It All Adds Up
GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 1/1/2012 2:00:00 AM
44 % | make the best of it, according to Consumer Reports.
39 % | hide it.
18 % | donate it.
15 % | re-gift-it.
11 % | return it (another 11% throw it out).
6 % | try to sell it.
2 % | give it back to the giver.
(Another 2% post a picture online.)
According to the american express small business monitor survey:
• Only 28% of businesses with 1-9 employees are planning to add staff in the next 6 months, compared to 43% of those with 10-19, 51% of those with 20-49 and 59% of those with 50-99.
• Firms in the South are the most expansion-minded, the North Central states match the national average and the Northeast and West lag a bit behind.
• Small manufacturers are more likely to add staff; retailers are least likely.
According to a study by kimberlee weaver, PH.D., Of virginia tech university and drs. Stephen Garcia and Norbert Schwarz, Psychologists at the University of Michigan, bundling a less expensive gift with a more expensive gift actually reduces the impact of the nicer gift.
This "presenter's paradox" happens because people who evaluate a bundle follow an averaging strategy, which leads to less favorable judgments when mildly favorable pieces are added to highly favorable pieces.
A new CouponCabin.com survey found that 24% of U.S. adults have gone shopping solely because they were in a bad mood ( 31% of women and 16% of men). Of those who have, 33% felt happy afterward, 30% temporarily forgot their bad mood, 16% thought it would put them in a better mood but it didn't, and 15% felt guilty.
And retail therapy isn't just for bad days: 53% have celebrated good news by shopping for themselves, though 31% said they feel guilty shopping for themselves when they don't really need anything. Women are more likely to feel guilty than men, at 39% and 23%, respectively.
Saving money is almost as much fun as spending it: 49% said using coupons to save money gives them a rush.
> Some 81% of small business respondents to a recent survey from constant contact use social media to market their businesses, up from 73% this past spring. Of those, 96% use Facebook and 76%, Twitter (up from 60%).
> What's Working. Some 86% found Facebook effective, up from 82%; 60% of those using Twitter found it effective, up from 47%; 55% found LinkedIn effective, up from 47%. Effectiveness scores remained flat for review sites, video sharing and location-based services, and decreased for photo sharing and MySpace.
> Beyond Social. Some 98% of participants use websites, 95% use email marketing, 71% use print advertising, 66% use online advertising and 55% use event marketing.
> Not Trending yet. Some 72% of respondents report that they don't incorporate mobile into their marketing campaigns, and only 13% have created a mobile-friendly website.
We would love your feedback!
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