News and Analysis

Evocalize Banks $12 Million to Scale its Local Digital Marketing Platform

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Seattle-based collaborative marketing startup Evocalize has grabbed $12 million in Series A funding for its data-driven digital marketing solution designed for local businesses and the real estate industry.

Live Commerce Guides Retailers to Success in the Metaverse

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Immerss Co-Founder Patrick Jacobs says his company is working with a number of retailers to leverage live commerce as a way to blend the physical and digital worlds. Jacobs says sales rates with live commerce are on par with or better than in-store conversion rates, and that merchants jumping into live commerce now will be better prepared for the metaverse boom in the future.

6 Contactless Shopping Solutions for In-Store Retail

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The retail industry took notice when Merkle debuted its newest contactless shopping solution at CES 2022 this month, but the company’s Scan & Know product isn’t the only touchless retail solution on the market. Thanks to the continued adoption of augmented reality and virtual reality among consumers, more technology providers are developing in-store retail experiences that keep physical contact to a minimum.

Commentary

Shift in Gift-Giving Culture Speaks to Changes in Digital Commerce

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At the heart of the shift in gift-giving culture is the rise of online shopping. While previous generations would take to their local shops or markets to find the perfect gifts, today the process is infinitely simpler thanks to online retail giants like Amazon. At the click of a button, Internet users can purchase a present to be sent directly to their (or, even better, the recipient’s) door. Indeed, this is how the majority of people appear to be approaching gift giving today; approximately three quarters of consumers in the UK say they now buy more than half of their Christmas presents online. 

Google Accelerating Its Path to the Transaction Layer of the Internet

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Mihm to Blumenthal: Our mutual friend and Local U speaker Cindy Krum has long highlighted Google’s ambition to become the “presentation layer of the internet.” 

It’s been apparent for the last four years that they want to take that one step further and become the “transaction layer of the internet,” as we’ve discussed in this space before.

A little birdie told me that you’re seeing that ambition accelerate.

LBMA Vidcast: Vibenomics, Southwest Airlines and ApplePay, Blis and Location Sciences

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On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Vibenomics AOOH platform, Cerberus Interactive takes on location-based gaming, Southwest Airlines with ApplePay, Blis partners with Location Sciences, 7Eleven launches mobile checkout in NYC, Unacast releases Turbine platform.

Latest Posts

Raise Report: BigCommerce, Poq, SoundHound Secure New Funding

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Every two or three weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes funding for Uberflip, Cera, Pusher, and Rocketrip.

LBMA Podcast: RetailLoco, Adsquare, PlaceIQ, Bluedot

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On this week’s podcast from the Location-Based Marketing Association: A RetailLoco Recap, Adsquare’s Footfall, PlaceIQ + IRI, Bluedot raises $5.5M from TransUrban, Waze + Carto, Amex ends Plenti, DAC Group launches ConvergenSEE.

Survey: 72% of Shoppers Use Online Reviews to Judge Local Businesses

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A survey by Netsertive found that 72% percent of consumers use online reviews to evaluate local businesses and eight-in-10 always research big items online before making their purchases in-store.

Street Fight Daily: Instagram Creeps Into Payments, Reviews Shape Local Offline Purchases

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Instagram Quietly Launches Payments for Commerce… Augmented Reality Heading to 3 Billion Devices, $85 Billion in Revenue… Yelp’s Chad Richard on the ‘Decentralization’ of Reservations…

Retailers Use AI for In-Store Experimentation, Customer Service

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Brick-and-mortar retailers are looking for an edge in their fight against the e-commerce behemoths, and as the battle rages on, it’s looking like artificial intelligence might be the answer.

LMC Aims to ‘Think Completely Differently’ About Future of Local News

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“The biggest challenges for the LMC and the local news industry are concerns around transparency, viewability, and fraud, which produce disconnects between buyer and seller,” says Local Media Consortium Board Chair Chris Loretto.

Street Fight Daily: Google Revamps Maps, Echo’s Market Share Slides as Speaker War Heats Up

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Maps Platform Arrives, Changing the Game for Developers… Amazon Echo Losing Market Share as Smart Speaker Rivalry Intensifies… Square’s Loss Widens As Spending Picks Up…

Who’s Using Local AR? And How Often?

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According to a recent survey, AR users like what they see, with a whopping 73% reporting high or very high satisfaction. But non-users report explicit disinterest, with the biggest reason being the rather daunting “just not interested.” This presents a big hill for AR app developers to climb. 

The Future of CRM: Devices, Data, Touchpoints, Apps—and Analytics

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In a mobile-only world, better CRM solutions are as close as the smartphones in our pockets. With that in mind, let’s look at what the mobile device ID can do to reshape CRM and at how it points to the future of better consumer experiences.

Street Fight Daily: Ad Tech Facing Day of Judgment in GDPR, Who’s Using Local AR?

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Publishers Say They’ll Use GDPR to Shed Ad Tech Vendors… Smart Speakers Top Phones for Voice Assistance… Cisco Is Acquiring Business Intelligence Startup Accompany for $270M…