Snuggie Fatigue: Are We Moving Beyond ‘The Blanket with Sleeves’?
Written by Drew Condon (contact - e-mail) -- March 16th, 2009 |
Share - Save - E-mail
Has the inglorious era of the backwards bathrobe come to its inevitable end? Will the “Sleeved Blanket” join ranks with fallen veterans like “The Bedazzler”, “The Clapper,” or “Blu-Blockers”? If you analyze traffic to the two largest Snuggie transaction sites, the answer may just be yes.
Unique Visitors to getsnuggie.com (88,961) and freesnuggie.com (135,785) are down 33.8% and 26.2% between January and February 2009, respectively, placing UVs back near October 2008 levels. Page Views and Visits show similar trends; however, perhaps the most damning evidence of “Snuggie Fatigue” lies in the Average Stay numbers.
Between August and December 2008 Getsnuggie.com posted relatively high Average Stay numbers, between 4:30-6:30 (higher than popular content blogs like Techcrunch, Engadget, or Boing-Boing). However, since the initial peak those numbers have been disappearing faster than arms in a slanket.
The main attraction on the Snuggie sites, besides being able to transact, and surely the reason behind the high time on site, is the infomercial itself, which plays on page load. Early spikes in Average Stay were probably fueled primarily by curious passers-by watching, rewatching, and spreading the infectiously dubious site throughout the memeosphere. It seems the initial exuberance has faded.
While the effects of the holiday bubble and the impending hot summer months have never been a secret, it’s not hard to imagine the good folks at “The Snuggie” feverishly trying to convert cult mania into something more sustainable. The Valentines Day Snuggie Surge is probably not a sign of healthy evolution from novelty to staple. Unfortunately, if web traffic is any leading indicator, it looks as though we may all go back to the time before sleeves sometime soon.
Did you like that post? You'll love these.
Done reading? subscribe: To get an automatic feed of all future posts subscribe here, or to receive them via email enter your email address in the box in the right column.
Link to This Post:
Get the 
March 17th, 2009 at 7:56 am
Two things to keep in mind - the snuggie would only be useful (well, marginally more useful than a blanket) in winter - so they would naturally lose traffic in the US as winter rolls into spring.
I’d be willing to bet the Dec peak comes both a marketing push, viral hype and the fact that I’m sure more than a few people bought one as holiday (gag) gifts. Would be interesting to see conversion on either of those sites.
P.S. Shamwow has more staying power: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/getsnuggie.com+shamwow.com?metric=uv
March 17th, 2009 at 10:16 am
Have to wait till this time next year to declare it a failure or a passing fad. If it’s a big seller and gift item during winter next year, then you got yourself a winner.
March 17th, 2009 at 11:07 am
(well, marginally more useful than a blanket) in winter - so they would naturally lose traffic in the US as winter rolls into spring. … —–> i agree with you Max.. Might be the fact…
May 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
hi, msj 546 wonderful blog 546 share
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:39 am
August 26th, 2009 at 11:09 am
hi, my name is basan.com.tr BASSAN loadcell.your wonderful blog, 539 blog. tnx. Msj number . 539