Tis the time of year for journalists to be buried in meaningless surveys, all of which come down to: “Holiday shopping will be up (or down) this shopping season, depending on which is better for the surveying company.”
My favorite survey this year thus far came Nov. 20 from a company called BuySafe, which sells purchase insurance. One of their highly-credible conclusions: “Two out of three shoppers would spend more online if all online purchases were guaranteed” and “an overwhelming 65 percent of shoppers feel more comfortable buying from a Bonded Merchant.”
Gosh, think those conclusions were perhaps a tad bit preordained? Yes, Id certainly believe such conclusions from a vendor that sells this stuff.
Im tempted to quote from a classic old Robert Klein routine about a hair replacement commercial, where the spokesperson being filmed said, “You can trust me. Im the president of the company.” Hows that for logic? “What possible reason would I have to mislead you about the quality of this product?”
Most of the surveys are either about Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The best part is that those are terms that no longer have—and frankly, never did have—any real meaning because shopping always peaked long after Black Friday and online purchases fluctuate and Cyber Monday is not likely to be anything special. No, the terms were coined by PR people to make this stuff easier to cover for consumer media.
In that spirit, let me welcome you to Survey Wednesday, which I will now proclaim to be the day when journalists are flooded with more surveys than on any other day of the year.
Retail Center Editor Evan Schuman has tracked high-tech issues since 1987, has been opinionated long before that and doesnt plan to stop any time soon. He can be reached at [email protected].
To read earlier retail technology opinion columns from Evan Schuman, please click here.