News and Analysis

The MULO Dozen: January in Review Street Fight

The MULO Dozen: January in Review

January, the first month of 2025, was jam-packed with announcements of leadership changes, innovative new store designs and menu items, and game-changing technologies. Brands are suiting up for the Super Bowl. The TikTok “pause” created mass panic among influencers and agencies. As the 2025 progresses, watch this space for the trends, perspectives, and data that […]

Consumers Do This 69% of the Time Street Fight

Consumers Do This 69% of the Time

Do what? A new study by Salsify revealed that 69% of consumers now make purchases while doing other things — scrolling through social media, browsing YouTube, or even watching shows on Netflix. The days of someone saying, “Let’s go shopping” still exist, but multitasking is now the norm for close to 70% of the population, […]

Just Salad Tosses in AI & Personalization Street Fight

Just Salad Tosses in AI & Personalization

We know that consumers are okay with personalization and targeting, providing it adds value to their lives and saves them time. A whopping 64 percent of consumers report liking custom-tailored experiences. Just Salad was founded in 2006 and now has more than 90 locations. I remember being excited when the fast-casual chain opened in New […]

Commentary

Why Social Media Giants Are Embracing Conversational AI

ChatGPT Isn’t a Panacea for Local Marketing Content, But Here’s How It Can Help

AI can help create content at scale, and it can give marketers ideas that help them write competent blog posts even if they are unfamiliar with a vertical.

3 Trends Companies Using Location Data Should Watch Out for in 2023

As consumers continue to venture out to brick-and-mortar stores and as high interest rates push down the cost of buying homes and business locations, what geospatial data trends can companies take advantage of in the coming year? 

Digital Advertising Trends to Expect in 2023

From shifts in consumer behavior, to emerging platforms and technologies, to the (eventual) deprecation of third-party cookies, pressure on campaign performance, and more, the digital media industry must prepare and proactively tackle what’s to come. Here’s what we can expect in 2023.

Latest Posts

Brand Halloween Holiday Creep 2023

Brand Halloween Holiday Creep 2023

Before you could even put away your beach chair and utter “Pumpkin Spice,” Halloween accessories, boxes of tinsel, faux trees, and December lights began thier holiday creep and began to appear on store shelves. MULO (multi-location) retailers have changed the traditional sales cycle and accelerated the holiday shopping schedule. Halloween 2023 began in July, as […]

Grocers Navigate the Shift from E-commerce to In-Store

Grocers Navigate the Shift from E-commerce to In-Store

More than half of e-commerce grocery customers have left the channel since last year. Where have they gone, and what can grocers do to bring them back? That’s the question many supermarket chains and retail marketers are trying to answer. According to new data from SymphonyAI Retail CPG, 52% of e-commerce grocery customers have left […]

BUST: The Wrong Time for Rite Aid

BUST: The Wrong Time for Rite Aid

Bankruptcies and store closings have hit the retail world hard this year. Bed Bath & Beyond was the most notable, and Christmas Tree Shops and Jenny Craig are among the other retail brands that closed doors in 2023.  Rite Aid is the latest MULO (multi-location) brand to suffer the impact of retail shrinkage. Although the […]

7 Ways to Use AI Responsibly for Multi-Location Marketing

AI is no longer a thing of the future. It’s something that’s here—and it’s here to stay. In fact, more than 80% of marketers are currently using AI tools. But what are some practical applications of AI for multi-location marketing and how can you use it to streamline processes and improve campaigns? We’re sharing seven […]

Labor Day Retail Trend: In-Store Shoppers Search for ‘Seasonal Delights’

Labor Day Retail Trend: In-Store Shoppers Search for ‘Seasonal Delights’

As Labor Day weekend approaches, consumers across the United States are gearing up for a unique shopping experience. While online shopping has become a significant part of daily life for most Americans, the holiday weekend is expected to witness a surge in in-store shopping. A recent survey of Labor Day shopping preferences conducted by Vibenomics, […]

AdTech Leaders Navigate Ethical Frontiers for Generative AI

AdTech Leaders Navigate Ethical Frontiers for Generative AI

Generative AI has had a breakout year in 2023, but as more adtech companies adopt the technology to optimize campaigns, analyze behavior, and personalize both online and offline experiences, consumers are pushing back. According to a survey by Salesforce, there’s a growing distrust of AI and companies that use it. The race to build out […]

New Partnership Seeks to Address CTV Advertising Gaps

Let’s hear it for the lower funnel: that could be the rallying cry of QSR and financial-services clients this fourth quarter. Amid possible economic softening, the lower funnel is a tried and true performance-marketing path for all kinds of KPI’s from engagement to sales. To more effectively measure sales outcomes from lower-funnel marketing, Attain, a permissioned-commerce […]

Rowan: The Brand Piercing a Market Need

Rowan: The Innovative Brand Piercing a Market Need

Piercings (ear, nose, tongue, and other unmentionable body parts) have existed for centuries. In fact, some of the earliest evidence of body piercing dates back 5300 years! You can be pretty sure that when the mummy had their ears pierced, the conditions were less-than-sterile. Ear- and body-piercing studios are commonplace these days, as body modification […]

Seedtag Analysis: Parents More Focused on Children’s Health for Back-to-School

As Managing Director, U.S., for Seedtag, Brian Danzis must be keenly aware of trends and changes in all aspects of digital and linear media to drive growth for the company’s clients, which have included Applebee’s, Gillette, JetBlue, and the NBA. For the past several weeks, he’s been focused on the back-to-school shopping season and how […]

What Can We Learn from the Subway Battered Online Reputation?

What Can We Learn from Subway’s Battered Online Reputation?

The biggest story to come out of the Nation’s Restaurant News’ Top 500 rankings in 2023 wasn’t who was on top, but that Subway reputation issues had tumbled it to the bottom. After decades of expansion that led to Subway becoming the world’s largest fast food chain in terms of locations by the early 2000s, […]