IA 01: Stay Current

To stay current on the forever changing business world, I decided to read an article entitled “’Twas the week before (and after) Christmas, when shoppers went nuts” by Think with Google.  This articles summarizes how consumers are starting to buy closer to the holiday, rather than far in advance.

Many people still shop before the holidays, believing they get better deals or can feel as though they get more prepared.  However, it was recently shown that shoppers spend an average thirteen days deciding whether or not they want to buy a product.  So, normally by the time the consumer has decided to buy the product, they are already two weeks closer to the holiday.

Also, it has now been noticed that the days between Christmas and New Year’s can be just as busy as shopping any other day in December.  There are 34% more searches on Christmas day than on Black Friday.  Even malls have noticed a significant increase in foot traffic after Christmas.  Most of the stores often offer “clearance” sales after the holidays to attract more customers.

However, mobile/online shopping has primarily changed the way of holiday shopping. Consumers know that if they search for something, they are more than likely to find the product this way, rather than walking around a mall trying to.

Eberhard, E. (2017). ‘Twas the week before (and after) Christmas, when shoppers went nuts. Think                 with Google. Retrieved           from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/consumeinsights/lastminutechristmas-shopping/ 

            From this article, I have learned the material can be related back to our BUS105 class material.  It discusses how a business must always strive to find new and improved ways to boost customer satisfaction. Also, it is a smart way of marketing the company’s product to increase sales.  In class we have currently not covered these topics and/or chapters, but from my basic knowledge of business I can assume that above knowledge.

            My plan for the next four individual assignments is to pre-read all of the requirements and understand the tasks at hand.  Most of them require advanced planning, such as scheduling an interview or attending certain events.

IA #2 requires me to find an upperclassman in the business department that I find to be a role model, and interview them.  Hence, my preparations will include finding a particular candidate and setting a time at which to meet.

IA #3 requires me to make a successful business plan from information discussed in class.  So, this assignment will take multiple weeks to finish, just from the mere fact of how long it will take me to learn the proper process.

IA #4 requires me to attend a business event and then discuss what I learned from the event.  Which will make me plan ahead, in terms of finding an event I will be able to make and the ability of having enough time after the event to summarize what I learned. 

IA #5 requires me to write about a guest speaker we had in class.  I am sure this is the last assignment, so I have time to reflect on all of the speakers and choose my favorite.