Technologizer » Christmas

comScore: Blizzard a Boon to Online Shopping

Ed Oswald — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:16:51 +0000

Research firm comScore said Tuesday that the blizzard that socked the Northeastern United States with one to three feet of snow did not prevent holiday shoppers from going about their business: they just did it online instead. Retailers pulled in some $767 million in sales on December 19 and 20, up 13 percent from last year.

The full week also proved to be profitable: a one week sales record was set with shoppers spending some $6.8 billion online, up six percent from a year ago. Good news for retailers, some of which expressed concern that the timing of the snowstorm could have put a serious damper on what is traditionally the biggest shopping weekend before Christmas.

“Consumers have clearly continued to spend online later into the season this year,” comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said. “Retailers have been very aggressive with late season promotions while informing consumers that they could still get their purchases shipped in time for Christmas, and these tactics seem to be paying off.”

What also could be helping is anecdotal evidence that retailers are not panicking like they did last year, cutting prices early which in turn cuts into profits. I’ve heard quite a few shoppers complain that the deals “just aren’t as good as last year.” Well, this year retailers have gotten a lot smarter in managing inventories, thus meaning less overstock to get rid of at the end of the season.

So here’s a question for our Northeast US readers. Did you stay in and shop online?

Santa Patentmania

Harry McCracken — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:05:30 +0000

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but a certain jolly old soul may be its father. At least that’s my conclusion after spending an evening delving through Google Patents for Santa-related patent drawings. I found hundreds of ‘em, and have chosen 25 to share with you at this most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it’s s little bit off the beaten track for Technologizer–I’ve never covered 19th-century toys before, and may never do so again–but what the heck. I found them interesting and hope that you will, too. Ho. Ho. Ho.

View Santaland Patents slideshow

The Santaland Patents

Harry McCracken — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 07:51:14 +0000

Once you start digging through Google Patents, as I did for our recent slideshow of thirty-one years of Apple patents, it can be hard to stop. And if you’re doing your digging in December, you might find yourself choosing to luxuriate in the wealth of Christmas-themed patents that have been issued over the past 125 years or so. I just did, anyhow. Jolly Old St. Nick pops up again and again in the patent files, and while I don’t know if any inventor has ever found his fortune with a Claus-related innovation, I found them interesting enough that I wanted to share some of the ones I found with you. (The title of this slideshow is, of course, a David Sedaris tribute.) May your days be merry and bright…