Street Fight Daily: Uber Gets Merchants to Pay for Rides, Shopify Teams Up with Postmates
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Uber Offers Gets Merchants to Pay for Your Ride (TechCrunch)
Uber is turning its app into a billboard for external commerce promotions in hopes of rewarding users with special deals. The company is seeking user loyalty by doling out free rides sponsored by local merchants where Uber could deliver riders, or online stores where they could shop mid-trip.
More Than 21,000 Businesses Can Now Add Same-Day Delivery Through Postmates (Recode)
Shopify has announced that the businesses that use its software to run their online shops can now give their customers same-day delivery through Postmates. The option will be available to the more than 21,000 Shopify businesses based in the 40 metro areas where Postmates couriers are currently operating.
Belly’s LaHive: Beacon Tech ‘A Little Bit Overhyped’ (Street Fight)
The company’s CEO says that he considers beacons “an additional channel of communication so that businesses can identify when customers are inside a store and target them with special offers,” but he doesn’t see location-based tech and loyalty programs going hand-in-hand.
Small Business Owners: Daily Deals Are Killing Us (WCPO Cincinnati)
Some small business owners say consumers are expecting big markdowns all the time as a result of Groupon and other daily deals companies, and those expectations now threaten their business. One such owner says many people are so conditioned by daily deals that they won’t go to a hair salon, restaurant, or fitness club if they don’t have a 50-percent-off coupon.
Street Culture: Collective Employee Mindset = Shuffleboard at Nextdoor (Street Fight)
“One hundred and eighteen people is not a lot, but corralling those opinions is a more difficult task,” said Margie Mader-Clark, Nextdoor’s VP of human resources. “It’s about a stewardship of culture, taking care of it, making sure the negative aspects go away as early as possible.”
When Newsrooms Don’t Own Their Data, Other Companies Profit (Poynter)
Melody Kramer: As aggregate data grows, the scraps publishers are feeding on from third parties will continue to get smaller and smaller, and may one day completely disappear — which means newsrooms will be on an even more problematic trajectory.
Pinterest Confirms ‘Acqhire’ of Mobile Advertising Startup URX (Recode)
Pinterest has hired about 15 people from now-defunct mobile advertising startup URX, including its co-founder and CEO. URX, which had raised more than $15 million in venture capital, specialized in deep linking, which lets people tap from inside one app to access a specific point inside another app.
How Mobile Devices Close the Gap Between Physical and Digital Shops (eMarketer)
Even the most powerful marketing tools are only as effective as the data they’re fed, and when it comes to targeting consumers in physical stores, data is limited. Alexis Rask, chief revenue and operating officer at shopkick, a shopping-companion app that drives customers to stores through personalized offers and rewards, spoke about the challenges that physical locations present.
GrubHub Agrees to Acquire LAbite, Profit Falls 6% (Wall Street Journal)
GrubHub reported a decline in first-quarter earnings amid slowing sales growth. The company has announced plans to acquire Southern California restaurant delivery service company LAbite. GrubHub CEO Matt Maloney said the buy builds on strides GrubHub has made in expanding its network. (Subscription required)
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