News and Analysis
Covid-19 Accelerates Online-Offline Retail Convergence
The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the offline-to-online convergence in retail, leading to a huge shift in the way people shop over a short period of time. Shelter-in-place orders have forced shoppers to purchase the majority of their goods online, and it’s made retailers rethink the way they’ll operate in the post-pandemic world.
Big0-box retailers have beefed up their ecommerce divisions, and we’ve seen dozens of major chains with new curbside pickup options. Some types of retail environments have done better than others. Hardware stores, like Home Depot and Lowe’s, have found themselves categorized as “essential” businesses, and they’ve been able to remain open in many areas with little adaptation necessary. The transition has been harder for retailers in high-touch categories, like clothing, and for those independent operators that didn’t have websites with ecommerce capabilities in place before the pandemic began.
What Comes Next For Businesses After Covid-19 Shutdowns?
As states around the country begin to reopen their economies, local businesses are looking anywhere they can for guidance. County health departments are issuing advisories about proper social distancing and sanitation practices, but what about the technology upgrades businesses might need when they reopen after their pandemic shutdowns? How might business contend with changes in optimal inventory levels if shoppers continue to buy in bulk?
How Brick-and-Mortars Move Forward
The coronavirus pandemic has transformed brick-and-mortar business, possibly forever. Peter Paine, former eBay and Walmart executive and now head of retail partnerships in the Americas for Cover Genius, checked in with Street Fight to share the strategies physical businesses large and small should prioritize to prepare for the near- and long-term future.
Commentary
Q&A: Does Google’s Latest Product Mean Death by a Thousand Cuts for Brands
Google really left businesses hanging with the Q&A release, Mike BLumenthal tells David Mihm in their biweekly column: “We had enough engineering cycles that we could “step into the breach” of what is obviously a big brand problem. Whether it is long term or not depends on what Google can parse from the questions in terms of improving results. “
Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Sizing Up the Prospects
Multi-location brands have been a little slower to embrace digital technologies in support of their local marketing and advertising than SMBs, but that’s changing pretty fast. The biggest of those companies still tend to be a little conservative, but they’re shifting digital spending towards local and adopting a broader variety of tactics.
Selling to Multi-Location Brands: Who Makes the Decisions
Across tactics, over a third of those big companies we surveyed manage local digital marketing in a centralized fashion, but a similar number do so locally or regionally. Local sites and email are the tactics most often de-centralized; mobile and paid search the most often centralized.
Latest Posts
TAPinto Grows to 57 News Franchises, Eyes National Reach
The New Jersey-based local news network has used a franchise model to expand into dozens of suburban communities. In this Q & A, CEO Mike Shapiro talks about how TAPinto continues to grow in a hotly competitive market for community news.
Street Fight Daily: Labor Ruling Threatens Uber’s Contractor Model, Geofeedia Used to Monitor Protests
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Drivers Ruled Eligible for Jobless Payments in New York State… Geofeedia is Just the Tip of the Iceberg: The Era of Social Surveillance… BuzzFeed’s Head of Commerce Talks About Shop, Part of Media Company’s E-Commerce Efforts…
Why Local Marketing Tech Is Strongly Influencing 2016’s Furious M&A Activity
This year, investment in marketing tech is on pace to more than double the investment in ad tech, suggesting just how promising this market is. Because these solutions are in high demand and are built on a recurring and relatively predictable software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue model, profits have surged.
Apps Continue to Battle, But the Mobile Web May Be Catching Up
With a shift to mobile websites, most mobile marketing dynamics will remain, although implementation for sites versus apps will be more than nuanced. Mobile search is already undergoing shifts, and listings management must take into account the role of the mobile platforms, maps, and, probably, Amazon.
How Car Marketers Get Customers
Consumers are becoming savvier in the ways they research and purchase new cars, favoring online research over conversations with real world salespeople. So car marketer are using SEO, pay-per-click, third-party directories, and call tracking software to bring in leads. (Sponsored by CallRail)
Street Fight Daily: Bloomingdale’s Capitalizes on Snapchat Geofilters, Amazon Video Threatens Retailers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat Geofilters Help Bloomingdale’s Connect with Next Generation of Shoppers… Amazon’s Video Steaming Service is a Threat to Retailers, Not Netflix… Google Looking at How to Measure Brand Awareness for Search…
Vistaprint Launches Platform to Connect Online and Offline Marketing
Vistaprint is expanding beyond its roots as a provider of custom printed products today, with a new suite of digital marketing tools for “micro” business owners. The company’s redesigned website building platform will include tools for social media marketing, local listings, email marketing, and business email, along with design services.
Can Google Shift Its Revenue Model From Advertising to Products?
“Google rolling out integrated hardware and software is a big change,” Mike Blumenthal says to David Mihm. “They have tried their hand at manufacturing many times and failed, but this feels more strategic. Clearly their AI assistant effort is central and it seems that AI is table stakes for the coming battles.”
DAC Group’s Fritz: ‘Consolidation Has Already Started’ in Local Tech
“The biggest opportunity [will materialize] as we start to see technology platforms look at areas outside of their sweet spot,” says the company’s VP of business development. “We’ve heard rumblings around technology companies looking to purchase more agency solutions, as well as vice versa: agencies looking to acquire for tech.”
Street Fight Daily: Consumers Slow to Embrace E-Grocery, Location-Based Marketing Drives Foot Traffic
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… One Local Market — Packaged Food and Household Goods — Resistant to E-Commerce… Location-Based Marketing Boosts Store Visits… Gordon Borrell on Why Facebook is Killing It in Local Advertising…
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem