News and Analysis
The Future of Location in Retail: Beyond Ad Targeting
Location data is serving as the conduit to connect consumer-facing marketing initiatives with behind-the-scenes merchandising and logistics. According to a survey by Blis, WBR Insights, and Future Stores, the majority of retail marketers (71%) have some type of location strategy in place, with the primary goal being to drive foot traffic and trigger location-based mobile advertising. That’s not a particular surprise, given how popular the latest location-based marketing tactics have become. More surprising, however, is how common it has become for retailers to use location data for local product and inventory search (60%) and localized online customer service (51%).
Amazon’s Dash Buttons Have Met Their End. Does Their Demise Truly Signal Failure?
Dash buttons were met with detractors right from the get go. Some called out the “hideous” design, while others lambasted Amazon for creating $5 buttons that would inevitably end up in landfills. But at Amazon, the Dash button initiative isn’t considered a failure. Rather, the project was designed to get consumers more comfortable with the “connected home” concept and the idea of shopping through devices other than desktop computers and smartphones.
Commentary
Is Apple’s Encroachment on Local Finally Ready for Prime Time?
“I see [Apple’s] messaging platform as the third leg of mobile (joining the web and apps) that we need in place for the transition to non-traditional interfaces like voice,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “Apple is building out a stable of ‘body’ computers with the Watch and now the AirPods that can provide an interface to the web.”
Latest Posts
Street Fight Daily: Yahoo Faces Major Layoffs, Inside Uber’s ‘God Mode’ Privacy Battles
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Is Prepping to Lay Off 10% or More of Its Workforce (Business Insider)… Uber Settles with New York Attorney General Over ‘God View’ Tracking Program (BuzzFeed)… GoButler, the Messaging-Based Personal Assistant, ‘Pauses’ Operations in Germany to Focus on U.S. (TechCrunch)…
Facebook Continues to Experiment in Local — But Its Focus Is Long-Term
The company isn’t trying to build a unified local search portal at all. Instead, they’re launching trial balloons, turning developers loose to experiment with the company’s local data in order to surface features and nuances that might eventually be useful as subtle additions to the Newsfeed…
How Top Marketers Are Curating the In-Store Mobile Experience
With consumer behavior in place, and solutions making technology like beacons as simple as a media buy, mobile proximity is poised to become the fasting growing piece of mobile advertising in 2016. The brands that have tested and learned early on are in great position to scale up and reach their audiences this year.
Street Fight Daily: The Relationship Between Mobile Messaging and Commerce, GM Invests in Lyft
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Future of Mobile Chatting: Commerce (Wall Street Journal)… General Motors, Gazing at Future, Invests $500 Million in Lyft (New York Times)… For Sensors Focused on Local Commerce and Loyalty, Privacy, Battery Life, and Location Accuracy Are Top Concerns (GeoMarketing)…
Washington Post Uses Its Journalism to Breathe New Life into Display Ads
The display ad, which has powered the revenue behind much of online media in the past, has taken a lot of flak in the past couple of years, as many publications have touted new formats (like native advertising) as the future. But Washington Post Director of Ad Product and Engineering Jarrod Dicker thinks the paper’s […]
Street Fight Daily: Foursquare’s ‘Superpower,’ On-Demand and Doctors
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Foursquare Has a “Superpower” Called Pilgrim That Could Finally Let It Take Over Your Phone (Business Insider)… This Whole ‘Uber for Doctor House Calls’ Idea Is Basically Doomed (Quartz)… Looking Beyond the Internet of Things (New York Times)…
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