| Scandals turn China shoppers off Hong Kong
HONG KONG - Tourism is a major pillar of Hong Kong's economy. Tourists from mainland China have made the largest number of visits to this former British colony in recent years. During each of the mainland's three "golden week" holidays on Chinese New Year, Labor Day (May 1) and National Day (October 1), hundreds of thousands of mainland tourists flock to the territory for sightseeing and shopping.
However, Hong Kong's tourism authority and tour operators are now afraid that the number of group tourists may drop by 30% during the upcoming May Day "golden week" holiday because of
the negative impact of recent scandals involving unscrupulous Hong Kong shops selling mainland tourists fake brand-name goods at excessive prices.
The shopping scams were first exposed by China Central Television (CCTV) in an investigative report on April 1.
Competitors force Blue Ridge Outdoors to take hike
Campers buying tents in the 1970s likely had a different shopping experience than those looking for them today. Before the Internet and massive discount retailers, locally owned outdoors stores had the edge as prime places to buy hiking, camping and other outdoor supplies. Today, bargains on outdoor gear abound online, from Internet retailers' Web sites to online auction business eBay. And a local outdoors retailer says it has fallen under the pressure of competing with this low-price-hunting game. Blue Ridge Outdoors, founded in 1977, closed its Roanoke and Blacksburg stores this week. The stores at Valley View Mall in Roanoke and on North Main Street in downtown Blacksburg sold apparel, shoes and equipment for hikers, boaters and other outdoor enthusiasts.
Sweetwater Acquires Online Business
Fort Wayne-based Sweetwater Sound has purchased Digital Pro Audio e-commerce website, which offers recording and performance-related equipment. The online store will keep its Digital Pro Audio name and web address. It is the second purchase for Sweetwater in two months. The company bought the assets of Ohio-based Lentine's Music in March.
Source: Inside INdiana Business
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Ten Ways To Convince Shoppers To Buy Online
On average, online retailers still only convert two to three percent of visitors into buyers. Though people are buying more online than ever before, that number has remained consistent over the last three years. The three percent conversion average is also consistent across studies by different organizations, according to e-Marketer. That means that 97 percent of shoppers still prefer to buy offline. Still, there are a few that convert 15-25 percent of the time. Proflowers.com is on top, with a 24.5 percent conversion rate. Following Proflowers is, mainly, apparel sites with a peppering of bookstores and online variety (read: cheap) shops. Big and Tall or Plus-sized apparel shops are huge online, and sites offering higher sizes make up four out of the top ten converting web stores.
Spider-Man(TM) Swings Into 7-Eleven(R)
DALLAS, April 2 /PRNewswire/ -- For fans worldwide climbing the walls in anticipation of Columbia Pictures' May 4 worldwide release of Spider-Man(TM) 3, 7-Eleven(R) stores will offer an opportunity to get their hands on Spider- Man branded premiums one month before the film's release. Throughout April, more than 5,800 participating 7-Eleven stores in the U.S. and Canada, along with thousands of 7-Eleven stores in six other countries around the world, are promoting the highly-anticipated Spider-Man 3. The company's domestic plans include store events, online contests, radio advertising and one-of-a-kind collectible Slurpee cups. Internationally, 7- Eleven stores in Denmark, Hong Kong, southern China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Sweden will promote the movie in April by tying contests to their proprietary products.
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