Implications of Record Black Friday Numbers
“U.S. retailers racked up a record $52.4 billion in sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, a 16.4 percent jump from a year ago, as early hours and attractive promotions brought out more shoppers, an industry trade group said on Sunday” reported Yahoo Finance yesterday.
The article continued to mention “Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent from a year ago, and online retail sales in the United States on Black Friday jumped 26 percent this year, comScore data showed”.
While slightly down from last year, US unemployment rate is still at 9% according to the Bureau of Labor and both the Dow and the Nasdaq are at lower levels than they were YoY. This all leads me to wonder, why are Americans spending at this level?
About two week ago I received a notification for a daily deal site totting an Hermes sale. At first glance, I thought Hermes of sale?!? wow, the brand has come a long way from their no/limited discount policy. As I opened the email to see what kind of  ”deal” was being offered, a black crocodile bag peeked my interest. The bag was on sale for $66,000.  Not only is it hard for me to write the words “sale”, “bag” and “$66,000″ in the same sentence but I was hard pressed to believe this was actually a sale.
Similarly, I went to visit a much coveted Chanel bag that I have not had the stomach to purchase and to my dismay, the price of the purse had gone from $2,600 last year to $4,300 – a whopping 65% increase! Way better than most stock portfolios.
Around me, there are countless news stories about how terribly the world economy is doing, (have you seen the cover of the Economist this week?) and how unemployment is barely starting to stabilize in some areas – yet, we are spending more than ever before and the cost of luxury goods keeps increasing (way faster than inflation).
Why is this happening? I have thought and pondered over this phenomenon and wanted to share my perspective.
1. We LIVE for deals – deals have become the American way. With the surge in deals both online and offline over the past few years, retailers have taught us to look for and wait for deals before we buy. While just a few years ago, I never would have thought to search for coupons before making a visit to the mall, today, I do the opposite.
2. Buy Me NOW – daily deal sites, deal of the day promotions, etc have forced our hand to buy now. Retailers have done a tremendous job in training the public to believe that the deal is “going, going, gone!” when, in reality; there is another deal right around the corner. I remember when I ran an online furniture company and every day we were having a “2 day sale”. The illusion that we will not be able to get this deal again makes us spend more in a condensed amount of time.
3. Luxury = ME – I remember years ago when Starbucks would do better in urban, poor areas than they would in yuppie suburbs – why did this happen? Because the $4 cup of coffee made folks feel like they were wealthy and well off and they could achieve this feeling with a $4 cup of coffee – it was a status symbol.  Now more than ever we see items like handbags and shoes are just as much of a status symbol as cars or the $4 cup of joe. And why not? If you look at the numbers,  luxury goods are beginning to look like a better investment than most public companies.
You can blame celebrities and the surge of the internet for this – now, for the first time, anyone, anywhere can buy anything they want. But I have to wonder, has there been a fundamental change in the way we as Americans behave? What happened to the American Dream of owning a home? Have we traded that in for Gucci handbags and Chanel glasses – the numbers would indicate this may actually be the case….housing prices keep dropping and luxury handbag pricing keep skyrocketing….need I say more?
Wedding Planning III – Seating & Menus
Another something I did not realize when planning my wedding was that two sets of information are required per guest – what table they are sitting at and which chair they are sitting up.
If you plan on having a buffet or stations, the later (which chair the guest is sitting at) is not important does not need to be predefined. However, if you have guests select their entrees, as was the case with our wedding, you need to assign them seats which ultimately means more work for you.
I struggled with how to present these seating arrangements in a classy yet functional way that also was not repetitive - for example, I did not want to have little card (escort cards) for table assignments and then additional cards for seat assignments.
Ultimately, I settled with a seating chart and personalized menus.
A seating chart, or map, served as an elegant way to display guests names and after my wedding, made for a nice addition to the walls of our home office. Instead of going with an online service for our seating chart, I was lucky to have my wonderful Calligrapher, Lisa Lovitt (you can find her here), hand write our chart.  Not only did she hand write all of our guests’ names, she also drew our wedding filigree (modeled after our invitations), at the top of the chart.  Guests loved this personal touch and loved seeing their names in calligraphy.
As for the menus, I decided to combine the menus with the name cards to
create a personalized feel for each guest. I used our wedding logo as the top clip art and printed these menus on my home computer. Lisa wrote each guest’s name in calligraphy on a separate card which I then attached using fasteners that I purchased at a local Michael’s store. I applied a tad of glue gun glue to the back to make sure the fastener held in place.
The result were beautiful cards that most of our guests took home.
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Black Friday 2011
Black Friday is only 2 days away and what should one expect this year? Deals of course!
Something that really caught my attention this year was how many pre-Black Friday deals are going on. I received emails today from Neiman Marcus, Harry & David, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target, and Red Evelope to name a few detailing their pre-Black Friday deals.
You can expect that many of the big-box retailers be open at midnight and will offer door busters and special coupons. I know many of my friends are planning to hit up Target for some great deals on TVs tomorrow night.
Every year, I partake in Black Friday mall madness with friends and family. It is a tradition in my family to wake up early on the Friday after Thanksgiving and hit the outlets by no later than 7am. However, this year, I must admit, my patience has grown thinner and I am planning to purposefully avoid the malls at all costs and instead shop online.
Countless online retailers are also offering special deals this Friday and instead of battling the packed parking lots and in-store crowds, I plan to sit back, surf some of my favorite sites and see what kinds of deals I can find from the comfort of my home.
Wedding Planning II – Ceremony Programs
Ceremony programs…I didn’t even know what these things were called until I started this whole process!
These are the cards that are distributed to guests at the ceremony to honor those participating in the ceremony and to give guests an explanation of the ceremony proceedings.
I really wanted to use these as not just informational but also as decorations. One of the reasons behind this was, saving money!
I figured that I didn’t have to spend much on ceremony flowers if I had beautiful ceremony programs that could be used as decorations.
So I embarked with a mission to create such beauties.
I had seen on one of Martha Stewart’s sites a beautiful pocket ceremony program…only problem was the site did not mention where I could purchase the supplies to make such a card.
After countless google searches for “paper pockets”, “invitation pockets”, etc, I finally found a wonderful paper site that I HIGHLY recommend called Paper & More. Here, I was able to find beautiful paper pockets in a variety of colors and sizes. Not only did they quickly ship me a sample, when it was time to place my order, my order came within less than three days!
Now, I just had to find a card that fit inside the pocket. For this, I used a site called Hello Lucky! Lillian, the rep I worked with, was beyond helpful! I submitted my order and she worked through it with me to find the perfect fit for all the words that I had. They also provided me with 2 free proofs which were great for checking for spelling errors, etc. Most importantly, they were able to even accommodate my request to dot my dog’s “i” with a heart!
Lastly, I tied ribbon on the ceremony cards so that they could be tied off the sides of the chairs and act as decorations so that no additional flowers will be needed the day of the ceremony.
Wedding Planning I – Paper
It’s been forever since I blogged! This is partially to do with the mere fact that I recently got engaged and am currently in the midst of planning a wedding.
While, according to Emily Post, the average American couple takes 15 months to plan their wedding, I am attempting to have this shindig completed in 4.
Many friends recommended that I hire a wedding planner but I am too much of a control fanatic to entrust this event into the hands of someone else.
So as I embark on this journey, I figured I would share my findings here.
Paper –
I am a huge stationary fan. I constantly find myself gravitating towards beautiful cards and gift wrap and have drawers full of the stuff.
For me, the paper we use throughout the wedding is extremely important.
Digital printing was out of the question. I did not feel that it evoked the sentiments I wanted associated with my wedding – a combination of old and new love, homeliness, comfort, joy. Instead I narrowed down my search to include only letterpress and tomography varietals.
Assuming ordering invitations, menus, programs, etc online would be cheaper; I contacted a dozen online invitation sites and requested samples. There is a cost associated with these samples (usually $1-$5/sample) which I assumed was well worthwhile because I did not want to be surprised when my 200 invitations arrived.
The invitation samples started coming in and I hit a wall – PRICE! Like most people we have a wedding budget. Unfortunately, the paper I selected was way out of that budget.
A few days later we ventured to our local mall for some registry item selection and passed a Paper Source store on the way.
To my surprise, they had beautiful invitations at a fraction of the price as the online players. Additionally, the sales person was extremely helpful and friendly and was able to give us all the information we needed on various invitations within ½ hour.
Even though online shopping is closest to my heart, I must say in this case, the offline experience was superior.
On a Quest for an HDTV – Part I
As most of my close friends and family know, I am not a tech person. I still have a blackberry, my surround sound system is not hooked up because I don’t have the patience to figure it out and using the ipad was a whole new world. Regardless, I do like to be entertained and recently, as it’s gotten colder outside, have wanted to purchase a tv for my bedroom.
My male friends suggested I swap out the 42″ incher I have in my living room with a BIG tv (apparently 42″ is not big). However, my female friends agreed – buy something smaller and practical for the bedroom. After a bit of research I decided that a 32″ tv would be perfectly suited for my needs.
And so the quest begins….
As I started my search, I realized that tvs are much cheaper now than they were say 2 years ago and that I could actually buy a 32″ tv for less than $300 – AMAZING! Check it out here!
I know some of you techies out there are thinking well that’s a Coby TV, the quality is not that great, etc. But for this particular purchase, I don’t care so much about quality as I do about price. Since this is going to be used less frequently than the main tv in my living room, I just want to find the best deal.
And so the quest continues and what I discovered is everyday, I stumble upon better and better deals:
Hannspree TV at Costco.com for $269.99!
TCL TV at Amazon for $279.99 with Free Shipping!
and the list continues.
BUT this morning I received an email from Walmart that completely changed my quest. Walmart will be selling Emerson 32″ TVs for $198 the day after thanksgiving and now I’m obsessed with finding a tv for less than $200…can I do it?
Read Part II to find out!
Thanksgiving Must Have’s
Thanksgiving – one of my favorite holidays! Food, drink, family, friends – and Black Friday shopping the next morning – what more could a girl ask for. Last year, however, for the first time in my life, I decided to host Thanksgiving Dinner at my house for 10 friends. The menu consisted of a bird (of course), sides, appetizers and desserts. I began prepping the menu a few weeks in advance and got down to cooking starting Monday night. While I have thrown many parties in the past, most consisted of a caterer or just appetizers or finger foods, not a multi-course feast. I had no idea what I had just gotten myself into! Out of this experience came some life lessons I would like to share:
Top Lessons Learned After Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner
1. Have a plan of attack – decide what you are going to cook first, second, etc
2. Do not make anything that you have never made before – 3 batches of ruined biscuits thought me this the hard way
3. Do not stay out late the night before – Wednesday night before Thanksgiving has always been a traditional catch up with friends night; however, if you are planning on cooking, getting home at 3:30am is not compatible with waking up at 7:30am to begin the day’s kitchen activities.
4. Label dishes and add little “v”s to indicate vegetarian dishes – this way you don’t have to spend the night answering questions5.
5. Consider a buffet – for large parties, buffet-style eating sometimes is an easier way to go
6. Set up a bar - making wine and water glasses accessible to guests means more time for you to mingle and enjoy.
Top Items You Will Need (which I didn’t realize at the time) For Your Feast
1. Serving platters and lots of them!
2. A Turkey baster and thermometer- obvious…you would think
3. Enough wine glasses – for large parties, I prefer to purchase inexpensive wine glasses – accidents happen
4. Background music is key – this year I used a fireplace DVD
8. Large trash bags for the aftermath
9. Holiday decorations – whether these are hand made of store bought, table and home decorations always add a holiday feel to your dinner.
10. A massage for you for the day after
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Ready, Set, Go! Holiday Shopping Season Is Here!
If only holiday shopping could be this fun!
I can’t believe it’s that time of year already! Last year I wrote a blog entry titled Gifts Galore describing how to minimize stress during the holiday season.
This year, many of my co-workers have been shocked to discover that I have already begun my holiday shopping, in fact, I started about two months ago. This post is dedicated to folks who want to get an early start and aren’t sure where to start.
As a preface, let me say that I am ALWAYS on the look out for great gifts. Reason is my family is super hard to shop for. Sometimes, I will see the perfect gift in July or August and add it to my gift collection so that it’s ready to go in December. Additionally, personalized gifts – for example, one year I had a picture of our dog painted on a plate for Mom – tend to take time since they are handmade by artists (sometimes local, sometimes not) who get bombarded right around the holiday season.
As October rolls in, I start my heavy duty holiday shopping planning.
1. I use Excel – Excel makes it easy to track who, what, how much, etc (am happy to share my spreadsheet if you are interested)
2. Shop against my list – having a list makes it easy to shop for certain things and it also allows me to keep my eye out for great deals for the things on my list
3. Am always true to my list – it’s so easy and tempting to not stick to the list but not sticking to the list usually means not sticking to your budget.
4. I determine an overall budget – not only do I break down approximately what I am willing to spend per person but I also determine my overall budget so that I don’t get carried away.
5. Track as I go – I refer back to my list to make sure that I am not surpassing my budget (this is especially true when I am buying multiple gifts/person), that I am on track to buying all necessary gift and that I ship everything on time.
6. I use the internet 
– Instead of driving around from store to store, I do all my browsing, and about 90% of my buying, online. I save gas, time and a headache.
Coming up – World Food Day!
No this is not about another shishi restaurant week or a chance to watch reruns of your favorite Food Network shows back to back. World Food Day is about us giving back to those who dont’ have the luxury to be foodies.
A brief history, World Food Day was created by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1979. Even since, over 150 countries celebrate the day to highlight the problem of hunger throughout the globe, to promote transfer of information regarding food cross borders and encourage participation on a local and state level on projects related to easing hunger.
To lead up to World Food Day, the UN’s World Food Programme is launching a global campaign called WeFeedback. The theme behind the program is the power of collective as WeFeedback mobilizes individuals to come together online and in a fun and social way make a difference to lives of hungry schoolchildren around the world.
How does one feed back you ask? Through the Feedback’s Nutrition Calculator you can choose your favorite item such as a Cappuccino and its estimated cost. The calculator will then tell you how many hungry school children you might feed back around the world. Even Drew Barrymore and Christine Arguello are doing it!
If you’re inspired to see what the social web can do for the global community, please get involved by joining the WeFeedBack campaign at http://www.wefeedback.org.
Thanks for your help!
iPad, uPad, we all scream for iPad!
The iPad….yes, the latest gadget to hit the market. I remember the day it came out and our CEO waited in line with his five year old son to purchase one. Stores were out of them, I even had to call in a personal favor to get one…was it worth it?!!?
What I like about the iPad:
- watching movies on the plane and in bed is great. The picture and sound quality are high.
- battery life is great, I can get 8-10 hours
- instant on allows me to do email everywhere (providing that there is wifi or you get the 3G version)
- the apps made specifically for the iPad are great – eBay actually looks better and is easier to use on the iPad then on the web…and I have to plug our new app by Become.com since it’s really cool and getting some great feedback on the app store.
What I don’t like:
- I can’t do work on it since Powerpoint, Word, Excel are barely supported
- while the battery life lasts a long time, it also takes forever to charge
- the cord is really short making it difficult to work on the iPad while it’s charging
Overall, I’m happy with my new device. However, I highly recommend that if you purchase one, you buy a case that allows the iPad to be propped up – makes typing so much easier! One of my favorite are these DODO iPad Cases. These cases are beautifully constructed and very handy.
