Your football team is alive in the playoffs, and you’re shopping for gear that proves what a mega-fan you are? We’ve got everything you need!

The Green Bay Packers

[Disclosure: this is my team.]

If you’re a Green Bay fan watching Aaron Rodgers pursue the second Super Bowl Championship out of his destined ten, you’re ready to do some MVP (Most Valuable Purchase) shopping. A good Aaron Rodgers jersey will show your fan pride throughout this decade’s victories and be a classic forever after. A Clay Matthews jersey is a good choice too, if you have the hair to pull it off. Of course whatever jersey you choose, you’ll need a Cheesehead to wear with it. And for fans ready to make the jump up to NFL owner, there’s the limited time offer of Packers Stock. Nothing amplifies a Packers victory like literally owning a part of it.

The New York Giants

Fun Fact: Packers scouts have determined that, despite the name, the NY Giants players are normal-sized people. Punt returner/wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan is only 5’ 8”! This is great news for fans – it means that Giants jerseys come in your size, and Giants Fathead Wall Decals  will fit on the walls of all standard-sized homes.

Funner Fact: Nextag scouts have determined that, despite the name, NY Giants clothing and collectibles can be had at very tiny prices. You just have to know where to shop!

The New Orleans Saints

Saints fans, want to see your team win it all this year? There’s no better way than to buy yourself the “New Orleans Saints Road to Super Bowl XLIV” DVD. Who dat gettin’ such a good deal? It’s you when you shop for the DVD of your two-year-old Super Bowl victory.

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For Halloween, I wrote a post all about super cute costumes for animals. And it went over pretty well. For those of you who fancied that write-up, you might like to know that today is National Dress Up Your Pet Day. That’s right, you’ve got another excuse to dress up Fido without people looking at you like you’re certifiably insane.

Now before I go any further, please adhere to this rule: Only “celebrate” this fun day if it is indeed fun for all parties involved. Dress Up Your Pet Day should be just as enjoyable for your pet, as it is for you. If Kitty is just way too cool to enjoy being toted around dressed as Yoda, and thus looks like he’s waiting for the first opportunity to dig your eyes out, well there’s a term for that. It’s called animal abuse. It’s cruel to use Kitty for your own personal enjoyment, and well, quite dangerous for your personal well-being, as you will have to sleep at some point.

So with that outta the way, yes, today is National Dress Up Your Pet Day. This falls under the ridiculously adorable holiday category, by the way. I would love to pretty up my cat, Kingston, but he was inspiration for the above mentioned scenario. He is most definitely too cool to be demeaned by dressing up in some ridiculous, human-made costume. He’s a very regal creature, after all. And if I did force him into some crazy getup, the result would be some serious bloodshed. And just to be clear, I would be the one down a few pints.

But if your furry family member is keen on grabbing some extra love and attention from the adult folks, then this day is for him/her. Here are 5 fantastically fun fashion accessories for your animals to help them celebrate National Dress Up Your Pet Day. Continue Reading »

1.  No more debit or credit cards

2012 could be the year some shoppers say goodbye to their flexible friend and put away the plastic for good. With corporations like Google and MasterCard actively rolling out cashless initiatives to the world market, this really could be a year of extraordinary change. Couple this with businesses like Square and PayPal, with their peer-to-peer payment systems for smartphones, and it’s easy to see why retailers are racing away from the traditional methods of trade and embracing a card-less future.

2.  Bargain hunters of the world, unite and take over

With the rapid growth of the daily deal market in recent years, it’s surprising to learn that many industry analysts think this trend has yet to peak. Trendwatching predicts global shoppers will continue to seek out deals and promotions throughout 2012, but also notes that motives of coupon collectors are changing. While many seek out deals to save money, Trendwatching has noticed that shoppers who use deal aggregators like Groupon use it for “the thrill, the pursuit, the control, the perceived smartness, and thus a sense of status, too.” It’s this last point that’s raising eyebrows among analysts and industry leaders. When saving money becomes the new status symbol, there could be “An even bigger ‘deal ecosystem,’ with more personalization, more loyalty schemes, and more pressure on brands to deliver deal-immune brilliance as an integral part of everything they sell and promote.”

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A few weeks ago, Nextag launched two twitter accounts: @NextagSnow and @NextagRadar.

So what can these twitter accounts offer you? We sat down with the team that built them: Choon-Hong Peck, Seggy Umboh and K.B. Teo, who joined Nextag via the acquisition of thingbuzz, a social media technology startup, earlier this year.

Calling all snowboarders!

@NextagSnow is targeted at those who have a passion for snowboarding and want to stay updated about all things related to snowboarding.

@NextagSnow tweets awesome deals on snowboarding gear, as well as price drops for brands like Burton, GNU, and more. Snowboard fanatics can follow @NextagSnow for information about the best prices on snowboarding gear that interests them.

Calling all bargain hunters!

@NextagRadar is targeted at the extreme bargain hunter. If you’re obsessed with great deals and the best times to buy anything, this is the twitter account you want to follow. Heads up: we tweet frequently! Tweets from these two twitter shopping accounts include pictures of products! This is a very new twitter feature that’s intended to make shopping super easy.

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Happy Holidays from Nextag!

Wishing you a joyous holiday season with friends and family!

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.“

~ Anne Frank

Recently, a small team of Nextag employees swapped their laptops for soccer balls and participated in an America SCORES “field day” event. It was a day full of fun games, team-building, and positive interaction with young San Franciscans.

Facilitated by America SCORES and Bryant School staff, Nextag volunteers led a series of fun “activity stations” consisting of 15-20 students each. After 10 minutes, the teams rotated throughout each station so everyone got a chance to participate in each activity. Once the first group of 60-70 students had finished, another group arrived to have fun, all over again.

The activities run by Nextag employees included:

1) The Nextag Art Project

2) Team Relay Races

3) A Nextag vs. Students Soccer Match

4) A fun game of “Nex-tag”, and other tag variations

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Are you one of the millions of folks who put off your holiday shopping until the last minute? Well, thankfully you still have time to get free shipping on most of your orders with guaranteed delivery by December 24th.

Tomorrow, over 2,000 merchants are participating in the fourth annual Free Shipping Day, offering irresistible deals on everything from outdoor apparel to electronics.

Free Shipping Day sits among the elite shopping holidays, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Last year there was a 61 percent increase in sales year-over-year, grossing $942 million in sales compared to only $586 million the year before.

Free Shipping Day might not be the first or second busiest online shopping day of the year, but third place isn’t too shabby. The increase in revenue generated tons of traffic, too. According to the 1,750 merchants who participated in last year’s free shipping extravaganza, they saw a total of 313,000 visits in a 24-hour period.

For more information about this glorious day, check out Free Shipping Day 2011!

-Joe-
NextagNews Blogger

Nextag is very pleased to announce that we have acquired FanSnap, the leading Comparison Shopping Engine business in the event ticketing market!

We sat down with Mike Janes, CEO, President and Co-Founder of FanSnap, to gain his perspective on this exciting acquisition.

Q: How did FanSnap start?

“Mark Towfiq and I, along with a Harvard MBA candidate named Rishi Garg, founded FanSnap in 2007.  I had just left StubHub after we sold to eBay and really wanted to stay in the tickets business. Mark Towfiq had been at Flock where he was building this great social browser, and before had led engineering at Walmart.com and (believe it or not, once before) Nextag.  We attracted a team of sports, concert and theater fans who wanted to build a ticket search product they would use themselves.  I had spent a good part of my career at FedEx and Apple, companies who reinvented their industries.  More importantly, I was a hard core event-goer (20-40 events a year), and I just knew there was a similar opportunity to make it faster and easier to find event tickets.”

Q: Why did FanSnap start?

“Not that many years ago, fans could only purchase event tickets from the box office (usually through Ticketmaster) on Saturday morning, weeks or months in advance of the event.  If the event sold out or if fans had last minute needs, their only option was to deal with street scalpers, unless they were a sophisticated or a business customer, which were typically served by local ticket brokers.

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If you thought Black Friday had the best deals, you’re in for a HUGE surprise! The problem with Black Friday is that you’re still deep into your Thanksgiving turkey coma. The last thing you want to do is brave long lines at the mall on Friday morning, or even Thursday night. And no, we’re not talking about Cyber Monday, either.

Join Nextag and thousands of other stores across the country next Saturday, November 26th as part of the 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday celebration.

On Small Business Saturday, you can stay in your warm, comfy bed all morning and skip the mall madness, while still saving loads of cash. Best of all, you can support your local community, too!

So on November 26^th, 1 week from todayget your morning cup of Joe from your local coffee shop and peruse local boutiques, while enjoying your town’s winter wonderland. Or, if you lack the motivation to brave the public, you can always shop online during Small Business Saturday. Nextag can certainly help you out in this department!

Support Your Local Economy

Help boost the local economy and show love to these 2011 Small Business Saturday supporters:

1-800-Flowers.comHyatt Hotel & Resorts
FedEx
Hertz
HP DirectZoro Tools
Xerox DirectVerizon
Tissot
Courtyard by Marriott®

Shop Local and Earn a $25 American Express Statement Credit

American Express will literally PAY YOU TO SHOP at a small business on November 26th! No joke, simply register your American Express card here and spend $25 or more at a participating small business venue. You’ll then receive a one-time $25 statement credit. Who doesn’t like free cash?

Most importantly, get out there and support the men and women who positively contribute to your local economy. Whether it’s getting coffee at a local café rather than Starbucks, or buying your next piece of jewelry from a boutique, doing your part couldn’t be easier

Winter is here, the days are getting shorter, and cubicles are bursting with innovation at Nextag, which means the holiday shopping season is in full swing. Welcome to our first edition of Nextag in the News, your guide to the latest product announcements, press releases, and shopping trends you may have missed.

Nextag Brings Your Radar to Your Smartphone

Searching for the best price on your next digital camera? Put it on your Radar and Nextag will notify you when it reaches your “sweet spot.” Nextag’s Radar mobile app allows you to add products to your radar on-the-go by entering text into the search field, taking a picture of the item, or scanning a barcode using your phone’s built-in camera. Nextag Radar is available now for iOS.

•   An App That Shops for You? – Apparel – Aug. 18, 2011

•   Nextag’s radar picks up a smartphone app– Internet Retailer – Aug. 24, 2011

•   Shopping website Nextag launches another mobile app Nextag Radar – IntoMobile – Aug. 24, 2011

•   Nextag Radar app review – Daily Herald – Sept. 3, 2011

•   Nextag Radar app scans for deals – Washington Post – Sept. 10, 2011

•   Shopping website Nextag launches another mobile app – TechSumo – Aug. 24, 2011\

•   Nextag Brings the Bliss of Retail Therapy to Shoppers Searching for their Next Big Thing – Shopping Deals – Aug. 18, 2011

Jeff Katz Interview at Shop.org Conference

At the Shop.org Conference in Boston earlier this year, Nextag CEO Jeffrey Katz did a 9-minute interview with EcommerceBytes discussing Nextag’s vision of becoming a forecast-driven marketing platform for merchants.

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