I’ve discovered that being offline has its advantages.

Who knew?

It’s not that I miss being online, but the online world is so much different than the real world. There’s something about people hiding behind a keyboard that turns them into these egoistical maniacs and know it all’s. They can check in and check out on a moment’s notice covering a vast amount of cyber space without having to back up or support anything they say or do. There’s little to no responsibility or consequences to contend with in this vast expansion of bits and bytes.

Life – or the real world – has a completely different set of rules and consequences attached to it. There’s a level of accountability that you just can’t hide from offline. Online, it’s nothin’ to “talk the talk” – but if you don’t know how to “walk the walk” offline I would imagine you’ll find yourself in very compromising and uncomfortable positions in what I can only categorize as bizarre and irrational perceptions.

Offline, you also have the opportunity to kick the tires so to speak. A chance to look someone directly in the eye and ask the pointed questions. Instead of just the written word as a response, you can collect and record someone’s vocal tone, body language, and whether or not they can look you in the eye when they respond to questions you ask.

One of the things I’ve never been able to grasp are these folks who get all riled up over people they’ve never met, or even talked to. They form these opinions and illusions based on a perception that’s disconnected and incomplete. It’s a major reason why I’ve never given credibility to people who have some dysfunctional disdain about me. They simply can’t form a complete picture or accurate opinion about who I am and what I stand for without actually meeting me face to face.

Those that have actually met me have a completely different attitude and perception from what I’ve read here in cyberspace. Remarkably, it would completely contradict the crap I’ve read about who I am and what I do from the cowards who have never personally come in contact with yours truly.

Likewise, the cowards who spend hours yammering on the Internet attempting to shame and slander the YTB Founders, Coach, Scott, and Kim have never had an opportunity to come face to face with their nemesis either. About the closest anyone has gotten, was going to an opportunity meeting incognito. While they happened to be in the same room, there was never any real dialog because one was standing in front of the room in plain sight, while the other was hiding in the back of the room among a large crowd of faces. The result was about as effective as watching a presentation via streaming video.

Several years ago, another clown was in Florida to check out Funshine. Instead of spending time with the people there, he took pictures of cars in the parking lot. Then while the owners of the cars were in training classes, he sneaked in to take pictures of the empty hallways. If I remember correctly, the pictures of empty hallways were to prove that nobody was there. (Apparently, the owners of the cars left without their preferred form of transportation.)

But alas, it did give the cowards an opportunity to say “I was there” in an attempt to add credibility and confirm their already twisted views and perceptions.

I had an opportunity myself to check out another well known “industry scammer” on the Internet about a year and a half ago. Part of the reason I went to this meeting was to see if the speculation and perceptions online matched what I saw with my own eyes. As it turned out, I had an opportunity to shake hands and introduce myself to this so called “scammer” and actually brought up the fact that they were so well known in the cyber world.

This one very pointed question opened up a rather lengthy dialog over several conversations. The contrast over what I had read and what I had gathered on my own was astounding. I had also gathered information on the cowards who were so head strong at pointing the finger at this guy. What I found out made me realize the cowards themselves had three more fingers pointing at them. In other words, these so called critics who were trying to save everybody from being scammed actually had more problems and blemished of their own that I could only conclude that the ranting and raving they were doing was nothing more than a deflection technique to make themselves feel better about their own miserable existence.

Look – I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.

Don’t believe a word I say – unless you can verify on your own to be true.

You don’t have to agree with me – but you do have to do a little more than read and post on message boards and blogs to form a legitimate and accurate perception of what’s going on. These clowns who only lift a finger to do a Google search on the internet to find opinions and perceptions that match their own illusions are a complete joke.

Instead, find somebody who has some real world experience and is capable (or at least willing) to show up in person for a face to face.

Online is a great place for introductions and connections. It’s capable of doing a lot and expanding your influence. However, if you’re not willing to unplug and venture out into the real world – you’re simply not going to get very far. You’ll quickly find yourself without any real knowledge, experience, or credibility.

While online can be great and it has its advantages – don’t mistake the online world as the real world or life experience. In order to grasp what’s really going on the only place to do that is offline.

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Miss me?

Yeah, I know – I promised that I would get back into the swing of things at the beginning of the year with regular posts here. I was doing just fine until YTB launched ZamZuu and Shazam! – I’m off promoting this cool new product launch that’s half the price and twice the fun for entrepreneurs. It’s also a ton of fun showing customers how to get a free account to start saving money from hundreds of stores they already know and trust.

Quite honestly, you’ve got to be brain dead not to see this thing. Shopping with hundreds of brand names stores on their websites and getting cash back when you do just for going through ZamZuu?

What’s not to get?

It’s free for customers to join. Stores pull from a nationwide inventory or regional warehouse. Most have the option of site to store for easy pickup. (And no shipping charges!) Just about every stores will also e-mail weekly sales right to your in-box if you subscribe off their sites – and you should if you’re a regular shopper. Frankly, I prefer far less clutter – and will use the new ZamZuu Dealz fan page as a central location to find great “dealz” – rather than scanning through hundreds of store e-mails. (I’ve signed up with some stores and get an e-mail a day – which honestly is a bit much.)

Here’s the biggest no brainer for me. It will never – ever – ever be more expensive for any of my customers going through ZamZuu than it will going direct to the store. Just can’t be done – they’re going to the same site stores and see the exact same products and prices anyone else does.

Customers who are smart enough to go through ZamZuu instead of going direct however – get cash back on every purchase made through ZamZuu. Something that can’t be done by going direct.

Back around Christmas, our office computer died. I had no idea what was available these days – nor did I have any feel for how much prices have come down. It’s been years since I even thought about buying a new desktop. What do you think is easier, hopping in the car and going from store to store or hopping on my laptop to do a Google search for “desktop computer”? As it turns out, one of the big box stores that are on ZamZuu had a sale for case, keyboard and mouse for only $229. At that point, I didn’t need to shop any longer. (Would you for that price?) I logged into ZamZuu and went directly to the store which was saved as one of our favorites – ordered the exact make and model I found earlier for exact same price and requested to pick up at the local store 10 minutes away.

After completing my order, I got confirmation of the order and information that I would be notified when it was ready.

Wanna know how long it took to complete the order?

Ten minutes later, I got an e-mail “Your order is ready for pick-up”. As I hit “print” and headed upstairs to go grab the confirmation needed off the printer, I just had to laugh at how easy that was.

But it gets better. Remember, this was back before Christmas and the height of the Christmas shopping season. As I walked into the store, I checked to my left to see long lines of customers waiting to check out – as I headed to the right – towards Customer Pickup. There I found heaven.

No lines.

I handed my confirmation to the friendly Associate, she hand me the product, paid in full and I was walking out the door within minutes of placing my order online.

The entire process from search to pick up took no more than an hour to complete.

And I got cash back from ZamZuu for doing it!

But the cash back is merely an added bonus to an already smarter way to shop. I wrote about how we shopped this year for Christmas, ordering everything on-line and having the kids Christmas presents sent to the local stores in Pittsburgh for my parents to pick up. Talk about a stress free Christmas! And as an added bonus – there was absolutely no way the kids could “peek” this year – because they were all hidden 600 miles away!

I do have to caution you on one drawback however. Because we didn’t realize how much we bought for the kids – we had to strap them to the roof in order to get all the presents inside the van to get home.

Note to self: If anyone takes that literally, we have found the poster child for “brain dead”.

Moving on…

Fact is, we live in a digital age now. The internet changed all that. If you don’t think so, just try to find a single big box store that’s not online these days. Everybody’s got a web site for a reason. It’s easier – faster – and far more convenient for the customer. It’s also extremely cost effective for the stores and can do nothing but increase profits for retailers.

I’ve had a couple of inquiries of late on where this number of $950 billion spent in retail in the last quarter of 2009 came from – while only 3% of it was spent on-line. (Video below) I’ve been so busy that I have not even bothered to research or ask about that number myself. However, if you’re looking for numbers and something that you can document, I’d highly recommend eMarketer. I did a piece on them back in June of last year and if it’s documentation you’re looking for about on-line shopping – this would be the company that I would look to for a number like that. The documentation sighted there will provide the most comprehensive study found anywhere regarding e-commerce and it’s growth over the next few years.

You can predict the future by looking at it’s past. Look at what YTB did with Travel? Took a bunch of “Average Joes” and sold over $1 billion in travel in 8 years, all because of the internet.

You’ve gotta like the odd when it comes to everything else!

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I’ve written about a company called PhoCusWright here before which measures online travel sales. I’ve also written about BurstMedia as recently as a few weeks ago, which looked at consumer research for travel related spending. Another company that measures on-line spending is a company called eMarketer who came out with a report last week which forecasts some significant growth once we get past this recession.

The Retail E-Commerce Forecast reports and tracks current online sales and then forecasts what will happen in the future based on the data collected. The current forecast indicates that online sales will begin to rebound in 2010 and hit full stride in 2011. A trend in greater spending by online buyers is the key to eMarketers forecast of continued e-commerce growth. Currently some 152 million individuals will shop online in 2009.

The report also goes on to state that many consumers opt to buy online for convenience, price and broad product selection. It also states that over 80% of online shoppers are also online buyers. According to PriceGrabber.com, the tough economy is driving consumers online to compare prices, look for retailers that do not charge sales tax or shipping fees, seek discounts and avoid impulse buying.

It should be noted that PhoCusWright and eMarketer specialize in two separate segments of online sales. Online travel sales are so large and significant in this day and age that it’s broken out into its own category of B2C e-commerce. The remaining group of sales, whatever that may be, is left in the hands of eMarketer.

We’ve heard Coach, Scott and Kim this year quote that $0.42 out of every dollar spent online is spent on travel.  YTB brought Aisle 19 on board at the beginning of the year to capture the other $0.58 of that dollar. If you have ever wondered where that statistic comes from you now know it comes from PhoCusWright and eMarketer who work together to bring you and me a complete picture of the online shopping market. In 2008 $95.3 billion of the total sales volume spend online ($227.6 billion) was spent on travel.

Yes, I know that traditional travel agents want to stake a claim to the $95.3 billion in travel that’s spent online in an attempt that they are changing with the times. The claim; they too book online. Mind you, Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline take up more than half of the $95.3 billion with $50.1 billion on their own. (As documented in last weeks 2009 Power List rankings.) If you’re wondering if this is nothing more than a desperate attempt to keep traditional agents in this changing and evolving game you can bet on it.

A few weeks ago I documented BurstMedia’s findings with how consumers are using the internet for travel research and spending. That article got a considerable amount of attention from various massage boards, forums, and blogs. (As noted in stat reports I read that document not only what people are reading, but where they are coming from.) The findings from the BurstMedia research upset many traditional agents, and the excuses started to mount. One traditionalist went as far as personally attacking YTB and myself in some feable price match to show that booking with him would prove to be a better value. I’m not sure how that one example will change the entire scope of consumer research and spending, but I will tell you that the traditionalist who spent days ranting over the issue has successfully relieved himself from any anxiety he once had.

If someone wants to point out that people still value traditional travel agents, they are free to do so. I’m fairly certain that there are independent reports out there that they can use. I’d certainly find an independent source far more credible than some self generated price match consisting of one obscure flight to prove my point however. Yet a simple copy and paste price match appears to be all some need to keep their dream alive that they’re still wanted or needed. Or even better, that they use an age old excuse that they too use the internet to purchase travel for thier customers which factors into the large online booking numbers we’re now seeing in the reports that are documented here.

I’ve yet to generate enough interest in proving this point, but I’m fairly certain from past reports that PhoCusWright puts out that it’s not calculating B2B as it would be in the case of a travel agent booking with suppliers, but B2C with suppliers booking directly with consumers online. B2C after all is what this and many other reports document rather than the other way around.

I’ve been shopping online for years because of it’s convenience and ability to search for the best price I can find. Three years ago I was in the market for a brand new digital camera and went to the internet for a match of what I was looking for. I already knew the specs I desired, already had a budget in mind, and was already willing to purchase the camera online. What I found was the Fuji FinePix S9000 and it’s been one of my most enjoyable investments I’ve ever made.

When I do get a call from a client (as opposed to a booking just showing up in my back office) these clients already know the dates, times, and have a budget in mind because of the research they’ve done online. Some still refrain from buying online due to security and privacy concerns or the inability to touch and feel products. Others will go ahead and book or purchase themselves because they’re comfortable with the medium.

With almost nine out of 10 Internet users browsing and researching to compare products online this year as documented in this report, it’s yet another example via independent research of the bright future of online retail.

And YTB appears to be right in the thick of it. In more ways than one. ;-P

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