Well, there's one more frantic weekend of shopping for all of you last-minute holiday gift seekers. That's for Christmas anyway. Which is kind of what this column is about. And the shopping experience.
It features a poem--a variation on the Clement Clarke Moore classic, "A Visit From St. Nicholas” (popularly referred to as “The Night Before Christmas") called "Just Before Christmas (A Shopper's Wish List).” It's about the trials and tribulations of shopping during the holiday season, or any season really, and prospects for an improved experience--online or off--presented by the clever folks at Geometry Global.
So, all you Adlanders out there who have been working overtime in recent weeks to help your clients make their nut for the year, give this Geometry rhyme a read.
If not now, maybe this weekend on your mobile device while you're finally searching for that perfect gift for your perfect someone. Or, more likely, multiple gifts for that someone, family and friends. Perhaps while you’re taking a breather from the gift gathering and waiting in line at Starbucks for a caffeine jolt to help you on your mission.
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The poem is, after all, mostly about you. Happy Holidays.
JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS (A SHOPPER’S WISH LIST)
‘Twas just before Christmas and today’s shoppers knew
The retail experience could use an upgrade or two
Reading online reviews all snug in their beds
Visions of that perfect gift danced in their heads
Imagine, they thought, how great it would be
If these online ads were all tailored to me
Time would be saved, and extra money abound
Should the best item, when searched, always be found
If relevant deals always knew where you were
they could target promotions to him and to her
Helpful help, in short, is never turned away
More advice on my phone? Why yes, please! Hurray!
While riffing on phone things all twinkling and new
Perhaps an app could bring stock counts to you
There’d be no more need to drive all about town
Spending long winter’s days finding coats packed with down
Isn’t technology grand? O! It’s a joy to behold
But many shoppers feared that it grew a bit bold
Some worried of retailers throwing open the sash
to their personal info, their privacy dashed
Discretion! Security! Was the call of each
Keep our personal data tucked far out of reach
See, pre-digital values will still find their voice
Like when it comes time to make that big choice
To inform their purchase, real-life research is key
Touching and examining – does this item suit me?
So onward, onward, into the stores
We’ve only the space for a few wishes more
Devices were held to barcodes with dreams
that pushing a button would bring info in reams
Those codes won’t divulge any wisdom quite yet
Give tech a bit longer, we’ll soon see it, I bet
Here’s one big thing that can’t come quick enough
Making online and real world all seamless and stuff
These connected shoppers all commonly held
That online and physical spaces should meld
Make our shopping experience as smooth as you can
Whether purchasing online or off is our plan
Now lastly, yes lastly, but most important of all
Let’s spend the end on a unanimous call
For an overwhelming wish was to be treated well
Respect me, listen now, don’t try just to sell
I have questions that need answering, and oh, if you please
Accept this returned item with the utmost of ease
And here this rhymed story abruptly must stop
Happy searching to all and to all a good shop!