News and Analysis

As Boomers Warm to Mobile, Brands Look to Capitalize

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Millennials have been shopping on their smartphones for years, but a shift toward mobile-direct shopping among consumers in the boomer generation is creating excitement for retailers and brand marketers this holiday season.

Innovation Pays Off for Nation’s Biggest Retailer

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Walmart posted strong sales in Q3, suggesting that its determination to compete with Amazon by investing in cutting-edge, tech-driven approaches to retail is paying dividends. Read on for some of the top trends Walmart is capitalizing on.

The Secret to Alibaba’s Singles Day Success? Brick-and-Mortar

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We’ve all heard by now that Alibaba’s Singles Day—think of it as the Chinese Prime Day—shattered sales volume records, recording over $30 billion in revenue for Jack Ma’s retail giant. What you haven’t heard is that brick-and-mortar retail played a key role in that windfall.

Commentary

How Multi-location Brands Can Keep Up with the Push for On-Demand

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In the era of UberRUSH, Postmates, DoorDash, and others, every business with an in-house delivery fleet is feeling the pressure to provide the same kind of on-demand delivery experience. The driving force behind the demand for on-demand is time, or the perceived lack thereof. Consumers have shown they will pay a premium to save it.

Square Deal: Payments Startup Passes First Test as Publicly Traded Company

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Square made its debut on the public markets yesterday. After its much-commented-on offering price of $9 per share, which some took as a shot across the bow for unicorn startups, the Jack Dorsey-helmed payments firm surged more than 45 percent in its first day of trading. The pressure may be off Square momentarily, but it won’t stay that way for long.

Targeting Consumers on the Holiday Purchase Path Means Reducing Friction

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Around the holidays, consumers tend to spend a lot more time on multiple devices, altering standard shopping habits and behaviors. This means brands and businesses need to ensure they are accurately and competitively represented in search, social, and mobile channels, and that social engagement and advertising efforts are properly targeted to the right consumers at the right times.

Latest Posts

Q2 Earnings: Mobile Users Driving Yelp’s Growth, Levchin Resigns From Board

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“Consumers are turning to apps for everything,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, the company’s chief executive said on the company’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday. He said that the company’s executive team is guiding Yelp toward a revenue stream composed mainly from localized advertising.

Street Fight Daily: Yelp Shares Drop After Q2 Miss, Google’s Location Hours Feature for Mobile

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yelp Drops 14% After Reporting Profit Miss In Q2 On Stronger-Than-Expected Revenue Of $133.9M (TechCrunch)… Google Now Featuring a Location’s Popular Hours on Mobile Devices (Blumenthals)… New Breed of Digital Publishers Just Say No to Ad Tech (Wall Street Journal)…

The Future of Retail: ‘In-Store Mode’ and In-Aisle Payments

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Wouldn’t it stand to reason that higher receptivity to promotional messaging comes when consumers are truly in buying mode. And wouldn’t the probability of that mode be greatest when someone is in-store, as opposed to browsing Instagram on their couch?

6 Tools to Merchants Can Use to Quantify the Impact of In-Store Events

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Being able to attribute offline marketing to in-store sales closes the loop for retail marketers and generates a better understanding of how various factors can impact sales.

Street Fight Daily: Stripe Scores Major Funding and Visa Partnership, eBay Shutters Delivery Service

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Stripe, Digital Payments Start-Up, Raises New Funding and Partners With Visa (New York Times)… eBay is Killing Its Local Delivery Service and Specialized Apps (The Next Web)… Why PayPal’s Independence Will Have A Huge Effect On Your Business (Forbes)…

Technical.ly Finds Big Revenues in Niche Markets Along the Mid-Atlantic

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Growing quickly in five different cities along the Northeast Corridor, Technical.ly focuses its content and events on local tech startups and the personalities driving them. Its substantial revenues have put the company among the top “indie” hyperlocals.

Sponsored Content: Ad Improvements Could Strengthen Local Appeal of Costco, Sam’s Club

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Members of the wholesale retail chains Sam’s Club and Costco swear by the low costs that come with buying in bulk, and locations cater their offerings to the local market. But these two companies could take a fresh look at their branding strategies and interactions with customers.

Why the Contractor-Employee Conundrum Isn’t a Fatal Liability for the On-Demand Economy

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The recent California Labor Commission ruling, classifying one Uber driver as an employee has led to a lot of chatter about cracks in the business model underlying the “on-demand economy.”

Street Fight Daily: Square IPO Looms, Amazon Plans Drive-Up Grocery Stores

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square’s Filing Turns Talk to Dorsey’s Juggling Skills (New York Times)… Amazon Planning Drive-Up Grocery Stores (Silicon Valley Business Journal)… Instagram Mobile Ad Revenues to Reach $2.81 Billion Worldwide in 2017 (eMarketer)…

So How Do We Define a ‘Small Business’ Anyway?

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Small businesses pack a big punch when it comes to the economy. A working definition that most people and corporations can agree on would aid market interpretations, statistical analyses, and, of course, make it simpler for advertisers to reach the right audience.