QVC Press Release: NOT JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY

West Chester, Pa. (December 1, 2009) - In 2008, a record 85 million people shopped via the Internet on Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. If multimedia retailer QVC is a bellwether, this year's Cyber Monday may set yet another record for Internet commerce activity.
On Monday, November 30, QVC.com achieved its highest traffic day in its 13-year history, setting a record for unique visitors. QVC.com attracted more than 1 million unique visitors, breaking last year's Cyber Monday record of more than 842,000 visitors. QVC.com also set a record this past week (November 23-30) in unique visitors, realizing more than 3.5 million unique visitors from approximately 2.8 million last year - a 26 percent increase.
"QVC.com is an integral part of our business, accounting for more than 30 percent of QVC's total U.S. revenues, and delivering a rich multimedia shopping experience to our customers," said Mike George, QVC's president and CEO. "As one of the top general merchant Internet sites - both in terms of sales volume and service excellence, QVC.com has emerged as a real destination for millions of smart Web shoppers. We're thrilled by the overwhelming response we've received from our customers, and trust that they will continue to make us a preferred destination for their shopping.'
Cyber Monday followed a busy, record-breaking holiday weekend at QVC, in which more than 815,000 shoppers were received and more than 60,000 new customers were welcomed. The multimedia retailer kicked off its holiday weekend Thanksgiving evening with The New Black Friday, a special TV and Web programming event that gave America a head-start on its post-turkey gift shopping. In what turned out to be QVC's largest Black Friday (November 27) ever, the multimedia retailer realized more than $32 million in orders - a 60 percent increase over last year's Black Friday sales. Additionally, QVC.com achieved more than $13 million in orders - a more than 100 percent growth over last year's Black Friday sales.
QVC's holiday shopping season continues throughout the month of December. Customers can shop QVC with confidence as all purchases between now and December 23, 2009, may be returned up until January 31, 2010, for a full refund, including the original shipping and handling charges.

QVC Hits a Home Run withTHREE-DAY Shopping Event.

Well, the results are in and QVC has hit another Home Run with a Three-Day Shopping Extravaganza.(November 30, 2009) - As the 2009 holiday shopping season kicks into high gear, more than 815,000 holiday shoppers helped multimedia retailer QVC achieve a successful three-day weekend (November 27-29). Significantly fueled by its largest Black Friday ever, QVC's three-day event attracted more than 60,000 new customers. QVC.com played an integral role in the three-day event, contributing more than 30 percent of the total sales.
QVC kicked off the holiday weekend on Thanksgiving evening with The New Black Friday, a special TV and Web programming event that gave America a head-start on its post-turkey gift shopping. In an effort to differentiate itself from the promotional frenzy of traditional retail, QVC's 28-hour event offered "all of the deals, none of the craziness," promising an easier and more enjoyable alternative to the mall. Unique to the day were not one, but three Today's Special Value offers (items presented at exceptionally low prices, for a specific period of time), as well as specially priced deals in every hour of programming.
The momentum continued through the weekend, driven again by powerful Today's Special Value offers - a Dell Windows 7 Notebook on Saturday, with more than 60,000 unitsordered, and the Keurig Premium Single Serve Coffee Brewer on Sunday, with nearly 100,000 unitsordered. Additional top sellers from the weekend included the Nintendo Wii Gaming System with Accessories, Case and Games, the Olympus 12 MP 5x Optical Zoom Camera, the Nintendo Wii Fit Plus and Accessory Kit with Mat and Balance Board, the Clarisonic Facial Cleansing System and the KitchenAid Nine-Cup Food Processor with Accessories.
"This year, QVC wanted to provide a Black Friday experience unlike those found at the mall - with trusted brands, honest values, and friendly, stress-free customer service," said Mike George, QVC's president and CEO. "Judging from the tremendous customer response this weekend, this is exactly what today's holiday shoppers are looking for - real values and great service, without all the crowds, traffic and promotional craziness."

Products: Fidelity or Quality vs. Convenience of a Product

In our everyday lives, we constantly make trade offs between the quality of an experience and the convenience of an experience. This happens when we decide to listen to a CD vs. going to a live concert, or making a phone call vs. a face to face meeting, or going for fast food rather than going for a

nice meal at a restaurant. This is called a fidelity or quality swap and the way those trade offs play out in the market place. Fidelity is the total experience of something. Going to a live concert for instance is not just the quality of the sound but the experience vs listening to a cd at home. But the visual aspect of seeing the band, the lights, the crowd, the effects, but also the fact that you can tell friends you attended a particular event. This is all part of what makes up fidelity or the quality of the experience.

This example is the same with many products in the market place. Does your product have a low quality

high convenience factor or a high quality low convenience factor. People chose to buy in both categories for different reasons. It all depends on the product.

My comments on the book Trade Off by Kevin Maney

Kevin Maney shows how the tug of war between quality and convenience can make or break a product, a brand, or even a company. Look for new post in my next bog. More information to come.

Branding Identity of a New Product.

The branding identity of a new product is extremely important as is the features, benefits, marketing, and exposure of that product. Is it a product that the consumer wants or more than that a product the consumer needs and can't live without. If you have a product where every consumer needs this is considered a high fidelity product to the masses. If it is a product the consumer can live without, but would like and want to have your marketing and sales strategies change drastically. I personally believe in starting with the small retail arena and going after Television Sales avenue.

What t Takes to Capture the Audience

Coming this week....