Take away the guilt factor

It's Sunday morning, and after a night out in Newcastle last night where from the traffic jam to get to the restaurant and the lengthy taxi queue to get home again it appears that the credit crunch hasn't curbed the enthusiasm of the North East folk to have a night out. But a quick straw poll of my friends showed that while financially they were no worse off (some lucky ones better off due to the plunging mortgage interest rates) they were more reticent than normal to make an 'unnecessary' purchase. Although nice shoes and bags were deemed necessary for some.

So why is this? Every time I read a newspaper or check out a news website there is more bad news. Anthea Turner has even had to sell her £5m ski chalet for heavens sake! So, the feeling goes that after years of being happy to whack out the credit card and worry about it next month everyone is being cannier with their spending habits.

Bad news for ecommerce stores then? Well, no actually. It could actually be a boom time for businesses who sell online if you make sure you are being canny with your spending habits too.

As people watch what they spend, they are increasingly going online to do price comparisons and try to bag a bargain - and a quick check of my email inbox this morning shows that there are many websites out there offering me just that.

Give me an offer to make it feel cheaper for me = I will feel less guilty for spending money I shouldn't have and buy it. And what is more, I will go and tell everyone about this great deal and how they too can get the discount. Simple.

Think about it - how many people do you know that have eaten at Strada recently? Well, a few weeks ago I knew none and now, thanks to a 2-4-1 deal publicised on money saving websites I could probably catchup with all my Facebook friends on one weekend evening in there...

So, offer something to your customers - take away the guilt factor. I'm off to get 20% off the dress I couldn't justify yesterday.