News and Analysis

Grocers Use AI, Voice Tech to Manage ‘Black Wednesday’ Crowds

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Beyond managing the Black Wednesday chaos with extra staffers and longer hours, a growing number of supermarkets are using technology to improve the shopping experience and turn rushed shoppers in loyal customers who will return again once the holidays are through.

Anne Marie Stephen Joins Street Fight as President

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Anne Marie Stephen, a veteran of tech and retail, is taking the helm at Street Fight, the premier media, research, and events company covering local marketing and technology. As president, Stephen will oversee Street Fight’s overall strategy, events, and budget as it pursues aggressive growth in 2019.

The Future of Advertising in an Autonomous Vehicle Landscape

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When autonomous vehicles begin to replace traditional cars, the local business advertising market will shift alongside. But SMB advertising might not actually look dramatically different than it does today; instead, today’s location-based, personalized marketing will reach new customizable extremes.

Commentary

How Top Marketers Are Curating the In-Store Mobile Experience

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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.

In 2016, the Local Economy Is No Longer Local

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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 Predictions for 2016: Part Two

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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.

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: An Inside Look at Amazon, Can Facebook Finally Conquer E-Commerce?

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Inside Amazon: Wrestling Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace (New York Times)… Facebook’s Last Push Into E-Commerce was a Disaster, but It’s Gearing Up to Try Again (Business Insider)… Location Inaccuracy is a Bigger Problem Than Fraud (AdExchanger)…

Openings and New Hires at 4Info, Matchcraft, Foursquare and Yieldbot

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Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s column, Triangle Business Journal gets a new president, Verve Mobile staffs up, and the Daily Voice hires a new publisher.

LBMA Podcast: Forbes Partners With Tinder, Proxbook’s Thomas Walle Jensen

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On the show: Peaceful walking by Walkonomics; Blind French hikers trek 80km without a guide; AwareCar helps you avoid parking tickets; Embarcadero Technologies launches BeaconFence.

Street Fight Daily: Uber Will Return Your Online Purchases, Samsung Preps for Mobile Payment Launch

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… How Uber Is Fixing Online Shopping’s Most Annoying Problem (Refinery29)… Samsung Pay to Launch September 28 in U.S. But Will Businesses Accept It? (Recode)… Stores Suffer From a Shift of Behavior in Buyers (New York Times)…

Study: Local Advertisers Are Leaving Behind $14 Billion in Co-op Marketing Every Year

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According to the report from Netsertive and Borrell Associates, 38 percent of local businesses cited “too much paperwork” as the greatest barrier to co-op marketing, and another 38 percent cited “too many rules.”

Why Local News Sponsorships Are More Relevant than Ever

How the Local Media Consortium Is Leveraging Its Relationship With Google for Higher CPMs

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The Local Media Consortium is working to turn “digital dimes” back into the dollars. To see how the group is progressing, we recently spoke with Tobias Bennett, LMC’s “programmatic advertising champion.”

Street Fight Daily: Macy’s and Alibaba Join Forces, Amazon Changes Retail Ad Terms

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Alibaba Lands Macy’s as the First U.S. Department Store For Its Online Portal (Fortune)… Amazon Changes Terms for Retailers Advertising on Its Site (AdAge)… Layoffs Hit Groupon’s Restaurant Software Unit as Breadcrumb Founder Leaves (Recode)…

How SMBs Can Respond to the ‘Uber Effect’

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If the past 15 years have taught us anything, it’s the resilience of brick-and-mortar businesses. Effective enterprises sense and respond to change by incorporating new technology and business models while relying on their distinct advantages, such as face-to-face service and distinctive ambience.

6 Platforms for On-Demand Doctor House Calls

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Using location-based mobile technology, vendors are modernizing the concept of physician house calls. For a price, consumers in most metropolitan areas can order up a doctor just like they would a pizza. Here are six platforms that consumers can use to bring healthcare providers to their doorsteps.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook’s New Ad Features, Retailers Will Start Testing MCX Payments App

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Is Trying to Make It Even More Tempting for You to Buy Products from the News Feed (Business Insider)… Retailers to Begin Public Tests of MCX Mobile Payment App But Face Hurdles (Wall Street Journal)… Amazon’s Dash Buttons Hint at a Future of Interface-Free Shopping (The Verge)…