After E-Commerce Gains, Retailers Struggle with Return Logistics
$70.5 billion worth of holiday purchases this year are expected to be returned, and 400 million square feet of additional warehouse space could be needed just to process those returns. For retailers already facing a deluge of products coming back into their warehouses, it could already be too late.
SMBs Seek Speedy Relief to Recover in 2021
The Biden administration is pledging $15 billion in grants to help businesses, and $35 billion for small business financing programs, as part of its new American Rescue Plan. But many grants and recovery programs have long timelines, and business owners are saying they need more immediate support.
Yelp Lets Users Fact-Check Local Business Covid Safety
Despite the vaccine rollout and improving economic sentiment, a majority of consumers remain concerned about engaging with local businesses in many places across the US. Yelp is now allowing businesses to provide more information about health and safety practices to customers in hopes of fueling a quicker recovery.
Online Customer Service is the New Storefront
The face of retail is fundamentally different today than it was last January. Fewer shoppers entering brick-and-mortar stores and interacting with sales associates in person means retailers have had to rethink how they handle customer service. Retailers are now looking at ways to equip service teams to fill that new void.
Doubling Down on GMB: Local Search in 2021
For marketers who have found ways to use the latest tools and features being offered by Google and other search partners, 2021 is poised to become a period of high growth. With Google’s spate of new local marketing features launched in 2020, and predictions that additional changes are on the horizon in 2021, Adthena VP of Marketing Ashley Fletcher says the role that GMB plays in the larger local search space is expanding.
5 Mobile Ordering Platforms for Independent Coffee Shops
For those independent businesses that made the leap to order-ahead tech, the financial rewards in 2020 were significant. According to data from Odeko, coffee shops using order-ahead marketplaces prior to Covid-19 saw a net increase in customers with little-to-no drop-off in existing customers this year.
We review the top mobile ordering platforms for coffeeshops.
The Future of Amazon as a Service
The concept of Amazon-as-a-service, or AaaS, didn’t begin in 2020. But as the year wore on, and people began relying on e-commerce platforms more than ever before in history, the concept took off. Reaching the first page of Amazon became paramount for brands hoping for digital success, particularly now, during the tumultuous holiday season.
Brands Embrace Live Video to Keep Shoppers Engaged
Live streaming, advertising, and e-commerce are all coming together in a new technology that could change the way brands interact with shoppers online.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly increased the interest in shoppable video tech, on both the brand and consumer side,” says Clicktivated CEO Chris Roebuck.
SMBs Face Long Road to Recovery in 2021
Sixty-eight percent of SMBs say they are still experiencing a negative impact from the pandemic, and the percentage of business owners experiencing “significant” impact jumped 7% to 50% from June to November.
Businesses that thought the crisis was heading in the right direction back in October are feeling differently today as they see holiday sales figures begin to roll out, and they’re scrambling to find tools, strategies, and other lifelines to help them get by.
Do Targeted Digital Ads and Privacy Mix?
Concerns about privacy are pervasive in predictions about digital advertising in 2021. The demise of third-party cookies, the passage of a more stringent California state privacy law, and the specter of future legislation in other states or at the national level are driving the topic’s popularity.
I checked in with Philip Smolin, Chief Strategy Officer at ad platform Amobee, to get his take on if and how advertisers can adapt to rising privacy standards while maintaining sustainable business models.
Why More Brands Are Asking for Local Search Data
Google search ad traffic has dropped across all devices, with mobile taking the biggest hit. Mobile traffic has been down an average of 24% since the pandemic began in February. Brands have been adjusting their digital strategies to account for the shift, including changing up their search ads with enhanced location targeting and more relevant keywords.
But achieving that high level of optimization requires a type of local search data that isn’t easily accessible through Google alone. That’s created a hole in the marketplace that the intelligence platform Adthena is looking to fill.
