News and Analysis

Vericast Launches Contextual Advertising Solution

Vericast Launches Contextual Advertising Solution

Share this:

The marketing technology firm Vericast is changing its approach to contextual advertising by launching a privacy-centric solution meant to help brands reach relevant consumers in the moments when they’re most likely to be receptive.  The proprietary solution bolsters Vericast’s in-house targeting capabilities. It matches ads to the content from consumers’ view or search, and it’s […]

Fire Sale: How Multi-Location Businesses Should Handle Downturns and Fails

Fire Sale: How Multi-Location Businesses Should Handle Downturns and Fails

Share this:

This year alone, more than 2,000 retail locations have closed. The major casualties include Party City, Jenny Craig, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Some multi-location restaurants are also slimming down, shuttering locations in markets that aren’t performing well. That doesn’t necessarily mean the beginning of the end for the brands. They may simply reduce expenses to […]

What's New at the Drive-Thru?

What’s New at the Drive-Thru?

Share this:

We spend the equivalent of 4.3 years of our lives in our cars. Multi-location restaurants and retailers have known this for quite some time and introduced the drive-thru decades ago. Although the exact date of the first-ever drive-up window is fiercely debated, sources indicate that banks introduced the concept in the early 1920s. The drive-thru […]

Commentary

Contactless Pay Is the Next Big Pivot in Retail CX

Share this:

Remember when Amazon launched Prime? The entire retail customer experience (CX) changed overnight — for everyone. The bookseller-turned-everything-seller suddenly offered low prices and fast and free delivery, leading traditional retailers to pivot drastically to keep up with their mega-competitor.  

But sometimes, unexpected CX overhauls are a good thing — especially when competitors have to pivot, too.  

5 Predictions for Mobile in 2021

Share this:

Emerging mobile commerce data shows retail’s future hinges on our phones. While our industry was well aware of this trend before the pandemic, the acceleration stats are striking.

How SMBs Capitalize on Customer Data

Share this:

Small businesses have had to squeeze every bit of value out of their operations in the past year and are quickly realizing the importance of knowing their customers. Luckily, collecting and taking action on data doesn’t have to mean learning an entirely new skill set. 

Rather, it can be as simple as using the information that you already have, or could easily access, to improve the things that you’re already doing.

Latest Posts

How Video Can Significantly Boost Your Covid-19 Marketing Strategies

Share this:

While many companies focus on the power of digital technology as a replacement for face-to-face events, there is an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to use video as a means to engage, communicate with, and retain customers during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Here are a few ways to integrate video into your marketing campaign.

6 Contactless Payment Solutions for Retailers

Share this:

Retailers have dozens of ways to go when implementing contactless payments in brick-and-mortar stores. The best option usually depends on the retailer’s size and budget. Smaller businesses tend to rely more on app-based contactless payments and mobile solutions as a way to minimize the costs associated with integrating an entirely new point-of-sale system.

Here are six mobile payment and contactless payment options that retailers can use to help curb the spread of coronavirus inside their stores.

How Google’s Review Attributes Expansion Impacts Local Businesses

Share this:

Businesses that understand these changes and find ways to harness review attributes stand to see major gains in search. Google’s new feature could be a big improvement for small and mid-size businesses, in particular, since it provides marketers with both comparative structured feedback and sentiment. But whether businesses benefit from Google’s decision to expand review attributes into new categories depends largely on how they capitalize on the changes.

Big-Box Stores Will Win the Reopening, but Mask Expectations Are High

Share this:

New consumer insights uncovered by Resonate are painting a picture for what to expect as lockdown restrictions start to lift. According to our latest wave of consumer sentiment research, shopping behaviors are already starting to shift dramatically. But that doesn’t mean consumers are fully ready to resume their previous daily lives, particularly when it comes to venturing into stores.  

Location Weekly: Mobiquity Technologies Tracks Covid-19

Share this:

In this episode of Location Weekly, the Location-Based Marketing Association covers PopID and Wasserstrom releasing a facial recognition and temperature screening system, Locomizer launching its High Streets Recovery Tracker with Centre for Cities, Mobiquity Technologies releasing “hot spot” algorithms to measure Covid-19 traffic, and Moving Walls acquiring Ahoy.

Restaurants Are Using Technology to Bring Back Customers Post-Pandemic

Share this:

How do local restaurants implement coronavirus-driven changes, and what role will technology play in helping those businesses reemerge from lockdown status?

Statewide regulations, like sanitizing protocols and spacing between tables, are in many ways easier for restaurants to implement because they are clear-cut. Certain diner expectations are harder for restaurants to gauge, and that has presented a new opportunity for technology providers catering to the restaurant market.

States are Reopening. It’s Time to Start Thinking About OOH Again.

Share this:

Ultimately, we know that people will go back outside. And they’ve already done so, with the average distance traveled amongst Americans up at least 28% since the first week of April, according to Geopath and Intermx. With more consumers back out on the roads, OOH will rebound to “become more valuable than ever.” Now is the time for agencies and brands to get ahead of competitors, revisit their OOH strategies, and smartly phase them back into plans.

Here are five things to consider.

Video Marketing: A Definitive Guide for Fitness Businesses

Share this:

There’s a good chance that you’ve seen competitor brands using video marketing and that you’ve heard it’s the next big thing. You may, however, not be sure if it really is a viable option for your fitness business. If this sounds like you, keep reading. 

I’ll share all you need to know about using video marketing for your brand. I’ll cover how you can develop a video marketing strategy, types of videos you can create, and bonus tips to help you elevate your video content. But first, let’s look at why video really is the next big thing.

Can a Pandemic Inflect Local Commerce Tech?

Share this:

Could forced adoption of alternative shopping methods like curbside pickup lead to user acclimation? Will millions of shoppers get exposed to the merits of these streamlined options and like what they see? Will new habits be born that sustain throughout normal times?

If so, these technologies — along with virtual-office enablement — could benefit from this period as a blessing in disguise for exposing their value propositions. But who stands to benefit most? We’ve identified five local commerce tech areas to which this could apply.

Mobile Commerce Bounces Back

Share this:

Companies investing in existing user engagement are smart to do so. According to mobile monetization and marketing company ironSource, the average global cost to acquire a single paid install from an individual user in 2020 is $2.24 — which adds up quickly when you start to scale into thousands or hundreds of thousands of users.

So, while it’s important to keep spending on acquisition, retention and retargeting, informed by smart audience segmentation, are perhaps even more essential to ensuring app marketers are monetizing all of their users.