News and Analysis
Why Some MULO Brands are Going Online-Only
This week, Outdoor Voices announced that the company is closing stores and migrating its business to online only. Will they re-brand “Indoor Voices?” Joking aside, the move appears essential for the popular athleisure brand to remain alive. They are hardly the first brand to go from MULO (multi-location) outposts to just the screen. Athleisure is […]
BUST: Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts Needs to be Re-Stitched
We recently covered the challenges of the MULO (multi-location) crafts industry and speculated on whether the giant stores that sell sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, and other creative supplies and classes would survive. The question is still unanswered, despite the fact that 81-year-old Ohio-based Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts (JOANN) just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All of […]
OOH Will See Record Political Ad Spending in 2024
Alright, we survived Super Tuesday and its political ads, but the OOH ad-media beatings won’t stop until the election is finally over. And even then, we can’t be sure. From now until November, U.S. voters must endure messages around choosing a president, 33 senate races, representatives for all 435 seats of the House, and 14 gubernatorial […]
Commentary
Superior Customer Experience is the Gift that Keeps on Giving All Year Long
All brands and retailers are competing against each other for sales this holiday season, and the surge in e-commerce has favored big retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target thanks to accessibility, convenience, and marketing dollars. Local businesses, which previously thrived on outpacing big brands with superior in-person customer service, are now being pushed to adapt to the new consumer, one who spends less time browsing a retail location and more time scrolling online.
LBMA: Alexa Arrives in NYC Christmas Window Displays
In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers Skyhook signing a partnership with Sigfox, Asda partnering with GoodMaps to help the visually impaired navigate stores, Girls trying coding inside Doja Cat’s new music video, and Alexa in a Pear Tree — Alexa arrives in NYC Christmas window displays.
2022 Predictions: Immersive Tech Edition
Here are three predictions for what could happen at the intersection of immersive tech and local commerce. And because I often disparage broad predictions that don’t have any teeth, we’ve included action-specific or figure-based statements in each prediction (highlighted in bold).
Latest Posts
5 Next-Gen RFID Solutions for Omnichannel Retailers
Radio-frequency identification, or RFID, has found new life in the post-pandemic retail space. By attaching small strips of metal that can transmit radio waves with information about any product, retailers are finding that they can accelerate and automate the store checkout process. Unlike barcodes, which must be scanned individually, RFID tags can be scanned together and they hold significantly more information.
The Future of Customer Experience is Hybrid
A post-pandemic future gives businesses the chance to evaluate how to best do business and what exactly consumers will value. Brick-and-mortar businesses have an incredible opportunity to redefine what the new local hybrid experience looks like.
Local Platforms Promote Integrity with Consumer Confidence at Risk
Nextdoor is the latest local platform to publish what it calls a Transparency Report, designed to offer information to the public about efforts made to maintain an online community that is free from problematic content. In Nextdoor’s case, the focus is on reducing incidents of hate speech and incivility in order to promote healthy community interaction.
Why and How Businesses Should Embrace Product-Led Growth
For SaaS organizations especially, PLG can open up new revenue channels, giving you a competitive advantage by making it easy for customers to understand the value of your product. PLG becomes an efficient, no-touch way to scale revenue, affording customers the ability to self-serve and self-select without being weighed down by a traditional sales cycle.
The Power of Choice is Rekindling the Connection Between Consumers and Marketers
As with any change, opportunities to respond are plenty, and they start with control. The simple gesture of offering an end user the ability to exert at least some level of control over their advertising experiences is a step in the right direction.
It’s Time to Leverage the Entire Digital World in Your Marketing Strategy
On any given day, a person will switch between scrolling social media, listening to their favourite playlist, browsing products online, bingeing their favourite show on a connected TV (CTV), and more. This is why in 2022, advertisers should consider leveraging a multi-channel strategy. Marketing across several channels means an advertiser is casting a wider net and expanding the potential for reaching the right audience in the right moment.
Marketers Struggle to Balance Personalization and Privacy
While consumers are increasingly coming to expect personalization in their inboxes, too much personalization can damage trust and steer customers away. Nobody wants to feel like they’re being watched, but recent surveys show consumers are also growing increasingly frustrated with marketing materials that aren’t targeted enough.
Street Fight’s March Theme: The Long Pandemic and Local Commerce
The pandemic spurred fast change in local commerce and thousands of think pieces on that change. We watched as local delivery soared, as did use of BOPIS, curbside pickup, and contactless payments. But what local trends have persisted even as consumer concerns about Covid have waned? And which trends are decreasing in intensity or going away entirely?
Oomiji Helps Brands “Build Their Own Walled Gardens” of Customer Data
Zero-party data, or information customers willingly provide about themselves, is gaining popularity as a way of amassing customer data at a time when privacy restrictions are making that more difficult. The platform Oomiji is betting on that trend, differentiating itself from other CDPs by helping its clients ask their customers for data (instead of relying on AI to extrapolate limited data to probabilistic segments and preferences).
Expert Roundup II on Personalization and Zero-Party Data
Street Fight’s theme this month is personalization and data parties: a current obsession of adtech players as well as the advertisers they serve. Businesses are figuring out how to provide relevant experiences to customers online with comparatively little data at their disposal; we’re here to cover the evolution of their struggle.
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