News and Analysis

Brands Rethink Return Policies to Build Customer Loyalty

Share this:

If generous return policies aren’t sustainable from a financial perspective, and restrictive return policies lead to high rates of customer churn, what’s the solution?

Merchants React to New Data Theft Concerns

Share this:

As more digital marketing and customer management solutions come online, security breaches are happening with increasing frequency. The threat is becoming a real issue for merchants, who are now faced with growing concerns among consumers and tightened privacy restrictions from government controllers.

Fintech Startup Fast Changes How and Where Customers Shop

Share this:

Fast’s payment button processes orders in seconds and, in the two-and-a-half years it’s been around, the company has secured $124.5 million in funding.

Commentary

Who’s Winning the Reviews Race? How Do We Define Winning?

Share this:

In their latest Street Fight conversation, Mike Blumenthal and David Mihm examine the state of the local reviews space and assess the reasons for Google’s dominance. “For me, the question of the future is whether Google’s behaviors will impact the remaining vertical sites over the next 10 years,” Mike writes.

To Understand the Tech Industry’s Responsibilities, We Must Think Differently About Humanity

Share this:

These questions would be preludes to less abstract ones that will seem more familiar to the creatures of Silicon Valley. Is Facebook responsible if people use WhatsApp and Messenger to spread false news and incite genocide? Is that just the fault of (heinous) people being (heinous) people or should the platforms be held accountable? As for privacy and data collection, what rights do people have to safeguard their information from the communications platforms they use? What does data scraped from Google search or Amazon’s facial recognition technology have to do with our identities? Can data be human?

LBMA Vidcast: Macy’s & Pinterest; PlaceIQ, PMG, and Old Navy

Share this:

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Trial Run Media’s ABIE, Cheek-It’s scavenger hunt, JCDeacaux + Location Sciences, Macy’s launches OUT[FITS] with Pinterest, PlaceIQ partners with PMG on Old Navy, Admetrix + Locomizer.  Research: S4M & LBMA contrast GDPR vs. CCPA

Latest Posts

5 Retailers Tapping Voice-Controlled Assistants for Frictionless Shopping

Share this:

According to a survey by Linc and BrandGarage, one-in-five retailers already believes voice will be an important channel within two years, and 44% of retailers that are increasing their use of AI say they’re doing so through conversational commerce interfaces, Here’s how five major retailers are harnessing the technology.

Why Location Is a Competitive Edge For National Retailers

Share this:

We recently caught up with Local SEO Guide CEO Andrew Shotland whose Local SEO Ranking Factors report finds that national brands’ migration to local search, especially multi-location retailers. Focused erstwhile on e-commerce, competitive pressure has compelled them to view their locations as an edge in local search.

Street Fight Daily: Snap’s Secret User Data Paints a Dismal Picture, Mobile Shopping on the Rise

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snap Employees Leak Data That Doesn’t Bode Well for the Secretive Company… Mobile Shopping Saw a Steep Jump Over the Holidays… Verizon’s Oath Explores the Drivers Behind ‘Brand Love’…

6 Self-Service Location Intelligence Solutions

Share this:

By opening their platforms up as self-service solutions, location intelligence firms are hoping to provide clients with more open access and to inspire creativity in using existing tools in new and innovative ways. Here are six examples of vendors providing location intelligence capabilities to clients through a self-service model.

Street Fight Daily: Voice Takes Center Stage at CES, Pizza Hut Bets on Self-Driving Future of Delivery

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Marketers Are Racing to Reach Rapidly Growing Audiences on Echo and Google Home… Pizza Hut, Toyota Team Up for Pizza Delivery in Driverless Vehicles… Vox Media Takes a Measured Approach in Growing Its Programmatic Marketplace…

Why CMOs Will Be the Most Important Executives in 2018

Share this:

To today’s consumer, products and brands are plaited into a single entity. Thus, a company’s “product” now encompasses a consumer’s brand perception, interaction with its products, and affinity for its communities.

‘SMB OS’: Expanding the Local Pie

Share this:

SMB OS isn’t a new concept, though it’s now emerging and crystallizing in new ways. Advancing it are supporting technologies like cloud computing, mobility and cash-flow friendly SaaS pricing. Much of this trickles down from enterprise world, as it often does.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Dives Deep on Video Ad Data, Uber Gears Up for 2018

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Releases Research Examining Complexities of Video Ads… Uber Powered 4 Billion Rides in 2017. Its COO Explains How It Will Do More in 2018… Could Snap’s Unusual and Generative Structure Also Be Its Breaking Point?…

Raise Report: New Funding for AxleHire, Digital Genius, Happy Returns

Share this:

Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes new funding for SendBird, TrendKite, Rubikloud, and Dahmakan.

Street Fight Daily: How AMP Beat Instant Articles, AI Shapes Brand Relationships

Share this:

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… How Google AMP Beat Facebook Instant Articles… How Invisible AI Shapes Our Brand Relationships… Video-Streaming Service Customers Widely Pan Use of Ads…