News and Analysis
Retailers Unpack Black Friday Spending Data
Criteo analyzed commerce data from 1,005 retailers in the U.S. and 216 million transactions in the fourth quarter of 2020. In the process, they found that sales in the first three weeks of November were up 7% year-over-year in the U.S., indicating that Black Friday sales may have been down 5% because those purchases happened earlier this year than previously.
Adtech Firms Test New Concept with Autonomous Bot Delivery Campaign
While food delivery platforms like Postmates, DoorDash, and GrubHub have all launched no-contact options, they generally rely on human drivers leaving food on the ground outside people’s front doors. With the health risks and potential for mix-ups, it’s less than ideal.
A better solution might be the one being rolled out by Wrapify. Just this morning, the company announched the launch of a first-of-its-kind campaign that could take autonomous bot delivery to the next level.
Street Fight’s December Theme: Leaving 2020
What will the “next normal” look like in the post-Covid era of local commerce? Will things go back to the old normal or be a hybrid reality that cherry-picks components and new perspectives from the past nine months? Will e-commerce dip back down to pre-Covid levels or keep surging?
We’ll be answering these questions and others throughout the month, along with 2021 predictions (’tis the season) for our theme, Leaving 2020.
Commentary
Latest Local Marketing Merger Aims for Scale in Critical Listings Management Sector
Uberall’s acquisition of Navads highlights the importance of listings management and its integration with reputation management. Street Fight’s latest survey of multi-location brands shows a correlation between use of both these types of services and the overall effectiveness of local marketing.
How Reddit and Local Media Consortium Upvoted Each Other and Became Partners
But Reddit and the LMC each has something that the other wants. Reddit would like to tap into the LMC’s huge pool of 470 million unique visitors and turn many of them into subscribers. LMC publishers wants to learn from Reddit how to make their readers more engaged. Now, old media and new media are teaming up.
Latest Posts
The Current State of Google Maps — Fake News, Fake Reviews
“It’s incredible to me that given all of Google’s focus on new local products that they are still getting some of the basics wrong,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “People who rely on Google more and more to find local businesses need to know that the fundamental metric of the business quality, reviews, is fair and well policed.”
Friends Don’t Let Friends Dial Drunk — There’s a ‘Mode’ for That
Drunk Mode is an app that helps users navigate their inebriation — and avoid making embarrassing calls at 2 am. (I’m looking at you every 22-year-old.) CEO Josh Anton, who will be speaking at Street Fight Summit, developed his suite of location-based apps after getting one of those late-night phone calls from a friend.
Street Culture: Balancing Structure and Exploration in Company Culture
Environment, talent, and process all encourage the growth of innovation, according to IT research firm CEB, which was recently acquired by Gartner. But there’s a balancing act that must take place between structure and exploration — especially for smaller companies on a fast upward growth curve.
Street Fight Daily: Waymo’s Suit Against Uber Goes to Trial, Gen Z’s Tech Prowess Disrupts Branding
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Waymo’s Lawsuit Against Uber is Going to Trial, Judge Rules… New Study Reveals How the Tech-Centric Expectations of Brand Z ‘Are Reshaping Brand Experiences’… Vice Balances Brand Safety with Editorial Autonomy…
Why SharkNinja Keeps Searching for New Ways to Connect With Local Consumers
Building a rapport with customers at the local level can be a challenge for product makers who do not have their own stores. It can be an even more elaborate task for a brand whose products have long lifecycles. That makes it all the more important to ensure digital marketing is cognizant of its customers’ needs, says transformation VP Ajay Kapoor.
How to Influence Customers Through Online Reviews
As major brands look to capitalize on the most effective and trustworthy ad formats, they are refining their strategies for managing online reviews. Here are six ideas that brand marketers should keep in mind as they look for new ways to influence the way consumers interact with their online reviews.
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