News and Analysis
US Businesses Lead on Reputation Management
Loyalty to local businesses may never cease to be an important factor in brick-and-mortar commerce, but the boom of “near me” searches and the emphasis on convenience in the age of mobile search make a prime online presence for the quick-querying passerby more important than it has ever been. This latest Uberall data indicate that responding to reviews can provide the slight 5-star rating bump that guides an unfamiliar customer into a store she may otherwise pass up for a higher-ranked competitor.
5 Innovative Ways to Use AR in Holiday Marketing
A technology that was once considered to be on the fringes of digital marketing has moved into the mainstream, as retailers around the country find new ways to use AR in their 2019 holiday campaigns. From virtual try-ons to camera filters designed to drive people into physical store locations, there’s no limit to the number of ways creative marketers can use AR. Enterprising retailers are capitalizing on the momentum as they come up with smarter ways to help shoppers contextually visualize what products will look like on their bodies and in their homes.
Let’s take a look at how five major companies are using AR for holiday marketing this year.
6 Trends to Watch in Holiday Search Marketing
With fewer than two months to go until Christmas, retailers are already kicking their holiday search marketing tactics into high gear. Holiday sales this year are expected to increase roughly 4% over 2018, according to the National Retail Federation, and consumers are expected to be especially price-conscious. How will the retail industry respond to the changing dynamics in search marketing?
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest trends expected to influence holiday search marketing this year, from tactics for extending the local reach of holiday campaigns and how those tactics convert customers at the point of decision to newer products like Local Inventory Ads, which allows marketers to feed store-level inventory into Google search.
Commentary
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.”
The Evolution of Location-Based Targeting
The technical methodologies and approaches for answering the question of where a device is (or what the user is doing) are not all created equal, and it’s worth taking a look at the different methodologies and how they are evolving.
Report: Most Local Merchants Will Increase Marketing and Shift Budgets to Digital this Year
The majority of local businesses are increasing their spending on advertising and marketing this year, and they’re shifting their dollars towards a broad variety of digital tactics. Those are two of the key findings from Street Fight’s just-released study, The Local Merchant Report 2017. Our analysis also revealed a pattern of momentum spending that makes a […]
Latest Posts
Weighing the Local Promise of Bots and Conversational Commerce
Are bots the future of the internet? Maybe, maybe not; like the buzz around Google Glass in 2013, we’re in the midst of a moment when it’s hard to tell the difference between hype and technological breakthrough.
Street Fight Daily: Product Ads Come to Google Image Search, Weighing Bots’ Promise
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Product Listing Ads Officially Launch in Image Search… MCX, the Big Retailer Answer to Apple Pay, Announces Layoffs and Another Product Delay… Amazon Launches Restaurant Delivery in Manhattan with More Than 350 Eateries
Homebrew VC Wants to Build Out Startups That Bring Value to Location
The firm has built up an impressive roster of investments in seed stage companies focused on the “bottom-up economy.” Co-founders Hunter Walk and Satya Patel have a particular interest in seeing businesses advance in tech and value-added location services.
Case Study: A Maryland Bakery’s Love/Hate Relationship With Facebook
Never underestimate the power of social media. That’s a lesson that Capital City Cheesecake co-owner Meaghan Murphy learned the hard way while trying to get her Maryland-based bakery/café up and running in 2010. She thought word of mouth alone would be enough to build a sustainable business.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon to Launch in $80 Billion Market, Uber Under Pressure
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon is About to Launch in a New $80 Billion Market… Should Yelp Start Worrying about Angie’s List?… Uber’s Ride-Sharing Dominance Comes Under Pressure…
Street Culture: Thirstie Holds Focus on Engagement and Slow Growth
The company’s CEO said he is witnessing many on-demand companies slowly but surely go out of business, and is more convinced than ever that offering that extra little bit of knowledge to customers is what will inspire them to spend more time with Thirstie, and return to the app on a regular basis.
Street Fight Daily: Google’s Mobile Update, Facebook’s Influence on the News
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Boost Has Rolled Out… Facebook and the News: Trends, Filter Bubbles and Algorithmic Bias…
A Need to Survive Keeps Feuding Newspapers Together in New Marketing Venture
A month ago, four major newspaper chains proudly announced the founding of Nucleus Marketing Solutions, a partnership that would help them compete with “the platforms.” Today, one of the chains, Tribune Publishing, is threatening another, Gannett, with a “poison pill” strategy to prevent a hostile takeover.
5 On-Demand Platforms to Connect Busy Parents With Local Services
Uber-style apps for children face an uphill battle, in part because trust isn’t something the on-demand economy is known for and people aren’t as willing to entrust their children with a stranger as they are their laundry or their take-out. But creative solutions abound.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Crushing Retail Competitors, McDonald’s Leads in QSR Foot Traffic
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google’s Answer to Amazon Echo is Named Chirp and is Coming Soon… Apple Pay Spreads Into a New Market… This Chart Shows How Amazon is Crushing Retail Competitors…
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