Street Fight Daily: Why Amazon Confuses Wall Street, Another Big Ad Tech Acquisition
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Wall Street Still Doesn’t Get Amazon (Bloomberg)
For years, Wall Street couldn’t wrap its head around how to value Amazon: Is it a retailer, a tech company, a shipping and logistics business? Retail analysts were comfortable with a low-price retailer with scant margins but didn’t understand the steep valuation attached to the tech side of the business; tech analysts overlooked the retail component and were puzzled by its lack of margins. Only recently has that started to change.
Telenor Jumps Into Ad Tech, Acquires Tapad for $360M (TechCrunch)
Verizon isn’t the only carrier that wants to ramp up ad tech to complement (and offset) its legacy business. Norway-based Telenor has announced its acquisition of Tapad, a New York-based cross-device retargeting startup.
Retale CEO Touts ‘Tremendous Potential’ of Virtual Reality for Shopping (Street Fight)
Retale, a mobile app that brings local circulars to consumers, is jumping right in to VR/AR, launching what it calls “the world’s first virtual reality location-based shopping companion.” Street Fight recently caught up with Retale CEO Christian Gaiser to discuss why the company is betting this technology will become a vital channel for future shoppers. eMarketer: Virtual reality is an immersive medium for marketers.
The Consumer Isn’t a Moron (The Next Web)
Ali Mese: The rules of the game in the online space are changing like never before. In a world where consumers become increasingly selective over what they consume, retention is emerging as a key factor that differentiates the successful from those who fail. We might have thousands of users, followers, or customers. But how many of them are true fans?
7 Ways Local Merchants Can Use Messaging Apps for Marketing (Street Fight)
Smartphone messaging apps were used by more than 1.4 billion consumers last year, but very few of the conversations that took place were between shoppers and local merchants. Here are seven examples of ways that local merchants can start using messaging apps to improve customer service and boost customer acquisition right away.
Audience Measurement Consolidates as ComScore Closes $732M Rentrak Acquisition (TechCrunch)
Some more consolidation in the online measurement and analytics space: comScore has announced that it has closed its $732 million deal to acquire Rentrak in a deal that brings together Rentrak’s TV and cinema audience tracking business with comScore’s business covering Internet and mobile audiences to better compete against the likes of Nielsen.
Live on TV and Facebook, Your Favorite Local Newscaster (USA Today)
Local broadcasters are finding engaged audiences with Facebook’s Live feature. For these journalists, Live “is a really new way for them to connect,” said Facebook product manager Vadim Lavrusik. “The magic of Live is it’s interactive.”
New App wellb Will Change the Way the World Approaches Wellness (AOL)
A new wellness app called wellb is a one-stop shop for any kind of wellness service, from acupuncture to massage to yoga. This is the first service of its kind that directly connects consumers to providers. The next best things are Yelp, which provides reviews of services but does not allow you to purchase the service and book an appointment directly from a site or app, or ZocDoc, which only connects consumers to services classified as “healthcare,” excluding wellness services like personal training.
Retailers Want Payment Security Features Within Mobile Apps (eMarketer)
Nearly three-quarters of retailers worldwide said they wanted their apps to offer payment security, according to January 2016 research. This is a key feature for consumers, many of whom are still leery of making mobile payments.
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