Street Fight Daily: Google Will Test Grocery Delivery, How Facebook’s Pages Update Affects SMBs
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Google Becomes a Rival to Amazon to Deliver Your Fresh Fruits and Veggies (Mashable)
Google is planning to test a new option to deliver fresh groceries from select food chains through its Google Express shopping service in San Francisco and another yet-to-be-named market. The move is a direct challenge to Amazon and well-funded startups like Instacart, Postmates, and Uber. It’s also a reminder that Google hasn’t given up on its delivery operation, even after numerous reports about its struggles.
Facebook Update Means More Shopping Pages Are on the Way (Recode)
Facebook is making a few design tweaks to its mobile app, encouraging people to contact business page owners through the network and giving those businesses a new place to show off products and services to prospective buyers.
Swipely CEO: We Want to Provide the Operating Platform That Restaurants Run On (Street Fight)
“If you’re not going to fundamentally improve the guest experience, then there’s really no motivation for either the consumer to change the way that they’re buying in the restaurant or for the merchant to replace the operating practices they have,” said Swipely CEO Angus Davis about mobile payments.
Amazon Launches a Food Delivery Service Via Prime Now, Starting in Seattle (TechCrunch)
Earlier reports are confirmed: Amazon announced Tuesday that it’s making restaurant delivery an option via its one-hour delivery app, Prime Now. The service will allow Prime members to view menus from participating restaurants and place orders in the app. Similar to the order-tracking available in Prime, customers will be able to track their food delivery order in real-time.
Street Culture: YP Hits ‘Refresh’ Button on Employee Connections (Street Fight)
Changing a deep-seated corporate culture takes time. Just ask YP, where renewed internal communications, education, and community-building efforts have paid off in a big way.
Yahoo Rethinking Alibaba Spinoff After Getting No I.R.S. Guidance (New York Times)
Yahoo is reconsidering its plan to spin off its $23 billion stake in Alibaba after federal tax authorities declined to rule in advance on whether the transaction would be tax-free. Yahoo’s shareholders have been eagerly awaiting the spinoff, which analysts say accounts for far more of Yahoo’s stock price than its core advertising business.
AOL, Millennial Face Uphill Battle to Capture Mobile Ad Dollars (eMarketer)
With its acquisition of Millennial Media, AOL says it wants to be a bigger player in the mobile ad market. Catching rivals Google and Facebook could prove challenging. Google commands 32.9 percent of mobile ad revenue in the U.S., while Facebook has 19.4 percent.
Best Buy Exec Named CEO at Angie’s List (USA Today)
Angie’s List has hired Scott Durchslag, most recently of Best Buy, to be its new president and CEO. In Durchslag, Angie’s List gets an executive with 20 years of experience in e-commerce and tech. That background should help Angie’s as it finds itself facing new competition from Amazon and Google, which are setting up online consumer review sites for home services.
Instagram Debuts 30-Second Video Ads in Its Latest Pitch to Big Brands (AdWeek)
Instagram has announced that marketers can utilize 30-second videos in campaigns. Longer video formats show how seriously Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, is taking video advertising. As part of Instagram’s new ad push, brands will be able to target the promos to specific groups of consumers, like they can on Facebook.
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