Black Friday Could be a Boom or a Bust for Retailers.
An unprecedented culmination of economic factors are clouding the forecast for Black Friday sales. Virtually every American has taken a hit from the slow economy, but within the past few weeks, a few positive shifts, such as cheaper gas and stronger consumer confidence, could change the entire picture.
A post on today's Wall Street Journal blog cited some interesting stats from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). Retail Chain Store Sales Index declined 0.9% in the week to Nov. 22 from its level a week before, on a seasonally-adjusted, comparable store basis. and a 0.8% decline compared the same week in 200. Michael P. Niemera,ICSC's chief economist suggested that slumping sales in early November could be an indication that more shoppers are holding their cash in anticipation of the upcoming bargains.
Ahead of Black Friday shopping, consumers are seemingly holding back waiting for those big discounts in the days following Thanksgiving, which means that a lot is riding on Black Friday shopping
Retailers are left wondering: Will Americans spend some of that newfound cash they used to spend gas, or will they continue to curtail their spending into 2009, or will they storm Best Buy and Macy's like an invading force? Obviously, the ultimate answer will come from all of us. With that in mind, we wonder if you plan to participate in shopping stampede at your local mall or retail outlet. Tell us on our poll.
By Matt O'Hern.Report of Instability at Cisco Prompts Investors to Sell.
Evidently, Cisco's (NASDAQ:CSCO) alliance with IBM (NYSE:IBM) and demo at the UBS' Global Technology & Services Conference last week didn't generate the positive momentum neccesary to reverse its slumping stock. Cisco dropped 0.98, to 15.42 per share, (-5.8%).
Bloomberg.com reports that Cisco, the biggest producer of network gear is suffering from businesses that don't have the usual amount of cash to upgrade their network communication systems. As smaller business contract, rather than expand their networks, Cisco is feeling the brunt of the impact and compensating for the difference by closing its doors for five consecutive days- Dec. 29-Jan. 2-to save $1 billion in costs.
The report came from Nikos Theodosopoulos , an analyst for UBS, is giving Cisco a neutral rating. He said:
It is prudent for Cisco’s management team to plan for cushion in the event of weaker than expected revenues.The move will help Cisco cut payroll and facility expenses
Other notable losers today were Microsoft (NASAQ:MSFT), - 3.38% and China Mobile Limited(NYSE:CHL), -4.02%
By Matt O'Hern.Technorati Layoffs- A Warning Sign for Blogs & Tech?.
I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, but the latest report of layoffs at Technorati, the cost-cutting moves at Cisco, and the sagging status of many stocks make me wonder if the sky is falling on the tech industry-including blogs and online news.
Just take a look at the Layoff Tracker at TechCrunch if you think I'm an alarmist. According to TechCrunch's stats,231 companies have laid of a total of 79,147 employees since August 2008.
Companies with plentiful pink slips include:
By Matt O'Hern.
BT Group-cut 9,999
Dell-cut 8,900
Sun Microsystems-cut 5,000
Virgin Media-cut 2,200
Motorola- cut 3,000
Gannett-cut 3,000
Freescale-cut 2,400
Yahoo-cut 1,500
Nortel-cut 1,200
Circuit City-cut 800 (more expected)It's not over till the fat lady ( A second Great Depression) sings, but these figures make me wonder if we're on the brink of disaster. For the record, I'm an advocate of free markets, but I don't see any positive signs for our short-term economic future. Personally, I think downturns like this are inevitable and cyclical around every 100 years or so. Without an industry to fall back on, I can't help but wonder where these jobs will be filled.
China Mobile Limited to Provide 3G by March 2009.
China Mobile Limited (NYSE:CHL) has bounced back from its drop on Wall Street,yesterday. CML, the world's largest mobile phone provider, gained 3 points (7%). Positive momentum followed CML's annoncement at the 9th China Mobility International Summit in Beijing, where it claimed that users in the core 10 cities with TD-SCDMA networks will be able to use both 2G and 3G networks by March '09,without the need for a replacement SIM card.
By Matt O'Hern.
By that point, CML's customer base of 415 million is projected to be around 575 million. Long-term investors should consider this interesting apsect of CML's potential market: The approximate population of the United States is just over 305 million, and there are still 700 million remaining Chinese residents who are potential subscribers.Will Blu-Ray Eventually Knockout Movie Theaters?.
Blu-Ray Players are one of the hottest items for Christmas this year, and as more Americans upgrade their home theater, movie theaters are searching for profit solutions.
Despite the fact that Blu-Ray sales fell short of sales projections for this quarter, Sony's head of electronics Stan Glasgow, believes that figure can be credited to the slouching economy as a whole. He told Reuters:It's not that far off of it/Maybe 10 percent off of what we had thought. It's truly one of the items that has performed well during this economic mess.
Compared to the steep decline in movie theater revenue, Blu-Ray appears to be in much stronger condition than your local box office. For example, AMC Entertainment Inc., (NYSE:AC) said it earned $3.7 million in the quarter ending Oct. 2, compared with $36.9 million a year ago.theaters in South America.Revenue fell 10 percent from $701.4 million to $630.5 million.Carmike Cinemas, the fourth largest theatre company in the United States, lost $25 million in 200. Since 2004, its stock price dropped from 39.00 per share to 3.09 today.In that same span, Regal Cinemas has fallen from $20.86 to $9.07.
By Matt O'Hern.
Distinct advantages movie theaters once boasted, such as superior picture quality and surround sound,have been eliminated by the latest innovations in home theater technology.Of course, one appeal the movie theater will always have is the lure of simply "Getting out", but I wonder if that still has the same appeal to modern families.
Short-term, opting for the theater is obviously much cheaper than throwing down $400 for a new home entertainment system, but with ticket prices averaging $8-$10 and concession stand menus with outrageous prices, parents of large families can appreciate the value behind a home theater. Blu-Ray movie are a bit pricier than DVDs,for now, but they're not unreasonable.Iron Man, one of the biggest box-office hits in 2008, sold for $22 Blu-Ray format it hit Target's shelves.Disney signed an exclusive deal to release Netflix has added Blu-Ray to its subscription plans.
I think movie theaters will always have a place in American society, but as they lose their technological and economic edge, I wouldn't be surprised if many of those big screens fade to black, permanently.
Stocks Rise but Sears Website Stalls on Black Friday.
Bargain Hunters hit the stores with cash in hand today, as the annual doorbuster sales blowout known as Black Friday commenced. Stocks for major retailers haven't drastically fluctuate up or down,and the Dow was up 102 points as of 1:45 p.m.
Sears' (NASDAQ:SHLD)investors and executives must have cringed at when sears.com stalled due to high traffic volume. (High traffic is obviously a great sign-but imagine all the potential revenue lost when those online shoppers went to a competitors's site, such as Wal-Mart or Target).
By Matt O'Hern.
Highlights for Sear's sale include Panasonic's Viera model 40-inch HD flatscreen,and the website issue couldn't have come at a worse time for Panasonic (NYSE:PC). This morning, the electronics manufacturer announced a 40% change to its profit forecast for 2008. As of 1:45 p.m., almost 2 hours after Sears' doorbuster sale ended, Panasonic was down -2.71 points (-18.50%).
According to CNBC's team of on-site reporters at Best Buy(NYSE:BBY), many customers were buying the bulk of the gifts on their list and many were paying in cash-which could indicate a shorter-span to the holiday shopping season.If many shoppers plan one-stop shopping today, the rest of the sales season could be painfully slow for retailers.Retailers Wonder If Cyber Monday Success Will Continue.
Market analysts think 2008 could be the year when the holiday shopping season proves to be a marathon, not a sprint.
While it's still too early to determine just how successful Black Friday was, retailers are pinning their hopes on Cyber Monday(a nickname coined by the National Federation of Retailers). In 2007, Comscore declared that Cyber Monday took in $733 million for retailers-which was a 21% increase from 2006. On Sunday, it reported that online spending was up a modest 2% for the combined Thanksgiving Day and Friday, compared with the year-ago period.*Update: Dec. 3- Comscore reports a 15% increase in online retail sales for 2008 Cyber Monday.
For the shoppers who didn't want to risk their lives (literally) at the early sales last Friday, Cyber Monday provides a faster,convenient alternative to the bum rush at the front doors of every major retail store.
Marshal Cohen, a chief industry analyst at NPD Group, a market research group, told the Associated Press that many shoppers may be holding off for more deals that may arise over the next few weeks.The consumer clearly is showing us that there is a holiday to be had, but the consumer wants bigger deals. And they are not panicking.They're willing to wait it out, at almost any price.
Gamestop.com is among the most popular stops for the best video game deals, including $10 off Shaun White Snowboarding, $10-20 off the Wall-E video game and for the Guitar Hero- 50% off Coffin Case hard flight case for your instrument.
By Matt O'Hern.
Circut City, which is struggling to survive, is offering discounted digital cameras and PCs.
Spike TV VGAs will Preview Fight Night Round 4.
Spike TV wants to show you something you've never seen.
Gamers want to know what's coming, not what's already out, and that's why millions will tune into Spike TV for the sixth annual Video Game Awards( also known as the VGAs) Sunday, Dec. 14 at 9 Eastern.
Spike's live, 2-hour event, is more than just an annual ceremony to honor the most successful games,it will also preview the eye-popping games to come,including the world exclusive premiere trailer for Friday Night Round 4. EA Sports will unveil the next Fight Night game, featuring a virtual bout between two legends of the ring.
Creative minds at Spike tossed out the traditional rules and devised a savvy way to differentiate their award show from the rest of the pack. The Academy, Emmy, Grammy and Golden Globe awards offer nothing more than a few recaps and recognition of great art, and it all seems so routine. Maybe that's why the ratings have sunk for the Academy Awards. (How many times can we listen to Billy Crystal's recycled material?)
Spike, a division of MTV's parent company-Viacom, energizes the VGAs with live updates and surprises. When you consider the audience, VGAs unpredictable and interactive presentation is the perfect style for gaming enthusiasts- because it delivers exciting twists around every corner. For example, at 10:15 p.m., "GameTrailers TV" host Geoff Keighley will break-in live to announce additional categories and breaking news for the event.
VGAs appeal transcends into various layers within pop-culture. Just look at the diverse group of celebrity guests,like Samuel L. Jackson, along with other stars such as skating legend Tony Hawk,actors Jack Blackand Seth Green,rappers 50 Cent and Method Man. Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters rocked the stage at the 2007 awards
VGA's atmosphere is much more relaxed than the typical awards event. Last year, celebrities,including Jackson, squared off with video game designers in a Wii Home Run Derby.Samuel L. Jackson, who has hosted the VGAs three times, told Spike.com host Amanda MacKay
I love hosting this and I love being part of the game world. I've been doing this since it was Pong.
2008's show marks the first gamer god award will be presented this year, when the VGAs pay tribute to designer Will Wright - who launched classics such as SimCity, The Sims, and 2008 mega-hit Spore.
Game of the Year nominees include Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto 4, which led the way with nine overall nominations, LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3 and Metal Gear Solid 4 all notched seven nominations and November's hottest release, Gears of War 2, garnered four nominations.The Best Music Game category might be the most contentious division , with Rock Band 2 (MTV Games/ Harmonix) Guitar Hero World Tour (RedOctane/ Activision Publishing/ Neversoft Entertainment), Wii Music (Nintendo/ Nintendo) and SingStar (Sony Computer Entertainment/ SCE Studios London) competing for the top spot
By Matt O'Hern.
Studio of the year nominees are:Media Molecule,Rockstar North,Harmonix and Bethesda Game Studios
Winners are chosen by the 2008 VGA Advisory, a panel of bloggers and experts in the video game industry, including: Tal Blevins (VP Games Content, IGN Entertainment), Eric Bratcher (Executive Editor, GamesRadar US),Libe Goad (Editor in Chief, AOL GameDaily),Francesca Reyes (Editor in Chief, Official Xbox Magazine) Shane Satterfield- (Editor in Chief at GameTrailers), and many others.
Google Mobile App for iPhone is a Life-Saver for Road Trips.
When we need instant info on the road, like a close restaurant, iPhones can easily become a deadly distraction. The urge to type in your favorite steakhouse into Google search is tempting as a bag of McDonald's fries in the passenger seat. You're just bound to go for it,even if your safety is compromised.
Google has elminated one of those dangerous steps with a free a voice-activated search engine-the Google Mobile App. Before you speak into the mic, Google asks if you want to search according to your current location, so your query will pull up local results for generic terms or chain restaurants, such as Wendy's. I was amazed when it recognized Fuddruckers on the first attempt and accurately listed the closest one, which is about a 45 minutes away, in Orlando.In addition to the voice-search Google Mobile's apps tab functions as a helpful tool for quick access to Gmail,Google Calendar,Google Docs,Google Talk,Google
Reader,Goog-411,Google News,Google Notebook, Google Maps,Google Translate and Google Earth . By Matt O'Hern.
For the upgrade, Google should implement a talk-back feature,similar to the audio directories used in GPS navigation systems. If Google adds that feature to Mobile, I think it adds great value to the iPhone as a whole,because it would virtually eliminate the need for a GPS navigation device like Gormin or Tom-Tom. Speak now,or forever type your keys.
Etsy Online Market Opens New Doors for Crafters.
Finding a unique gift is never an easy task, especially at malls and major retail stores. Craft shows are fun but only occassional events, and it's hard to find a one-stop,locally- owned gift shop,but at Etsy.com, you'll discover a world of quality homemade goods.
Etsy's service provides an economically friendly alternative for more than 100,000 crafters and customers around the world. Etsy helps both parties avoid many of the overhead costs involved with physical stores and it provides an extra source of income for the entire gambit of crafters,which is part of its mission.
Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice
Susannah Compton of Cocoa,Florida is a perfect example of a young crafter who was searching for an efficient and effective way to market the blankets ,scarves and baby hats she knitted .Susannah learned the craft four years ago and sharpened her skills during community service projects for Florida Hospital,Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital, and Winnie Palmer Hospital for women and babies (Which goes through 200 baby hats per day).
Susannah volunteered for the projects to give back to the hospitals that helped her when she needed surgery as a baby. She still knits regularly and started a store on her knitting blog, where she offers knitting advice and list a few of her items.Currently, she's a seventh-grader trying to raise funds for a laptop computer with a built-in microphone, for an online Spanish course that requires her to talk back to her computer. When she pulled up Etsy and saw the rate of .20 cents per-ad, she decided to add some of her newest items to help the fundraising effort, including flip flops.
They have good deals, and it's the first time trying to sell online.It was pretty neat. I think it's a good idea so I told my friends about it.
By Matt O'Hern.
If you're looking for an easy way to find a unique gift and save some funds during these tight times, I recommend that you check out Susannah's items or Etsy's holiday shopping list.
Gresham / Hifn Create Data Storage Solutions With Virtualization.
To counter economic hardship, many companies responded with a time-tested method:cut costs and increase efficiency.
Gresham Enterprise Storage (London Stock Exchange- GHT) designed the Clareti Storage Director to help the process. CSD is powered by Express DR 1050 Capacity Optimization Cards from Hifn (NASDAQ:HIFN). Through a process called tape virtualization and backup virtualization, Clareti Storage Director doubles the capacity of disk and tape devices by integrating data protection management and consolidating miscellaneous tape libraries.
Express DR 1050 cards use load-balancing, bus-mastering DMA, a 4-lane PCI Express bus and enhanced LZS technology. The components enable CSD to eliminate data expansion and maintain compressed data- simultaneously. Up to four DR 1050 cards per node can be added to scale performance up to 3.8 Gbytes/sec and Hifn's zero-defect data design ensures compressed data reliability with 100 percent data verification and CRC validation.
Ed Ahl, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Gresham, explained the decision to integrate Hifn's cards.
Data compression is an invaluable tool to help offset the unrelenting storage growth and save customer's time and resources, which is only feasible with a hardware-accelerated, in-line solution such as the Express DR cards The value proposition of Hifn's Express DR cards complements the Clareti Storage Director's value proposition - provide our customers with a high-performance, capacity-optimized backup/restore vitalization solution that reduces operating costs.
Gresham's new service may remind you of Ocarina's "O" Tier- enhancement , which promised clients a 10:1 reduction in complex files such as email,photos,video and similar types. While Ocarina's service is similar, its methodology is different because it's based on internal upgrades,with no mention of a new device from a second party.
So what does this service mean for business owners? They can slash financial,digital and environmental wastes with one tool. Hopefully, the Clareti Storage Director of resorting to those pink slips that employees dread.
By Matt O'Hern.New Iphone App Puts Lil' Wayne In Your Pics.
Was your last party a flop? If you didn't party like a rockstar, you can tell everyone that you were just too busy partying with a rapstar- Lil Wayne.
Thanks to EpicTilt and Universal Music Group's new iPhone App- Be Like Lil' Wayne, you can make insert Lil Wayne and all of his favorite bling- including grills,necklaces and tattoos to your collection of photos.
Once you've added Lil Wayne to your entourage, you can upload it for the whole world to see at EpicTilt's photo gallery.
(Looks like Lil Wayne stopped by Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville to catch the Jaguars' NFL game. My old friend, Jimmy Cromwell, was thrilled to meet his favorite musician.)
Lil' Wayne's last album, the Carter III, topped Billboard charts sold 1 million copies during the first week of its release and went double platinum. Considering Lil Wayne's recent success and the rising popularity of photo bombing, (crashing a stranger's pic), I wouldn't be surprised if Be Like Lil' Wayne enjoys a similar run as one of most popular items the App Store.
By Matt O'Hern.
Facebook Connect Reveals New Ad Angle for Social Networks.
Earlier today, Google Chrome and Safari browsers discovered an unwelcome surprise when they went to Facebook. Both browsers flagged the social network as a potential "phishing site"- a site that tricks users into providing personal information.
Connect, Facebookslatest revenue-boosting venture, was cited as a potential culprit,and Facebook's folly became the hot topic on Twitter, and TechCrunch, which provided updates as the social networking giant scrambled to solve the problem. Facebook's developers claim a bad advertising link as the root of the problem. Facebook's excuse probably won't suffice for skeptics and critics of its latest addition- Connect- which launched last Sunday
Connect's main function is to link Facebook users with prominent media sites such as Digg, Discovery Channel and The San Francisco Chronicle, the genealogy network Geni and Hulu.
The concept behind Connect indicates an interesting transition in the marketer's approach- from data mining to data sharing. Perhaps niche marketing has temporarily taken a back seat, as quantity becomes more valuable than quality. The New York Times' Article "Facebook Aims to Extend its Reach Across the Web" explained the logic behind the new angle.
Instead of trying to hoard information about their users, the Internet giants have all announced plans to share at least some of that data so people do not have to enter the same identifying information again and again on different sites.Supporters of this idea say such programs will help with the emergence of a new social Web because chatter among friends will infiltrate even sites that have been entirely unsociable thus far.For example, a person might alert his Facebook friends to the fact that he is watching a video on CBS.com and invite them to join him there to watch together and discuss the video as it plays.
Connect is the latest of several controversial alterations for Facebook's format, including Beacon, the installation of the sophisticated user interface and the network's decision open its access to the entire public. The series of changes has spurned many loyal users.When I joined Facebook in 2005, the social network was in its infancy, I preferred it to Myspace, because of its unique structure and purpose- to keep college students and alumni connected.Its close-knit community provided a comfortable, insulated atmosphere where you weren't bombarded with ads and other obnoxious clutter throughout Myspace.
My how the times of change. Facebook enjoyed rapid growth and surpassed Myspace, but Zuckerberg and the rest of Facebook's staff have learned there's truth to the old sports motto: "The No.1 team has the biggest target on its back."
By Matt O'Hern.Indecisive DVR Viewers Complain of Too Many Choices.
Occasionally, I'll notice a news story that's worthy of Dave Barry's attention-. In other words- it's a story that re-enforces a stereotype regarding American laziness, one of Barry's favorite topics.
A story on CNN.com today titled :"Are you afflicted with TiVo guilt?", is just the latest example of American laziness. Evidently, many DVR users have developed a packrat mentality with their favorite shows , and when they're ultimately forced to make final cut- the task has become too draining and demanding for the timid.
CNN's story quoted Brad Berens, chief content officer for iMedia Communications, who analyzes how media advances change people's behavior.
(The following paragraph is NOT a joke)
You want to watch TV, and what do you have? You turn on your DVR and you have a homework assignment. Economists call this 'opportunity costs.You're sitting there and you have to weigh, well, 'I have to watch this thing, because I promised myself when I told Tivo I want the whole season of that! Go get it! And go get things like it!' And so you've committed to this decision and it's a burden -- suddenly your relaxation has turned into more work.
My last roommate was the perfect example of a DVR user who suffered from a disorder I like to call T.S.D.-Television Stress Disorder. Symptoms include channel surfing, show hording and clouded judgement. T.S.D is often accompanied by R.S.D.- Radio Stress Disorder- an uncontrollable urge to change the radio station every 20 seconds or less.
It seems like every week we see a a new pill that treats a disorder you've never heard of. I wonder if the major pharmaceutical corporations will hatch a scheme to cash in on the chance to treat this unofficial epidemic. Who could blame them for trying? The only problem is, their target market would fast forward through their TV ads. By Matt O'Hern.
Quip's Addy Mobile iPhone App Simplifes Photo Mailing.
If there's one area where Apple's developers dropped the ball with the iPhone, it was the camera. Sharing pics from your camera requires the recipient's number plus a special code for their respective cellphone provider.
Addy Mobile eliminates little nuisances such as searching for the correct MMS code for the provider along with number of the cell phone you want to send my picture to- a process as daunting as Ralphie Parker's challenge to crack the secret code with Little Orphan Annie's Secret Decoder Ring in the movie A Christmas Story.
Quip felt our pain and eliminated those annoying steps with Addy Mobile, so your friends just have to click the link they receive via text. The only negative aspect I noticed was that you couldn't send the photo to multiple contacts, but perhaps that will be addressed in the next update.
Who wants to look all of that up when you're just trying to send a funny photo? Nobody!, That's why the third request on my wishlist for the 2.2. update was: Simplify the multimedia messaging process
Steve Jobs and his worker elves at Apple were too busy to notice my request, but Quip developers was a step ahead of the field when it released Addy Mobile on Sept. 16. Sitting as the hottest item in social networking apps, Addy Mobile features free unlimited messaging that doesn't count against your text messaging plan.If you're searching for an easier, cheaper way to send your iPhone camera pics, I definitely recommend Addy Mobile by Quipp.
By Matt O'Hern.
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