Official Blog

Smarter.com has an exciting announcement regarding our latest entrance into social marketing! Please check out the link below to find out more about the launch of Smarter’s new Facebook application!

Click here to read the full Marketwatch Story!

You can actually download Smarter’s Facebook application here:

Download Smarter’s Facebook application now!

In other news, yours truly had a profitable time at Online Market World (www.onlinemarketworld.com) today, taking in 3 different panels:

• Keynote: Why Now is the Best Time to Sell Online
• Search Engine Optimization – Get Found Online or Get Left Behind!
• Improving Social Media Marketing Effectiveness – Adding Social Media to Your Marketing Mix

Check back in this space next week for Online Market World photos : )

And last but not least, the bell has rung, it’s FOURTH QUARTER! Let us help you to achieve the results you need to return in this tough year-end selling climate! Sign-up now for your Smarter.com account here:

Register here for a Smarter.com account today!

It’s that wonderful time of year, filled with backpacks, #2 pencil requests, and for older kids: really cool electronic calculators! There are a number of articles out this week giving projected dollar-spend amounts for the season, I’ve chosen two to highlight following.

The first one is from our friends at Marketing Charts with information supplied by National Retail Federation:

K-12 Back-to-School Spending to Remain High

Even with economic factors being what they are right now, the dollar-amount families are planning on spending is still up, $594.24 over $563.40 reported last year! Good news! This is in categories like clothing, computer & cell phones, shoes and school supplies – staples of Smarter merchants right? One other thing to note is that purchasing online is expected to come up over last year as well, 24.8% vs. 21.4% from last year – are you ready??

The second is from PromoMagazine.com:

Back to School Holiday Spending Projected to Increase 7%

“A random phone sample of 7,500 households indicated the average household spend by category would be: clothing, $265; computers, $230, up 10% over last year; supplies, $100 (+5%), books, $25 (+14%) and shoes, $115 (+15%). The increase in shoe spending is due to shifts in footwear styles every few years, Passikoff said.”

Here’s the key; if you’re already a Smarter merchant, please don’t forget to add all your coupons, special rebates and discounts into your feed with us – this is a critical time of year for special offers! And…if you’re not a Smarter merchant, there is no better time to sign-up and ‘get settled’ in with us ….

…..because you know the big Q4 in just right around the corner!!

Happy August!

PS/

Don’t forget that Smarter.com now offers many additional ways for you to market your store and products to our over 24 million visitors each month! Drop me a line if you’d like additional details about our site-sponsorships or display advertising opportunities!