Every Day's A Holiday - Namaste.com Inc

American Demographics, Dec, 2000

THANKS TO THE INTERNET, A DIVERSE AMERICA GETS IN TOUCH WITH ITS ROOTS.

It's December, but for Devi Mohanty, head of Namaste.com, the big holiday rush is already over. In fact, it's been over for two months. Unlike other dot-coms that are struggling to figure out how to grab market share this holiday season, Namaste.com is an e-commerce site that peddles everything - from DVDs to jewelry - specifically to Indian American consumers. And for this target market, December doesn't necessarily signify "buyfest." That's because in Indian culture, the big gift-giving event is Diwali, a festival of lights, which happens in late October. "To suggest gifting to Indians around Christmas time doesn't make sense," says Mohanty. "It's the wrong marketing message. Diwali is the Indian `Christmas.'"

Marketers, take note: If you think the holiday season comes but once a year, you haven't met the new, diverse, Web-surfing holiday shopper. As the percentage of consumers born in countries without a Judeo-Christian tradition increases, and as native-born Americans continue their nostalgic return to their roots, one-size-fits-all holiday celebrations are becoming a thing of the past. Increasingly, these consumers are turning to the Internet - not just as a way to replace an expedition to the mall, but also as a replacement for a trip to the corner bodega, or a journey to the ethnic corridors in the nation's urban centers. And whether shoppers need samosas or latkes to create an authentic holiday, the fixings are now just a click away. "E-commerce allows for diversity in holiday celebrations like there's never been before," says Lee W. Frederiksen, CEO of the Frederiksen Group, a direct response marketing firm in Falls Church, Virginia.

Of course, the trend toward diversity in holiday celebrations hasn't escaped the attention of national brick-and-mortar retailers. Take Macerich, a Santa Monica, California-based mall management company that oversees 50 malls around the country. "We have to have respect for the people in our marketplace," explains Susan Valentine, senior vice president of marketing. So in its mall in Los Angeles, where Macerich serves a sizable Jewish and Muslim population, it will pass on the traditional symbols of Christmas and focus instead on a glacier theme, which will include icy decorations and an event with Seaworld's penguins. Santa Claus will be at the mall, but only during certain hours, so parents who don't want their kids to sit on that jolly old man's lap can avoid being there when he's open for business. However, a few thousand miles east, Macerich's mall in Des Moines, which serves a far less diverse market, will be decked out in traditional Christmas trees, wreaths, and open-to-close Santa Claus coverage.

But while brick-and-mortar stores are limited to tweaking their decor, an e-tailer can laser target individual consumers. That's an advantage that will become more important as America's immigrant population expands. Today, the United States is home to the largest number of foreign-born individuals in its history - 26 million people - according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In fact, the number of foreign-born residents in the United States exceeds the population of all but 36 countries, and is larger than every state in the nation except California. Thanks to a projected baby boom among immigrants as well as increased immigration, the number of Asian and Pacific Islanders will increase by nearly 270 percent by 2050, while the number of Hispanics will grow by almost 260 percent. During the same period, the number of non-Hispanic whites will increase by only 7 percent. This will mean that gift-giving holidays such as the Chinese Lunar New Year, Cinco de Mayo, the end of Ramadan, and Eid - a Muslim festival - will rise in importance.

Amid this growth, the digital divide is fading into history. Although Caucasians still outnumber most ethnic households online, the gap is decreasing. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the percentage of African American households with Internet access jumped from 11.2 percent in 1998 to nearly 24 percent in 2000. The percentage of Hispanic households online also rose, from 13 percent in 1998 to 24 percent today. Asian household Internet penetration still leads all other ethnic groups: A whopping 57 percent of these households are wired this year.

These newly wired immigrants are technologically prepared to connect with their traditions during the holiday season - and they have an achingly deep need to do so. A survey conducted exclusively for American Demographics by WorldByNET.com, a Houston-based e-commerce company that targets expatriates, shows just how pressing that need may be. The company, which monthly attracts 150,000 visitors born in countries such as India, Ireland, Mexico, Romania, and Vietnam, surveyed its customers about their holiday traditions. A full 37 percent said they combine U.S. and native traditions, while more than 30 percent said that they celebrated the holidays by following the traditions of their native countries alone. Just 10 percent said that they only followed U.S. traditions. "Anything marketers can do to get authentic and help these consumers to capture what they're missing back home can fill a void," says Laura Young, director of marketing communications for WorldByNET. "And holidays are a time when that void is very acute."