News and Analysis
Earnings Season Teases Retail’s Next Normal
Earnings results that rolled out from retail giants over the past week further demonstrate what our next normal will look like. Specifically, Walmart and Target both hit record numbers. This is partly a function of Covid-era circumstances, but it is also due to each retailer’s active e-commerce momentum.
The earnings validate consumer acclimation to digitally infused local shopping. What’s more, other retailers and down-market businesses will look to replicate this success. This can all therefore be viewed as a leading indicator for retail’s next normal.
More Americans Are Using Delivery. The Change Is Here to Stay
Delivery has perhaps been the industry most clearly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. When physically going to brick-and-mortar stores became a life-or-death exercise, delivery, which had already grown under the rise of e-commerce, became an even more essential part of how local commerce functions.
Khaled Naim, co-founder and CEO of delivery software company Onfleet, touched on how delivery has changed in the past months, how long those changes will persist, and what technologies are fueling the widespread increase in deliveries.
Consumer Concerns Shift from Covid-19 to Economic Uncertainty
Local businesses have been forced out of their comfort zone this summer as the economic impact of Covid-19 lingers and uncertainty persists into the final weeks of summer. With so many questions unanswered, businesses are searching for resources to help guide their decisions in marketing and general operations.
A number of martech firms are looking to fill the information void by launching their own Covid-19 resource centers and consumer data projects. The location-powered advertising and analytics firm Blis launched its own consumer sentiment tracker, with data from consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and Australia.
Commentary
Does Google Really Need a Social Network to Succeed at Local?
“The driving vision of Google’s entire local arc is to be able to give a single eyes-free answer to any query with local intent. Social features like reviews, Guides, business owner data, and Q&A are just the means to that end,” writes David Mihm in his biweekly column with Mike Blumenthal.
Performance Partnerships: A Better Way to Define Affiliate Marketing
Performance Partnerships can only exist within a CPA model because the partners win and lose together. This isn’t the case with many of the other channels labeled as performance marketing. Performance Partnerships include everything that people want in their affiliate relationships and exclude all that is undesirable.
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Recommends Local Businesses, Google Maps Supercharges Location Sharing
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Tests an Enhanced Local Search and Discovery Feature Offering Business Suggestions… Google Maps Supercharges Location Sharing, Begins Drooling Over Your Data… AT&T, Verizon Pull Ads from Google Over ‘Hate’ Videos…
6 Ways Retailers Are Using Messaging Apps for Marketing
Popular consumer-facing apps like Viber, Kik, and WhatsApp, are pushing hard to become known as more than just messaging services, and one of the ways they’re doing that is by beefing up their social commerce capabilities. Here are six examples of innovative ways that retailers are using them to market to consumers.
Tried and True Marketing Tactics SMBs Can Borrow From Premium Brands
Many small-but-growing businesses have a multi-store operation and a dynamic online presence, but simply can’t afford the custom-built, integrated retail and ecommerce systems that keep a premium brand’s customer experience tight and consistent. Here are some tactics they can employ to hack that problem.
Street Fight Daily: Instagram to Add Data and Direct Booking, Uber Rides in U.S. Hit All-Time High
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Instagram Grows to 1 Million Active Advertisers, Plans to Add More Data and Direct Booking… Uber Says It Just Had Its Best U.S. Week Ever Despite Controversies… The Texas Tribune is Using a Facebook Messenger Bot to Reach New Audiences…
Street Fight Daily: Alexa Now Sets Up 2-Hour Deliveries, Walmart to Make More E-Commerce Acquisitions
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Extends Alexa’s Voice Shopping Smarts to Include 2-Hour Prime Now Deliveries… Walmart E-Commerce CEO Marc Lore Says the Company Will Make More Acquisitions… Yext Hits $124 Million in Revenues in 2016-2017…
Foursquare Analytics, a Dashboard for Location Intel, Debuts
Today marks the public debut of Foursquare Analytics, a dashboard that puts location intelligence in the hands of brands the company works with. The dashboard, he says, leverages Foursquare’s location tech capabilities for restaurant chains, retailers, and others who need deeper consumer analytics.
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The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation