Street Fight Daily: How Amazon Shipping Impacts Small Retailers, Facebook Updates Instant Articles

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…

Amazon’s Free Shipping Pushes Small Retailers, Delivery Firms to Compete (WSJ)
Shipping companies, ranging from startups to the biggest package handlers, are vying to help small retailers compete with Amazon.com Inc.’s rapid expansion of free shipping.

Why Real-time Geofencing Is a Missed Marketing Opportunity for Brands (Street Fight)
Antonio Tomarchio: Many marketers are focusing too exclusively on the simplest form of location data. Geo-fencing severely limits the potential of location data and also the reach of a digital campaign.

Facebook Updates Instant Articles, Encourages Email Sign-Ups (MediaPost)
Facebook introduced significant improvements to its Instant Articles feature on Friday, adding new tools that encourage email subscription recruitment for publishers. Recode: Here’s why Facebook’s $1 Billion Instagram buy was such a great deal

Two Mobile Marketing Studies Show Location Data’s Role in Cross-Channel Measurement (Street Fight)
David Card: The reports released last week by industry organizations provide useful advice on mobile marketing tactics and using location data. Both studies point to the need to apply integrated, cross-channel measurement techniques, and to use location data for targeting, customer segmentation, and attribution.

Native Ad Spend Increased 600% in 3 Years, But Early Adopters Are Bailing (VentureBeat)
To combat ad blockers, gain reach, and provide authentic content-driven advertising, the marketing world has turned to native ads, sponsored content, and influencer marketing tactics.

Facing a Self-Driving Smackdown, Uber Opts for Damage Control (Wired)
Alex Davies: Google’s lawsuit alleging that Uber straight-up stole its autonomous vehicle technology won’t go before a jury until October, but Uber already finds itself on dangerous ground.

Tenzo Offers Restaurants Real-Time, Actionable Data on How They’re Performing (TechCrunch)
Tenzo, a London startup and graduate of Techstars, has built what looks like an interesting and timely platform to help restaurants (and potentially any brick ‘n’ mortar retailer) get real-time data insights on how they and their staff are performing.

Google is Testing a Way for Its AI to Learn From Consumers’ Phone Data Without Infringing on Privacy (Quartz)
In order for its AI to learn, Google typically needs that data on its servers—often referred to as “the cloud.” But a new technique allows Google to deputize a user’s phone, which learns from the user’s actions and then sends a summary of what it’s learned to Google servers.

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