If I Sell 10 Widgets....

Throughout my academic career, when a professor wanted to illustrate a math problem or transaction example, the product of choice was the widget. The widget could represent anything and was completely arbitrary and fictitious. The widget’s days of anonymity are over.

 

Web 2.0 technology has brought us an actual widget. The widget is a small application that is downloaded to a user’s desktop. It then provides a constant link to the provider’s website while also providing some other useful information or service to the user. For example, clothing merchant Due Maternity fashioned a widget that is a countdown clock for the mom-to-be and a link to DueMaternity.com for special promotions, pregnancy advice and products. Retailer JCPenney’s widget is a calendar that also showcases daily and weekly specials and will remind the user of upcoming gift giving events. The items showcased are linked to the appropriate pages at JCP.com.

 

Given the widget’s newness and relatively quick take off, research firms are only now starting to track their effectiveness. In the above example, Due Maternity recognized an initial expense of $600 and click through sales of $7500 after the first 45 days. They forecasted $75,000 by the end of 2007. The widget can be an inexpensive method of creating value for and a relationship with your customer base. To read more about the widget, visit InternetRetailer.com and search 'desktop widget' or click here.