Sales affected by Katrina?

I have been seeing significantly lower online sales over the last three days or so. I was wondering if other people have been experiencing a similar thing and also whether the reason could be that people are donating their disposable income to Katrina relief?

If they are, them good for them. I just wondered whether this is a broader phenomenon than just my website.

 

My websites has suffered too. Before the storm, I made quite some change in a week, now I am not even making half of half.

Best Regards,
Surfup

 

$587 million pledged already, so may be this explains it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4230334.stm

 

even my site.. unsual low traffic and disappointed sale.

 

I'm just having a slow September in general..plus losing backlinks in google doesn't help

 

September has been the worst month for me so far in terms of ROI and sales. I think it's directly related to Katrina

 

Lower sales & traffic reported here too. No doubt a direct result of Katrina and the sudden jump in gas prices to boot.

Such a very very sad tragedy. Recovery will take a lot of time, and the help of everyone who is able.

Regarding business, the focus right now should be on the upcoming holiday season. This is a good time to prepare your sites, create new products, work diligently on new links & content, etc. Take advantage of this "slow spell" to build on your foundation - to secure our own future, and also to earn extra money that we can contribute when our neighbors need it.

 

My sales are down too.

I think it is largely to do with katrina but im not surprised. I noticed this with the tsunami as well.

I normaly have a set amount i spend in ebay each month on bags and stuff and i donated it all to the katrina funds. Im sure a lot of other people have done the same thing and cut back on a few luxerys to try and help.

Its the least i can do.

 

Yes, I think a lot of people are like you, Izzy - sending their money to Katrina relief instead of purchasing non-essential consumer items. I am guessing that sites selling big-ticket items are unaffected, and a poster on another forum I asked the same question on said that his sales had gone up. He sells Do-It-Yourself equipment, so you can guess why.

 

Even if you choose not to donate or give to charity on principle like myself, they still take it from your fucking pocket by way of diversion.

The ironic thing is, the do-gooders amongst us wouldn't ever of pledged 500+ million to help evacuate or re-locate those that couldn't afford it, or for those who couldn't evacuate because of circumstance.. yet after the storm clears and there's victims and suffering, the money floods in worse then the winds and waters of Katrina itself.

It sure feels better to help the suffering then the soon-to-be-suffering, don't it. While the opinion may be unpopular, it's the truth.

While it may warm hearts to donate now, so much more could of been done with this pledged money before Katrina hit. It's rediculous and I find it very, very odd how those that donate operate.

Pete

 

Well, Pete, I'm sure there are a range of opinions on this, and I am certainly glad I am not caught up in that mess.

On a different note, I am seeing sales start to pick up today (September 15th in Japan), so maybe this is the end of the post-Katrina storm. Anyone else seeing sales coming back?

 

We saw an initial traffic drop of about 20% during and immediately after the storm. Sales were not affected, but I tend to have a float period, and may not see the affect for a week or so. Traffic is booming again, so there's that to look forward to.

What happened was tragic. We have evacuees in my city, in my church, in my childs school... and we even offered a bedroom in our house. Its a tragic story, that all Americans must take the blame for. We've built a society around the Government taking care of us. We're no longer a people of what can I do for myself and my country, but what can my country do for me??? Sad... really, really sad.

 

Well sales are not down but I have noticed that the ad-networks I have running on the sites are producing more banners for the red cross and so on and my earnings via them are slightly down as I don't think we get paid when the red cross banners and so forth are displayed.

Drew.

 

I see my traffic down by about 30% without changes in SE or anything like that.

=\

 

US consumer confidence lower than after 9/11 - so maybe this explains the lower sales.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4253696.stm

(My sales rally seems to have stalled a little )

 

Well for me, sales were not affected, not even traffic!

 

I know a lot of people who are also having really slow sales in the US. I'm having the same problem - sales of my software are flat since the hurricane. Most people with strong sales in Europe are ok - those sales seem to be strong from what I've heard from some other people.

 

I don't know if is just the bussiness we are in but we have had a huge increase in visits and sales in the last week.

 

Do you really need to put your url in every post you make?

And on topic with this thread...no, haven't noticed any spike, one way or the other, due to the hurricanes.

 

I imagine it depended on the type of site and market you target, too. My sales were down specifically on affiliate sites that sold "want to have" products, not "GOT to have" products - for example: toys, collector items, magazine subscriptions, that sort of thing.

Sales returned to normal (and are actually up) in the last 10 days.