With Valentine’s Day two weeks away small business owners are anticipating sales online to be stronger than they are offline. A new survey from Constant Contact titled “2nd annual Small Business Valentine’s Day Outlook” finds that 55 percent of small business owners anticipated strong sales in 2006 but in 2007, only 37 percent feel the same this year.
“This year’s survey shows more conservative predictions among U.S. small business owners for Valentine’s Day sales,” said Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact. “The good news is that US small business owners anticipate more online sales this Valentine’s Day.”
According to the survey retailers see Valentine’s Day as becoming an online-shopping occasion. Even though there is a drop in optimism since last year, 64 percent of small businesses believe online sales will be stronger this year.
The survey notes that 53 percent of small businesses plan to run special sales and marketing promotions. Online marketing methods are preferred over traditional print and advertising.
Email marketing ranked as the most popular among 66 percent of respondents. Other online methods that were popular were paid search and banner ads with 32 percent of respondents preferring those methods.
Most small business owners say a majority of their customers (85 percent) spend less than $75 on Valentine’s Day purchases. Fifty-three percent believe that their customers will spend $25 or less at their business.
Not surprisingly most small business owners (51 percent) predict that flowers will be the most purchased gift this Valentine’s Day season. “Dinner” ranked next (18 percent), followed by “jewelry” (15 percent), trailed closely by “chocolate” (14 percent).
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Mike is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
