The Dose Network

Image Credit: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

Discover Financial Services has over the last few years conducted consumer holiday shopping surveys to gauge interest in what is being purchased and spending habits. This year has proven to show some interesting results from what I read in their report. Some 38% of respondents said they would be spending less this year which is a 5% drop from last years 43%.

“Consumers are beginning to feel more confident, and hopefully, that should bring some holiday cheer to retailers,” said Dana Traci, vice president of rewards and product management from Discover. “We’re seeing stronger confidence in shopping, but consumers are still looking for great deals and continue to be mindful of their budgets.”

The trend continues where shoppers determine what brands they are shopping for this year as well, in 2009 57% of those surveyed said they would be shopping for cheaper brands as opposed to this years 31%. Thats a pretty significant drop but what that doesn’t tell you is that quite possibly there will be less money available to retailers and OEM’s, for instance if a consumer spent $2000 on gifts in 2009 and primarily shopped inexpensive brands they would have gotten more compared to spending $2000 in 2010 on the high end or more expensive brands meaning less total items being purchased even though the same amount of money is involved! Is this a good trend? I’m not going to speculate on that, just that its happening and could actually mean fewer purchases in the larger scheme of things. What really surprises me is the comparison of 2009 vs 2010 6% of those surveyed said they planned to re-gift items this year down from a whopping 17% last year! There was also a 12% drop in those that planned to wait until the last minute for deals down to 23% from 35%.

Now where actual purchase intentions and what consumers want shows some very interesting data in my opinion, When purchasers were considering smartphones 44% advised they were looking to purchase an iPhone, 42% an Android powered smartphone and third at 34% was Blackberry. Consumer Electronics topped peoples wish lists at 44% while only 32% of those surveyed said they would be purchasing them as gifts, what was tops for purchasers? You guessed it Apparel, I guess Aunt Louise is getting everyone scarves and socks again this year! Take a more in depth look at the data after the break. Read more…

AndroidDose.com Is Expanding! The Dose Network Has Launched!

Tampa FL – AndroidDose.com is moving headlong into new territory. In an effort to expand our coverage and increase our consumer reach, AndroidDose.com is expanding from one news site to four, possibly more in the future. We are proud to announce the launch of a new network of sites dedicated to bringing you the latest news, reviews and information from across the web: The Dose Network has launched!

We launched our flagship site AndroidDose.com a few months ago and due to its success, we have decided that the time to diversify and further increase our readership has come. Today we are announcing the launch of 3 brand new content portals; the first 2 sites are TheTechDose.com and TheMobileDose.com. Each of these sites branches out from AndroidDose.com and expands our coverage and brand reach while maintaining the focus for our existing core readers. Our new sites will provide the same quality news and reviews that you’re used to from AndroidDose.com, and at the same time giving our current readers the opportunity to experience different content in a familiar format. These new content portals also open up to new readers that otherwise wouldn’t read our current offerings, giving us a larger branded impact.

TheTechDose.com will focus on Consumer Electronics, Household Technology and Gadgets, sometimes offering you a sneak peek into the lives of hardware hackers, Makers and micro electronics geeks. TheMobileDose.com will maintain a sharp eye on the mobile space; where AndroidDose.com focuses on Android related news, TheMobileDose.com will encompass not only mobile phones and tablets but any upcoming mobile technologies and not any one manufacturer or operating system. TheMobileDose.com will feature iPhone, Android, iPad, Blackberry, Nokia and Windows Phone news as well as laptop and netbook news.

Finally, TheDoseNetwork.com was devised as a portal to encompass the entire network of sites while providing a foundation for the Dose brand. TheDoseNetwork.com will maintain close ties to its sibling sites by featuring the best and most popular articles from each of these sites, increasing the individual reach of the sites that much further, thereby helping to solidify the brand. TheDoseNetwork sites also actively engage users via social media, not simply by repeating the website’s information. Each site has a unique Twitter feed and Facebook page where links to articles and reviews are posted as well opinion polls and other tools used to promote user interaction. Our content portals are designed around the idea of being social and integrating with your social lifestyle on the internet.

Any further comments and questions can be directed to the Editor and Founder of The Dose Network, Aaron Buckner at aaron@thedosenetwork.com or by phone 727.537.9099

The Dose Network is currently interested in adding writers to our team if you are interested please read our Write for Us! page.

The Dose Network:

• Web: http://www.thedosenetwork.com
• Twitter:  @TheDoseNet
• Facebook: TheDoseNetwork on Facebook

Android Dose:

• Web: http://www.androiddose.com
• Twitter: @AndroidDose
• Facebook: AndroidDose on Facebook

The Mobile Dose:

• Web: http://www.themobiledose.com
• Twitter: @TheMobileDose
• Facebook: TheMobileDose on Facebook

The Tech Dose:

• Web: http://www.thetechdose.com
• Twitter: @TheTechDose
• Facebook: TheTechDose on Facebook