hit. Wall Street Journal; Calma, J (17 September 2024). Meta extends its Ray-Ban smart glasses deal beyond 2030. The Verge.com.

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by | Thursday, October 31, 2024 · 7:35 am

Perfect Pitch

Do you have an idea for a great problem-solving product? Excellent. Next, how is your product pitch skill? (A product pitch is a presentation to convince the investors to support your product.)

You have probably seen the show “Shark Tank” where pitches are made each episode to get investors. “Shark Tank” is focused on new product ideas that can be fully developed into a scalable, saleable product. Each show, entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors who may, or may not, invest in the idea for a percentage of the company.

Amazon is now taking a page out of the “Shark Tank” book and is introducing a similar show called “Buy It Now” which also has an Amazon storefront. But for this competition, the entrepreneurs pitch their ideas not only to a panel of judges, but also to a studio audience of 100 consumers who get to vote on the product attractiveness and viability.

The show is hosted by comedian J.B. Smooth (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”).  Entrepreneurs have only 90 seconds to pitch their invention. The audience then votes whether the product should be shown to the judges panel. Winners get support from Amazon in selling their products online.

If the product is selected, then Amazon will sell it in a special section of the store called “Buy it now store” which can be found using a QR code that shows up during each episode. Plus, one winner each week will win $20,000!

The first three episodes of “Buy It Now” launched October 30 and the show will run for 13 episodes, until January 8, 2025. In addition, there will be a weekly podcast that gives listeners a glimpse behind the scenes.

Ready, set, pitch!

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show video about the new Amazon competition: https://youtu.be/8xV-ogRIi1Q?si=pX9FsW72_paa9lNs
  2. Discuss what needs to go into an effective product pitch.
  3. Develop a protocol for scoring pitches for investing.
  4. Divide students into teams.
  5. Have each team select a problem that bugs them, then develop a new product that will help to solve that problem.
  6. Next, have the teams develop a pitch that would work on Amazon’s new show.
  7. Each team should present their pitch to the class, which then votes on the winning pitch.

Source: Davis, W. (30 September 2024). Amazon is launching its own Shard Tank where winners get to be Amazon sellers. TheVerg.com; Toonkel, J. (19 September 2024). Amazon’s new ‘Shark Tank’-style show gives winners top billing in its stores. Wall Street Journal.

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