The Amex Hot 100 Wishlist is brought to you by American Express Canada.
In this series about the new Amex Hot 100 Wishlist, we’ve already posited that the malls are treacherous time-stealers, and online shopping is the stress-free mode of the future. Turns out, the hard stats back up this accepted wisdom: According to a new American Express Canada survey, 57% of Canadians say they plan on doing at least a portion of their shopping online this season. This trend has highest acceptance in Manitoba, where an astounding 69% of people would sooner complete their holiday shopping without need of a block heater, snow tires, and gas & parking money.
Stats aside, and in spite of the obvious advantages, it’s not as though shoppers are giving up the malls entirely. Surely it’s not because they actually enjoy humming along to looped Christmas carols amid throngs of shuffling strangers. Could it be that there is also an undercurrent of fear keeping the aisles packed?
We’re all familiar with the horror stories of the Internet: nearly-amusing exiled African princes in need of your help to liberate their million$; preying discount boudoir enhancements; anxiety-inducing tales of identity thefts and fraudulent transactions. Pwerhaps no surprise, then, that nearly half of Canadians surveyed say they fear online shopping could be unsafe, leaving them exposed to (potentially) experiencing the painful process of restoring their good name and upstanding financial record.
With American Express’ assurance of Fraud and Purchase Protection, any such bogeymen will have to move on to another target. Should an incorrect charge be levied against you, Amex will not hold you responsible. Beyond that peace of mind, Amex will replace or repair stolen or damaged merchandise and automatically double the original manufacturer’s warranty period.
Serenity and confidence restored! Resume your online shopping straight away, friends.
Now, are you having difficulty finding just the right thing for someone on your list? Maybe they’re struggling with your item as well.
My wife and I create a chart every fall. Okay, more like, every December 10. It’s a messy list, with everyone we traditionally buy for in the left column, and corresponding gifts to the right. First, we plan what we might get the giftees, then almost inevitably change horses mid-stage before check marking on the far right. Those people lacking a checkmark on December 20 cause me lost hours of sleep and wasted time trolling store shelves before I finally resort to, basically, desperation purchases.
If everyone made a list and made it known, think of how Canada’s productivity might go up each December! As it turns out, the tools available as close as your smart phone are already making this a reality, with a little over one in five of us already sharing our wishlists either via email or through networking sites such as Facebook.
Now there is an application that can unleash the potential of my chosen credit card and unite it with the power of social media so that my family, friends and I can bring efficiency and confidence to the gift-giving end of the holidays. Oh, yes, Virginia (and Virgil), there is an Amex Hot 100 Wishlist.
Imagine the extra time we’ll have on our hands to spend on eggnog-fuelled carol karaoke….
