News and Analysis

Who Benefits from the Surging Interest in Contactless Payments?

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More than half (51%) of Americans are now using some form of contactless payment. Consumers are most likely to use contactless cards for buying essentials at grocery stores and pharmacies, where 50% of consumers say they worry about the cleanliness of signature touchpads.

Consumers in the U.S. have historically been slower to adopt contactless payments, and that’s something that is tied to a lack of merchant adoption, says Rob Fagnani, vice president of strategy at Formation.ai.

Tapad, Reveal Mobile Partner to ‘Make Attribution Make Sense’

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Household targeting was possible before the pandemic, but it has become even more necessary for brands since shelter-in-place orders began this spring. With more people living together, and spending more time together inside their homes, having the ability to target multiple members of the same household has become more valuable for marketers.

“The pandemic has caused people to spend a lot more time at home. That means more time spent with shared devices,” Tapad COO Mark Connon says. ”Brands need to have a better understanding of who is using what device and when, despite these shifting behaviors, in order to make their engagements count.”

Street Fight’s August Theme: The Next Normal

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As we roll into August, it’s time to establish Street Fight’s monthly editorial focus. After our standard ritual (no animals harmed), we’ve settled on “The Next Normal.” Forced to adopt new technologies just to survive, some local businesses have experienced a decade of evolution in just a few months.

So the question is, how will newly elevated local businesses transform the local commerce landscape? If a large share of the local business universe has raised its game, what will be the new “bar” in local media, advertising, and commerce? How should tech providers adjust to new demand signals?

Commentary

Why Google Decided Phone Calls Are the Key to Google Assistant’s Future Success

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Among all the new AI-driven capabilities Google could’ve bestowed on its powerful Assistant, the company decided to focus on one capability in particular: a phone call.

Listen Up! Voice Makes Itself Heard in Delivery of Local News

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“Voice is still in its early innings, but Edison Research data on smart speakers shows that the top things people are calling for is news. That’s enough for me to know that the time to get moving on this is right now,” says Amplifi Media CEO Steve Goldstein.

LBMA Podcast: New LBMA Research, Foursquare & Tinder, Verve & Receptiv

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On this week’s edition of the Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: iQiyi, Location Sciences, Foursquare + Tinder, Google Expeditions, Verve buys Receptiv, Kohl’s + Amazon returns, London goes iZettle, and new research from The LBMA.

Latest Posts

Case Study: Bonobos Integrates In-Store Tech for Seamless Shopping Experience

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In many ways, Bonobos has become a model for e-commerce startups. Although the New York City-based company started out as an online-only men’s retailer in 2007, it has since expanded its physical presence with real world stores spread across the U.S.

Raise Report: New Funding for ReplyYes, Voysis, Bolstra

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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 NewsWhip, uShip, Sun Basket, and TVSquared.

Street Fight Daily: Retailers Sign Up for Texting Via Android, Dash Turns Cars into Data Troves

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Wants Businesses to Text with Android Messaging Service… Dash Aims to Turn Driving Machines into Data-Driven Machines… How Retailers Can Best Position Themselves to Thrive in an Age of Disruption…

Investment Firms Come to the Forefront Among Owners of Local Newspapers

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Today seven investment entities control 349 daily newspapers, well ahead of either the 196 belonging to long-established private publishers that include companies like Hearst and Advance Publications or the 161 public publishers that include legacy chains like Gannett and McClatchy.

Marriage of Listings, Data, and Social Drive Better Results, Says SweetIQ CEO

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A long-brewing change is transforming the way local business listings get used, says SweetIQ’s Mohannad El-Barachi. In a recent interview with he tells Street Fight that the integration of more features, such as chat or connections to social media, opens up new ways for businesses to bring in customers.

Inform Your Multichannel Customer Experience Strategy

Street Fight Daily: Viber Launches In-App Shopping, Small-Ball Retailers and Google Shopping

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Chat App Viber to Launch In-app Shopping with Brands Including Macy’s… 7 Ways Small Retailers Can Compete with Retail Giants Using Google Shopping… SocialRank Realtime Helps Marketers Get More Proactive on Social Media…

A New Era for Street Fight

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After nearly six years as a bootstrapped independent business, Street Fight has been acquired by Brandify — and we couldn’t be more excited. The pairing will provide resources to significantly expand Street Fight’s content, events, and research, and will allow us to launch new offerings to create greater value for the industry.

BUST: A Hard Landing as Soft Surroundings Files for Bankruptcy

Urban Outfitters Increases Conversions With Contextualized In-App Messaging

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Urban Outfitters has long used its brand-owned app to deliver messages to customers in the hope of driving conversions. What PlaceIQ and Appboy were able to do was heighten the value being delivered by in-app messaging, using a combination of location and customer activity data.

Street Fight: Amazon Responds to Walmart’s Shipping Challenge, Mobile Engagement Drops in Q4

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Strikes Back at Walmart’s Free 2-Day Shipping Offer… Mobile Engagement Sees Unprecedented Drop in Q4 2016… Why Facebook and Snapchat Are Spinning Off Mobile Incubators…

How Does Google Determine the Authority of Local Entities?

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“Each of these sites that Google trusts might calculate authority in a different way, but if Google can verify the relationship to the local entity, they can apply that authority to the ranking of the local listing,” writes Mike Blumenthal to David Mihm.