The Zhu Zhu flu pandemic

A new pandemic
I've caught Zhu Zhu fever! Yes, in the era of swine flu I have found myself stricken with another malady named after a beast. This time it's a supercute hamster and it's got me all in a twist.

I originally heard about this pet toy a few months back and thought nothing of it, but lately I just can't seem to go anywhere without someone talking about how much they want a Zhu Zhu. From Tickle Me Elmo to department store trampling deaths I'd say this one's gonna be white hot come Christmas time. All the stars are aligning, especially when you consider the low-supply/high-demand commentary online and attractive recession-era price point.

Get prepared, because if you haven't already been overwhelmed with requests from your kids you'll probably begin to feel a primal urge throwing you into a frenzy and next thing you know you'll be burning the midnight oil just to get your hands on one of these creatures. I know I did.

As we've observed from many of our consumer trend cycles, this one's gonna be quick and dirty and before you know it you might see them going for $50 bucks a piece on eBay. Let's hope so. I just want to be a fly on the wall for the whole thing.

Social shopping?
This holiday season will see us continue to break new ground in the social internet. This article explains the phenomenon far better than I could.

One area it doesn't explore is the idea of group purchasing. The concept essentially involves a connected, coordinated crowd all with the same buying intentions. They get together and make a bulk purchase of, say, a refrigerator, and realize the (efficiency of scale) savings from doing so. That's an idea that could catch fire with the technology we have at our fingertips and the as the saying goes 'a recession is the mother of invention'... well, close enough.