News and Analysis
6 Companies Reimagining Last-Mile Delivery
There’s a renewed push in Silicon Valley to tackle last-mile delivery. The use of autonomous vehicles, drones, and artificial intelligence is what more and more vendors are pushing for. Last-mile delivery is the most expensive part of shipping, and increasing fees mean prices are only going higher. The company that can get goods from a transportation hub to the customer’s doorstep in the shortest amount of time will win the retail game, and technology firms are hoping that their innovative solutions will be the answer that retailers are looking for.
Here are six examples of companies that are working to innovate in the last-mile delivery space.
Offline Retailers See Huge Boost From Prime Day’s Online Sales
Amazon wasn’t the only retailer to see high purchase intent during its two-day event. Competing retailers saw similar successes piggybacking on Amazon’s newest shopping holiday with their own discounts and limited-time deals. This year’s Prime Day event drove a 14% spike in U.S. traffic on its first day, compared to baseline traffic from the month of June.
According to data collected by Constructor.io, an AI-first SaaS provider for ecommerce sites, among the non-Amazon companies having sales during Prime Day, search volume increased an average of more than 500%.
7 Cannabis Data Analytics Firms
One of the signs that an industry is becoming more legitimate is when its major players start investing in analytics. With a recent boom in the number of data analytics firms entering the cannabis space, it’s time to reevaluate the landscape for recreational marijuana as a business.
The marijuana industry is expanding at a rapid pace. Analysts estimate the industry could reach $75 billion in global sales by 2030. With so much on the line and marijuana companies facing enormous pressure to innovate, investors are pushing for the increased use of data analytics to make more strategic business decisions.
Here are seven cannabis data analytics firms working to change the face of the industry right now.
Commentary
Omnichannel Personalization: Striving to Increase Average Basket Size
Consumer goods and retail companies are using omnichannel personalization to engage consumers, and offer them the convenience to browse and buy products however and wherever they choose. With data analytics, retailers can engage in automated omnichannel personalization to deliver marketing that aligns with a customer’s specific behaviors.
State of Hyperlocal Report: What’s Hot in Local Marketing and Commerce
social media, data and analytics, and mobile—especially geotargeting—are the hot technology investments for marketing and commerce. The investment in data and analytics is in part driven by the biggest overall industry challenge, online-to-offline attribution measurement, and one of the most difficult issues facing individual companies, proving ROI to customers.
Latest Posts
After School, Generation Z, and the Localization of Anonymous Expression
Investors have poured money into anonymous, local chat apps like After School (which connects students at every public and private high school) — but they can be prime venues for online bullying. To get a little more context about this issue, we spoke with After School’s content director Michael Luchies.
5 Proximity-Based Deal-Finding Apps for Retail Brands
With distractions around every corner, savvy retailers and brands are using location-based apps to put limited-time offers in the hands of consumers who just happen to be nearby. Here are five examples of proximity-based deal-finding apps available to consumers right now.
Street Fight Daily: AOL’s CEO Reportedly Leading Verizon/Yahoo Talks, Yelp’s Earnings Leak Early
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Verizon Said to Enlist AOL CEO Armstrong to Explore Yahoo Deal (Bloomberg)… Yelp’s Earnings Report Leaks, Reveals CFO Is Stepping Down (Fast Company)… Factual Enables Private Marketplace Deals with InMobi, Rubicon (GeoMarketing)…
How U.K.’s Trinity Mirror Negotiates the Intersection of Journalism and Local Tech
Trinity Mirror, the largest news publishing company in the United Kingdom, launched a hyperlocal mobile ad platform called pinpoint in 2014 that allows brands to send highly targeted campaigns to smartphone users. Street Fight recently caught up with the company’s director of new businesses, Matthew Colebourne, to talk about how business models for local journalism are evolving.
Is Apple Quietly Assembling an SMB Trojan Horse?
Apple is co-promoting Square’s NFC reader for SMBs. and selling the readers in Apple Stores. The $49 reader accepts Apple Pay, which significantly lowers the barrier for SMBs to get in the game. The move should boost Apple Pay, but there also may be much bigger ambitions to lock in market share in new areas.
Sponsored Content: One Fitness Brand Flexes Mobile Muscle to be Found by Local Customers
Growth in health and fitness related apps is 87% faster than other industries and because of the New Year, overall search traffic is at a high. We compared 24-Hour Fitness and L.A. Fitness to see which brand could best KO Local.
Street Fight Daily: Bing Emphasizes Local With Updated Mobile App, Investors Bet Blind on Uber
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Bing’s New App Focuses on Finding Deals, Local Offers (TechCrunch)… Deal Shows Investors Are Willing to Make a Blind Bet on Uber (New York Times)… Yelp Needs Some Help (Wall Street Journal)…
Street Culture: Parking App SpotHero and Employees Working Out the Kinks
SpotHero, an on-demand app that helps drivers find parking spots, is at a turning point in its growth. The company grew from 35 employees to 75 in 2015, and is currently hiring for about 20 positions. The company is working to create policies that will keep everyone engaged and the business moving forward.
How the SMB/Local Advertising Community Can Avoid ‘Bad Ads’
Google’s recent “Better Ads” report demonstrates that while digital is a great channel for reaching consumers, a positive experience is perhaps the most crucial component of a successful ad campaign, especially for advertisers using programmatic to buy and serve their ads.
LBMA Podcast: Miami Heat Taps AisleLabs, UberRush Delivers for Nordstrom
On the show: Coors Light brings local music tastes to your ears with help from Shazam; Wells Fargo and BoA welcome ApplePay; PeopleCount launches PlacesCount; Best Buy brings in Slyce; ViaDirect partners with Broadsign; ShopperTrak launches Advanced Analytics offering; and more.


















































Why MULOs Need a Localized Unstructured Citation Strategy