Ice Blog

Online Sales Get Boost When Buyers Return To Work

Ice.com is ready for the rush of holiday shopping.

Retailers aren’t taking any chances–they’re offering online discounts and promotions on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Ice.com, an online jewelry retailer, is offering free shipping and a gift-with-purchase promotion to shoppers who buy on those two days. “The results are unbelievable,” says Pinny Gniwisch, founder and executive VP of marketing. The site expects 400,000 to 600,000 visitors on Cyber Monday, double the usual traffic.

But with millions of consumers accessing Web sites to make purchases, retailers need to avoid glitches that could slow responsiveness or even crash sites. Ice has prepared for the large traffic volume it’s expecting by installing three backup servers in its offices in Boston and two servers in Montreal over the past three weeks. “We’re prepared for five times the amount of traffic we’re getting,” Gniwisch says.

Ice also hired 10 customer-service representatives and has 4,000 packages of the most popular items ready to ship.

Read the whole article HERE

Find out the truth behind the hype of cyber monday in this insightful article from Business Week Online.

Despite a huge amount of hype, the Monday after Thanksgiving is historically only the12th-biggest online shopping day of the year… So what’s up with this Cyber Monday idea? A little bit of reality and a whole lot of savvy marketing. It turns out that Shop.org, an association for retailers that sell online, dreamed up the term just days before putting out a Nov. 21 press release touting Cyber Monday as “one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.”

The genesis of the concept goes back even further. Shop.org member Shmuel Gniwisch, chief executive of the online jewelry site Ice.com, recalls getting an e-mail from Shop.org last year, suggesting that online retailers come up with their own marketing hook to match Black Friday. “The online guys got together and said, ‘Let’s give people something different,’” he says. “The reality is, we didn’t notice anything special” on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

MARKETING WILDLIFE. Now, however, the term has taken on a life of its own in the media. As a result, it may be starting to fulfill its own marketing hype — at least for some.

Ice.com’s Gniwisch, for instance, said Monday’s traffic had jumped 82% over the previous Monday, Nov. 21. And sales on Monday, Nov. 28, were up 92% from last year, much higher growth than last year’s 68% jump. He attributes that partly to a “Cyber Monday Blowout” sale that did so well — selling out all the merchandise listed — that he had to take down the promotion and scramble to add new products to hawk on the site.

Read the whole article HERE

WASHINGTON — Today, employees across the country return to work after a day of feasting and, of course, a day of shopping. But for shoppers with unfinished business — or office employees who need a break from business — the Monday after Thanksgiving has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

Online retailers have been busy tempting buyers with special promotions, discounts and deals on shipping. Now they are bracing for “Cyber Monday.”….

Online retailers — 43 percent of whom said they plan to offer special promotions for Cyber Monday — say they anticipate one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

“We don’t know what’s going on but our sales are up over 100 percent from last year,” said Shmuel Gniwisch, chief executive officer of Ice.com, an online jewelry retailer. Mr. Gniwisch said the company, which is holding a half-price sale and offering free shipping, is nearly sold out of inventory.

Read the full article HERE

Have Icegrrl tell you about the enduring power of chandelier earrings as evidenced by Mariah Carey, the funky nature of gold the if you wear it like Kiera Knightly does.

Rahulio talks about the crazy and complicated life of the stylish Sienna Miller, and the dazzling earrings of Shania Twain.

See a Johnny Depp pirate-inspired men’s ring and other ways to sparkle, always at sparklelikethestars.com

Leslie the Jewelry experts gives a few good ideas on finding the perfect gift under $100. She also tells us that just because it’s before thanksgiving, it’s no reason not to start shopping for Christmas.

She shares some suggestions for finding unique jewelry for an artist, as well as great winter jewelry and jewelry for a Sagittarius.

Just in time for the holiday season, Ice.com announces FREE shipping on ALL orders! It’s the same great FedEx service, except now it’s free.

Order as much as you want. Whenever you want. And get it shipped for free.

Now that’s service.

This time around, Leslie the jewelry expert talks about what to get for the Scorpio in you life, what kind of jewelry to get for a night on the town. She provides reat info on comfortable wedding bands and shows the the beauty of November’s birthstone – citrine.

All this and more great jewelry tips and advice on Just Ask Leslie.

The world of celebrity jewelry and fashion stays entertaining as Rahulio takes on Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton, the old school glamour of Marlene Dietrich. He talks about Posh Spice’s blingy cross, Jennifer Aniston and a tungston bracelet, and Halle Berry’s beautiful chandelier earrings.

Read all this and more, and find out how you too can Sparkle Like The Stars