News and Analysis

Brands Rethink Return Policies to Build Customer Loyalty

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

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

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

LBMA Vidcast: Amazon Go Takes Cash, Macy’s Launches ‘Story’

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Goodwill, Bose + Coachella, Improving traffic with “Flo,” Amazon Go takes cash, Macy’s launches “Story,” Uber goes B2B with vouchers.

Local Marketing Methods That Will Attract Millennials

Millennials want their money to go further than it has before. They desire to pay less for both their wants and needs, are more socially conscious than ever, and need things to catch their eye quickly. So, how do we, as local marketers, appeal to them? Brands and businesses that can give millennials what they want, when they want it, and at an affordable price will win their business.

Is Google Building an “Internet of Places?”

Use cases will materialize over time, but it’s already clear that visual search can carry lots of commercial intent. Point your phone at a store or restaurant to get business details. Point your phone at a pair of shoes on the street to find out prices, reviews, and purchase info. This proximity between the searcher and the subject indicates high intent, which means higher conversions and more money for Google. Moreover, visual search has the magic combination of frequency and utility, which could make it the first scalable AR use case: making the real world clickable.

Latest Posts

Why Commercial Banks Are Turning to Proximity Technology

That location intelligence firms are able to use foot traffic patterns to predict the financial performance of businesses is nothing new. But a new report released shines a light on the ways commercial banks and investment companies are upping the ante by using location data to get the most out of the market.

How Thanksgiving Day Store Closures Impact Black Friday Sales

Shoppers say they don’t want retailers opening their doors on Thanksgiving Day, but research from Foursquare tells a different story. Analyzing proprietary foot traffic data at major retailers, Foursquare found that stores that open earlier on Thanksgiving Day drive more visits and steal share from their competitors.

Raise Report: Yotpo, Leanplum, Globality Secure New Funding

Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes funding for ChartMogul, Choozle, Roomi, and Spirited Media.

LBMA Podcast: Google, Dunkin Donuts, Hilton Hotels + Amazon

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Rob Woodbridge. On the show: Pause Fest, Vita Moja + DNAfit, FreezeTag, Mapbox buys MapData, Euclid partners with LiveRamp.

Street Fight Daily: Big-Box Retailers Report Best Earnings in Years, Mashable Sold for Change

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Investments in Digital Transformation Pay Dividends for Big-Box Retailers… Mashable Sold at Fire-Sale Price of $50 Million to Ziff Davis… Topix Was Getting Crushed by the Duopoly. Now It’s Making Millions Off Them…

Facebook Local: The Launch We’ve All Been Waiting For?

Last week’s rebranding of its Events app as Facebook Local could be Facebook’s long-awaited foray into serious competition with the Googles and Yelps of the world for market share in local search. Meanwhile, another Facebook local product, Marketplace, has proved to be a sleeping giant.

Street Fight Daily: Whole Foods Prices Cut for Prime Members, How Patch Makes Local Profitable

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon and Whole Foods Reveal New Price Cuts for Prime Members… How Patch’s CEO Makes Hyperlocal Profitable… Google Maps Gets a Redesign…

NinthDecimal Launches Website-to-Store Attribution Solution

Mobile programmatic and audience intelligence platform NinthDecimal has launched a new website-to-store attribution solution in a bid to help marketers more efficiently connect digital assets to offline sales. The product is being billed as the first of its kind, providing retailers with a clearer picture of the interplay between e-commerce and in-store activities.

Pearle Vision Keeps a Neighborhood Focus in the Battle for Patients and Customers

Even with its established history and market presence, Doug Zarkin, VP & head of marketing for Pearle Vision, says the brand continues to innovate on ways to attract that local customers. He spoke with Street Fight recently about the ways the brand gets in its customers’ line of sight.

Street Fight Daily: Twitter Debuts API for Mid-Sized Businesses, Beyond the Basics of Chatbots

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Twitter Debuts Cheaper Enterprise APIs for Growing Businesses… Moving Beyond the Gimmicks with Chatbots… Shifts Come to Oath’s Top Ad Tech Brass…