News and Analysis

Google Integrates Food Delivery into Search, Maps, Assistant

More or less following the model of Reserve with Google, which has seamlessly integrated the process of reserving a table at a nearby restaurant into SERPs, Google is now integrating food delivery into search, Maps, and Assistant, keeping consumers on Google properties for the entire journey as they make transactions via third-party couriers.

As GDPR’s One-Year Anniversary Approaches, Where Are We Now?

One year in, it’s clear that the full impact of GDPR still hasn’t been felt. The regulation is structured in a way that puts less pressure on large companies than smaller businesses, and that’s something that regulators will have to continue sorting out. But the changes Europe’s law portends are undeniable: Privacy legislation is coming to the United States, and the data collection practices that made many Silicon Valley pioneers rich will never be quite so unbridled again.

5 Visual Marketing Platforms for Brands

Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay are just a few online retailers with new visual search tools, and social media platforms like Snapchat are letting users take pictures of items to buy on Amazon and Pinterest. By using enterprise-level visual marketing platforms, brands can capitalize on their visibility across the web and drive more revenue from the images and other content their customers are creating.

Here are five visual marketing platforms that brands are using right now.

Commentary

State of Hyperlocal: Early Returns From Street Fight’s Annual Survey

The early results of our annual survey indicate that suppliers of local marketing and commerce technology and services see their customers continue to increase spending on social media and mobile marketing — and their own investments are following the money.

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.”

How Old-School Tactics From Emerging Economies Can Inform Local Marketing

There is tremendous insight in old-school marketing tactics about to how to strengthen local digital strategies through offline expertise. Here are a few tips from a few ever-impressive emerging markets.

Latest Posts

In 2016, the Local Economy Is No Longer Local

Yes, we still shop at local stores, but the Walmart in the nearby shopping plaza isn’t the only competitor the local store needs to keep an eye on. Increasingly, it’s a host of online vendors and the growing crop of on-demand startups that have become an indelible feature of the local business landscape — both enablers and usurpers of their merchant partners.

Street Fight’s 10 Most Popular Stories From 2015

As 2015 draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the Street Fight stories that captured your interest this year. We look forward to bringing you more great content, research, and events focused on the connected local economy in 2016!

LBMA Podcast: Key Trends for 2016

Welcome to episode #265. On the show: This is our annual predictions show. We highlight the things that stuck with us throughout 2015, how our 2015 predictions panned out during the year, the trends we see gaining steam and the companies that you should be paying attention to as we head into 2016. Show Notes: […]

Street Fight Daily: Nextdoor Going International, Uber Wants to Help Book Travel

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Nextdoor, the $1.1B Social Network for Neighbors, Is Finally Expanding Overseas (Business Insider)… Uber Is Thinking of Getting Into the Travel Business (Business Insider)… In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All (New Yorker)…

Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part Two

With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We ran the first installment yesterday — now here are the rest.

10 Pivotal Moments From the On-Demand Economy in 2015

From huge expansion to Asian markets to massive funding rounds to drone deliveries and new technologies, 2015 will go down as a landmark year for the on-demand economy. As we get ready to watch the ball drop on December 31, it’s a good opportunity to look back at 10 pivotal moments from this past year and their impact on the future of on-demand.

Street Fight Daily: How Facebook Intimidates Google, Quantifying Mobile Ads’ Impact

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Is Afraid of Facebook’s Search Ambitions (Motley Fool)… Marketers Can Now Run Studies to See How People Respond to Their Mobile Ads (Adweek)… Sidecar Shutdown Leaves Uber and Lyft to Battle It Out in Ride-Hailing Market (GeekWire)…

Street Fight’s Predictions for 2016: Part One

With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. We asked Street Fight staffers and weekly columnists what they thought would be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2016. We’ll be running their outlooks in two installments, the first today and the second tomorrow.

Rating Street Fight’s 2015 Predictions

At the end of each year, Street Fight invites staffers, friends, and luminaries from the industry to share their predictions for what’s in store for the coming year. Today, we take a look back at some of the predictions for 2015 to see who was on target and who missed the mark.

Street Fight Hyperlocal Analyst Predictions for 2016

With 2015 drawing to a close, it’s time again to look ahead to what we can expect in the hyperlocal space in 2016. This year, we did things a little differently. We invited our regular analyst contributors to 1) weigh in on what they felt would be a “sure thing” in the coming year, 2) offer a prediction on something that might get big (but might not happen), and 3) identify something that hyperlocal marketers and merchants really don’t need to worry about. This is the first of several predictions pieces we will feature this week.