Retracting Holiday Bids

Happy New Years and welcome to 2009! So many things to talk about this year, especially with this being such a pivotal year for ecommerce. First and foremost, let us take care of immediate concerns…retract those holiday bids!

If you have not already pulled back your bids from the holiday surges, make sure to do it now. In years past, comparison engines have maintained holiday bids as an artificial bid increase instead of adjusting back down.

Also, check to see how the competitive landscape has changed. With the change in seasons, many merchants are slashing and burning their marketing budgets. More than ever, ROI is a pressing issue. This reduced aggressiveness means that competition is not what is was back in September, the last time we had normal marketplace conditions. I would recommend a conservative strategy of pulling bids down to near minimum rates, observing position, and slowly working bids up based on returns. This is one time where past experience is important, but should be reevaluated.

Last but not least, be patient on initial returns. Keep in mind the market is soft so try to not overreact to initial returns. This is not prime shopping season under normal circumstances, so remember the past couple weeks should have been average at best, so before panicking or let others in the company try to start pulling plugs and budgets, let the season unfold.

This brings up the next post, which will take a look at what to expect for 2009, what to budget for, and how to defend that budget.

January 5th, 2009