News and Analysis

Is Amazon Killing the Holiday Shopping Season?

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Long lines of shoppers snaking around retail stores used to be commonplace on the morning after Thanksgiving. So was the tradition of picking up a print newspaper for an early look at the Black Friday ads. But with retailers like Amazon, Nordstrom, Alibaba, and Flipkart creating their own shopping holidays, the frenzy around Black Friday and Cyber Monday has been tamped down. Is this a sign of the times or just a blip in retail’s evolution?

To find the answer, the mobile app marketing firm Liftoff and the mobile measurement company Adjust teamed up and took a deep dive into the consumer activity on shopping apps throughout the calendar year. In a new report, the firms found that with excuses to shop year round, traditional shopping holidays, like Black Friday and the New Year period, are waning in significance. These events are gradually becoming less vital for online and offline retailers, even if they remain important moments.

Chatmeter Scores New Funding Amid Hiring Spree

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Local brand management platform Chatmeter announced a new investment by Providence Strategic Growth aimed at helping the company increase its ambitions further after hiring 25 employees over the course of six months. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Report: DTC Brands Outperform Traditional Retail, Win Over Gen-Z

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As the millennial generation settles down and moves into its 30s, retailers are looking at a new group of consumers as the most coveted demographic. Generation Z—born between 1994 and 2002—is forming its own identity and seeking out different shopping experiences than its older counterparts.

A new report, released by the location intelligence platform Ubimo, finds that Generation Z shows a surprising preference for physical stores, although members of this group aren’t interested in shopping so much as experiencing new products in-store.

Commentary

Apple Gets Into Position for the Voice Search Revolution

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As voice search becomes more prevalent, Apple will “retain an advantage over Amazon in ‘on-the-go’ searches, since our phones are always with us,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal. “Unfortunately for Apple, people overwhelmingly conduct voice searches at home. “

Three Ways Location Marketing Is Changing in 2017

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People are searching differently. They’re using emoji, voice commands, and social media to find what they want on demand through a variety of channels and devices. As a result, businesses need to be more nimble and imaginative in the way they convert online searches into offline sales.

Google Maps Holiday Controversy Reflects Deeper Issues in Local Search

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In cases where community values are not unanimous, public companies are faced with an ethical question, and their answers can help to shape perceptions among users. For many, the removal of a Confederate holidays from Google Maps signals that it is truly a thing of the past.

Latest Posts

Case Study: NYC Restaurant Uses Automation Tools to Update Search Listings

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This case study looks at how New York City’s Paola’s Restaurant worked OpenTable, Yext, email and Yelp to boost walk-ins and traffic. Which tools were most effective and which weren’t worth the expense?

Street Fight Daily: Google’s Increasingly App-Like Mobile Web, Mobile Sensor Project ‘CrowdSignals’

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Is Gradually Turning Mobile Search Into an App-Like Experience (Screenwerk)… CrowdSignals Aims to Create a Marketplace for Smartphone Sensor Data (New York Times)… Retail Browsing Is Rapidly Shifting to Mobile, So Why Isn’t Buying? (AdAge)…

Go Daddy Launches Cloud Solutions for SMBs

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Go Daddy has launchedtwo new products: Cloud Servers and Cloud Applications, both of which are engineered to help a web professional quickly build, test and scale cloud solutions.

All That Glitters Is Not Gold: Separating Real Value From ‘Shiny New Things’ in Local

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Perhaps there is an industry epidemic of insecurity around the value provided to local businesses given the large market opportunity. Or, perhaps some organizations still think there is business in obfuscating value long enough to make some profit regardless of the damage.

E-commerce Is a $341.7 Billion-dollar Industry — Can SMBs Get a Piece of the Pie?

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Small businesses can close the gap between online and offline commerce with some hard work and adherence to a smart strategy. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon’s Powerful Lobbyists, comScore and Viacom Announce Multiplatform Deal

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Leans on Government in Its Quest to Be a Delivery Powerhouse (New York Times)… comScore Says Multiplatform Deal with Viacom Will Transform How Ads Are Bought (Adweek)… Uber’s Quest to Catch the Tourist Buck (VentureBeat)…

Can LifePosts’ Digital Obits Provide Clues for Sustainable Local Publishing?

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LifePost’s digital obits are offering a way to commemorate people and pets in a dedicated place outside of social media. The idea has drawn support from Twitter ex-CEO Dick Costolo, among others.

Street Culture: Multi-Location Brands Connect Employees With Beekeeper

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Beekeeper is like Slack but for companies with employees who are on the move, waiting tables and parking cars. The mobile-based communications platform is growing quickly and meeting a current need in the marketplace.

Street Fight Daily: Airbnb Plans to Expand Service Offerings, On-Demand Assistant App GoButler Pivots

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Airbnb Plans to Offer Add-On Travel Services This Year (Bloomberg)… GoButler Pivots to Fully-Automated Service, Starting with Flight Search and Discovery (TechCrunch)… Can LifePost’s Digital Obits Provide Clues for Sustainable Local Publishing? (Street Fight)…

Brands, Meet the Data Amplifiers

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Data amplifiers distribute and publish your data to a broader audience than you could ever do on your own — what I call the “network effect.” Your brand becomes more visible because your business data becomes more open and accessible to the influencers who are in a position to help customers find your business.