News and Analysis
After E-Commerce Gains, Retailers Struggle with Return Logistics
$70.5 billion worth of holiday purchases this year are expected to be returned, and 400 million square feet of additional warehouse space could be needed just to process those returns. For retailers already facing a deluge of products coming back into their warehouses, it could already be too late.
Brick-and-Mortar in a Post-Covid World
After months of shopping primarily online, and taking advantage of services like same-day deliveries and curbside pickups, can shoppers be persuaded to come back into physical stores?
SMBs Seek Speedy Relief to Recover in 2021
The Biden administration is pledging $15 billion in grants to help businesses, and $35 billion for small business financing programs, as part of its new American Rescue Plan. But many grants and recovery programs have long timelines, and business owners are saying they need more immediate support.
Commentary
LBMA Podcast: Ninth Decimal and Branded Cities, Swrve, Burger King
On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Swrve’s Payload, UnDigital, Branded Cities + NinthDecimal, Tommy Hilfiger, Singapore Airlines, and Burger King France.
Local News Publishers Still Mired in Ad Fraud, New Pixalate Data Shows
According to new research from Pixalate, a cross-channel fraud intelligence company that works with brands and platforms to prevent ad fraud and improve ad inventory quality, about a quarter of all smartphone app video and smartphone app display activity is “invalid traffic” (the technical term for what is largely fraud).
Will Apple Help Assemble the ‘Internet of Places’?
The AR cloud is the missing piece in the vision we all have for how AR should work. It’s the spatial map of the world that will let AR devices understand their surroundings. Taking this into account, the news that Apple is collecting its own data for Apple Maps may have implications for AR.
Latest Posts
How Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Could Change Local Marketing
The new smartphone promises increased opportunities to bring local marketers closer to consumers with a new “intelligent interface.” Bixby, the phone’s voice assistant, has “contextually aware” capabilities that can help personalize location, retail and other user experiences.
CloudSponge: Soaking Up Your Contacts to Connect You Anywhere
The startup is touting tremendous success for at least one company using their service: local (under the radar) giant, Nextdoor, has seen a significant uptick in growth since deploying CloudSponge’s technology. How? We talked with Jay Gibb, the company’s CEO, to find out.
Street Fight Daily: Weather Channel Partners with Lyft, Alphabet Seeks Public Legal Fight with Uber
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Weather Channel Lets You Request a Lyft When Bad Weather Strikes… Alphabet Wants Its Lawsuit Against Uber to Play Out Publicly… Twitter is Expanding Its Video Measurement Partnerships to Help Marketers Gauge Ad Performance
Why Real-time Geofencing Is a Missed Marketing Opportunity for Brands
Many marketers are focusing too exclusively on the simplest form of location data. Geo-fencing severely limits the potential of location data and also the reach of a digital campaign.
Two Mobile Marketing Studies Sketch Location Data’s Role in Cross-Channel Measurement
The reports released last week by industry organizations provide useful advice on mobile marketing tactics and using location data. Both studies point to the need to apply integrated, cross-channel measurement techniques, and to use location data for targeting, customer segmentation, and attribution.
Street Fight Daily: How Amazon Shipping Impacts Small Retailers, Facebook Updates Instant Articles
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon’s Free Shipping Pushes Small Retailers, Delivery Firms to Compete… Facebook Updates Instant Articles, Encourages Email Sign-Ups… Native Ad Spend Increased 600% in 3 Years, But Early Adopters Are Bailing…
Case Study: Convenience Store Chain Streamlines Mobile Offer Creation
Switching from paper to digital coupons usually saves businesses time and money, but that’s not always the case. For Mike Templeton, digital marketing manager at Kum & Go, a convenience store chain with hundreds of locations, personally designing and managing the distribution of digital coupons quickly became a hassle.
Raise Report: New Funding for SOCi, ActionIQ, Chute, Looker
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 Bus.com, JoyRun, Picnic, and Snowflake.
Street Fight Daily: Lyft Raises $500 Million, Facebook’s M Suggests Local Services in Messenger
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Rival Lyft Raises $500 Million in Funding… The Public Debut of Facebook’s M is a Step Toward a Do-It-All AI Assistant… It’s Time for Google and Facebook to Freak Out About Amazon…
3 Location Marketing Lessons That Healthcare Brands Can Teach Other Industries
When the location marketing experts discuss best practices, they often focus on industries like retail. But the healthcare industry can teach us a lot about location marketing. Partly because healthcare faces constant turmoil, healthcare is a source of constant reinvention.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem