Sold *some* Pcln puts. Another press release from Mr Walker, induced me to take some profits. And after the stocks that I wrote off yesterday.I need them.:-)
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... New Yorkers Buy More Groceries Online This Holiday Season Than any Other
Item, Including Toys, Books and Music
.. Over 1,000 Grocery Stores in New York Metro Area Team with Priceline's
Brand to Successfully Implement "Clicks and Mortar" on the Internet
STAMFORD, Conn., Dec. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- What is the most popular Internet item this holiday season among consumers in the New York metro area? Surprise; it's groceries.
In the Internet age, stories about phenomenal growth are plentiful and virtually taken for granted. Even so, here's one for the record books: After selling 1 million grocery items in its first 40 days, the Priceline WebHouse Club took only half that time, 20 days, to sell an additional 1 million items, bringing the total to 2 million items in just its New York metropolitan area launch.
The WebHouse Club, which enables consumers to name their own price for groceries on the Internet and then get those groceries at their favorite local supermarkets, is the first e-commerce on the Internet to emphasize consumer savings over delivery convenience. The WebHouse Club, unlike other Internet grocery services, lets consumers' save money on essential grocery items-up to 50 percent off-every week.
Prior to the WebHouse Club, major competing retailers, such as grocery chains, had never worked together using the Internet to allow millions of consumers to save money by naming their own prices. With the WebHouse Club, members name their own price for groceries on the Internet at priceline.com, and shop at any of over 1,100 participating grocery stores in the New York metro area representing virtually every major chain, including A&P, KeyFood, ShopRite, Grand Union and Stop & Shop.
Just how popular is using the Internet to save money on groceries? From a standing start, the WebHouse Club at priceline.com has become one of the most popular e-commerce Internet sites in New York, that's how popular! WebHouse Club members are currently pricing over 500,000 grocery items every week on the Internet. And 65% of the 15,000 new members each week in metro New York say they first tried the WebHouse Club because of a recommendation from a family member, friend or colleague.
The WebHouse Club is the best example to date of the business model known as "clicks and mortar," where the power of the Internet is used in combination with the advantages of traditional retailers. Retailing has always had the advantage of local stores, centrally located, and merchandise that is immediately available. The Internet is able to scale rapidly and provide information to everyone with access to a computer. WebHouse Club partners with established local grocery stores and offers consumers a new bargain: save money while shopping at their favorite local grocery store. WebHouse Club members trade off home delivery for substantial savings-members save an average of $12.75 per shopping trip on a basket of groceries totaling $32.
This holiday season, online shopping is growing dramatically in almost every sector, including groceries. Consumers in the New York metro area bought more grocery items on the Internet through the WebHouse Club than toys, books or CDs. The 2 million grocery items that WebHouse Club members have purchased represents the fastest growing online category in the nation's largest market.
And what were New Yorkers buying through the WebHouse Club? According to the most recent data, the top 10 most popular items that WebHouse Club members named their own prices for were: diapers, steaks, chicken, breakfast cereal, milk, cola, detergent, coffee, orange juice and potato chips.
The rush to save money on groceries on the WebHouse Club in metro New York has had a dramatic spillover effect on the Priceline.com web site. Priceline.com has sold airline tickets at a rate two to three times faster in the New York metro area than any other market since the introduction of the WebHouse Club on November 1.
"We believe WebHouse Club model will become the dominant way consumers will use the Internet to shop for everyday goods, including groceries," said Jay Walker, founder of the WebHouse Club. "The WebHouse Club 'click and mortar' model has been extraordinarily successful and is now poised for rapid growth. All great revolutions in retail have been about saving the consumer money. For example, Wal-Mart is all about savings while 7-Eleven is about convenience. That's why Wal-Mart is far larger than 7-Eleven. In the past, the local grocers offered convenience but warehouse clubs provided superior prices. Now with Priceline for groceries on the Internet, customers can get the savings of a warehouse club with the convenience of their local grocery store." |
