Holiday still has leftovers that deserve discussion By JIM SCHUH of The Gazette With the holidays well behind us, this might be a good time to check on a few leftover items. I saw a recent report telling that during the holiday selling season, American consumers spent $10.8 billion dollars online. That was 54 percent more than the year before. Jupiter Research says nearly 36 million people shopped online during the Christmas season, and that their average expenditure was $304. (If you do the arithmetic, more than 500 Portage County residents spent over $150,000 online.) The company also says 90 percent of the shoppers were "very satisfied or satisfied" with buying items online - up slightly from the year before, when they spent a total of $7 billion. As Americans were spending and receiving this past Christmas, it appears many weren't as cheerful when it was all over. Remember the old adage that material things don't produce happiness? A Gallup Poll says that while 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas, they seem to be enjoying it less and less. They appear to feel that Christmas has become far too commercialized and focused on gift-giving, while there hasn't been enough emphasis on the religious reason for celebrating the holiday in the first place. Does that surprise you? Gallup says the percentage of Americans saying they'd enjoy Christmas more if people didn't exchange gifts has increased sharply since 1994. Almost six of 10 Americans say they do not enjoy Christmas shopping. Taken together, it's reasonable to conclude that since more than half of all American do not enjoy Christmas shopping, many of them are taking the path of least resistance when they do have to shop - they're staying home and doing it on their computers. Regardless of where you stand on the materialism issue, this situation doesn't bode particularly well for local merchants who depend on us for their livelihoods. Most of us have more money to spend these days, but we're now spending some of it online - and that translates to local dollars going outside the area. While $150,000 isn't yet significant, that number is certain to grow. * * * A Jupiter analyst added one more thought to her firm's report: "The challenge (now) is for retailers to retain and expand customer relationships, and continue to increase online sales..." This should be a wake up call for retailers who haven't given customer service or online shopping much thought. They need to make shopping a more pleasant experience, and they must use today's technology to market their products, if they expect to prosper or even be around much longer. It's interesting to note that in the field of communication, new technologies have never eliminated old ones. At the dawn of radio broadcasting in the 1920s, there were dire predictions for the future of newspapers - after all, radio had the ability to transmit news instantaneously, and the consumer didn't have to wait until the next day to get news. Then came TV, and the predictions were that sound with pictures would make radio obsolete. Then cable TV and satellite delivery arrived, with predictions that over-the-air broadcasting would disappear. Now comes the Internet, with its incredible ability to give the user printed news, radio and TV. Will it make its predecessors obsolete? The answer is probably not. In each instance, the old medium reinvented itself, or at least changed to accommodate both itself and the new medium. When TV became popular, it moved radios out of the living room and into the bedroom, kitchen and car. Over a period of years, radio programmers dumped the long-form programs that had moved to TV, and changed radio from a drama, quiz show and news medium into a music and news source. * * * Over-the-air TV has done something similar in the face of cable/satellite competition. It aims for broad appeal with its programming and leaves programs with narrow appeal to scores of cable/satellite channels. Over-the-air TV also has become our prime source for news, as it has expanded its offerings. The conclusion I draw is that our local retail sector has to work hard and fast to determine how it can make shopping fun again. It also has to jump into the current technology fray, and compete with firms that are draining local dollars online. Then we must support these businesses. These moves could be significant in ensuring a healthy local economic future for all of us. * * * A few months ago, Norman "Doc" Masterson left us at the age of 98. I was not close to him, but would run into Doc and Emma from time to time, and he always had a comment or two about that day's 6 a.m. newscast on WIZD. Apparently, Doc rarely missed waking up to my broadcast. He maintained a keen sense for detail and would let me know if I had made any errors. He also was not shy about making suggestions for improvement. I'm sorry that Doc isn't with us any longer, but I'm thankful for his playful cajoling and nudging. You may reach Jim Schuh at The Gazette, or by e-mail at jpschuh@excite.com.