'Tis the season to deliver

The internet is changing how people shop and the levels of service they expect – so to enjoy a prosperous festive season, businesses must get their online offering right.

 
It's December and businesses around the world are gearing up for their busiest time of the year, with sales and promotions launched by retailers as the countdown to Christmas begins in earnest.
For shops with an online presence as well as a high street branch, it will be even more frantic. According to figures from marketing experts Experian, there were 2.8 billion clicks on UK online shops in December 2012, up by nearly a third from 2011. For those who are not organised enough to buy gifts online well in advance, last-minute shopping is still in vogue; in 2012, Saturday 22 December was the busiest day on the high street.
Even when all the presents have been opened, the demand does not end – in the UK in 2012, there were 113 million visits to online retailers on Boxing Day and a 52% rise in footfall from 26 to 27 December, as shoppers started to track down bargains on the high street.
There's apparently no need to worry too much about the uncertain economic climate, either – recent predictions indicate spending will rise this Christmas thanks to the increasing financial confidence of young consumers.
Which all sounds like great news for SMEs – but is it? Demand, and, thus, revenue, may be increasing, but customers also have high service expectations. The changing nature of festive shopping and customer demand is having a real impact on small businesses. Many shops launched their sales on Christmas Eve in 2012 rather than wait till the end of the festivities, which meant a huge rise in traffic to online retailers on that day. This means December is becoming increasingly hectic for SMEs.
If businesses don't already have an online presence, it's something they should consider as soon as possible: a recent FedEx report shows that e-commerce is thriving at three to four times the rate of traditional retail buying and, within the next two decades, "e-tail" will account for more than half of all sales. Even if an SME focuses on a product or service that requires the customer's presence, such as restaurants or beauty treatments, having a strong online presence helps to drive traffic to the business.

 Source: http://www.theguardian.com

Winter Street Parking Reminder

Chaska City Ordinance permits parking on city streets during winter months only if the vehicle is parked on the side of the street bearing EVEN numbered address numbers on EVEN numbered calendar days and on the side of the street bearing ODD numbers on ODD numbered calendar days.

For the purpose of this ordinance, the calendar date before midnight applies until 8 a.m. of the following morning. (This is so you don’t have to move your vehicle from one side of the street to other at midnight.)

For example: Today, December 4, 2013, vehicles must be parked on the side of the street bearing EVEN numbers. Vehicles may be parked on the EVEN side of the street until 8 a.m. tomorrow December 15, 2013.

Your observance of the calendar parking rules will help us to keep the streets properly plowed. Thank you!

Source: http://www.chaskamn.com

Chaska Amrican Legion Post 57

Be part of Holiday Fundraiser Event at Chaska Amrican Legion Post 57.

Source: http://www.chaskalegion.org/

St. John's Thanksgiving Dinner

The Rev. Greg Snow invites the community to St. John's annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Source: http://www.chaskaherald.com

Important Announcement from "The Landing"

Source: http://www.chaskaherald.com

Amazing Act of Kindness foir Thanksgiving Goes Viral!

A young man brought joy to the lives of strangers when he did something so simple and kind for them - he bought their groceries. Just watch their thankful reactions, it's heartwarming.




Source: http://www.godvine.com

5 tips to maximize Black Friday card rewards

Coming up with a strategy now can help you match cards with purchases to get the most rewards for your shopping dollars.

1. Take stock of your rewards cards. 
A lot of Americans have multiple rewards credit cards, but if you want to save the most money on Black Friday, you have to use the right one. This means finding the card in your wallet that will deliver the most cash back, points or miles for purchases at the stores where you will be shopping. This can be tricky if you have a card that offers bonus categories of spending that change each quarter.

2. Watch out for limits on rewards. 
Many reward credits offer generous rewards, but limit it at a certain amount of spending each quarter or each year. For example, the 5% cash-back bonuses on the Chase Freedom and Discover It cards are only valid on a cardholder's first $1,500 of spending each quarter, while the Citi Dividend Platinum Select card limits 5% cash-back bonuses to $6,000 of spending in a calendar year. After those limits are reached, all purchases earn only 1% cash back.

3. Avoid paying interest. 
Black Friday is all about saving money, but those who carry a balance on their credit card will have trouble realizing any benefit once interest charges are added. Those who pay off their cards every month should figure out ahead of time exactly how much they can afford to spend on Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) and stick to that limit.

4. Research store cards ahead of time. 
One of the reasons Black Friday sales can be so generous is that retailers are counting on making profits off of other products, such as their store credit cards. The card that are offered at the checkout counter sometimes feature poor terms, high interest rates and negligible rewards.

5. Don't get too caught up. 
The most important piece of advice for credit card users is not to get overwhelmed by the hype on Black Friday. Credit cards are more secure than other methods of payment and quite convenient, plus we don't normally see the bill for a few weeks. Therefore, it can too be easy to rationalize a questionable purchase. Try to remember that 70% off of an unnecessary purchase is still a waste of money.


Source: http://money.msn.com