ECOMMERCE: In December, JackThreads executives flew to Miami to discuss what they were all scared to admit: customers hated their service, and employees hated having to treat them badly. They beat on a bold new program called TryOuts to turn the compan around.
DATA: In 2015, global smartphone adoption reached an all-time high. Thanks to this rapid expansion of smartphone and smartphone usage around the world, adver- tisers now have an opportunity to reach consumers even more easily, with click- to-call or click-for-directions ads.
DATA: Candidates talk about manufacturing because of what it represents in the popular imagination: a source of stable, well-paying jobs, especially for people without a college degree. But that image is rooted more in nostalgia than in reality. Manufacturing no longer plays its former role in the economy, and not only because there are far fewer factory jobs than in the past.
MEDIA: Three years after it burst onto the scene to create a new breed of short-form comedy and give rise to a group of heartthrob stars, Vine is struggling. Marketers and ad buyers that paid creators to make “sponsored” Vines have soured on the app, which is owned by Twitter, and are directing dollars toward competitors like Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram.
ECOMMERCE: The online retail sector in India is expected to be a $1 trillion (Rs.660,000 crore) market by 2020, according to a recent report by the Confederation of Indian Industry ( CII) and Deloitte, a consultancy. The study indicates that more e-commerce will trigger big innovations in India. The Goods and Services Tax, once implemented, is expected to boost the growth of e-commerce by simplifying taxation and logistics, said the CII-Deloitte report.
BRAND: Investing in Didi Chuxing allows Apple to grab a foothold in the Chinese tech market that reaches beyond iPhones—and also gives it a new platform for its other technology. For example, if Didi Chuxing uses CarPlay, that gives Apple another outlet to sell software services in China beside the iPhone, as well as valuable data to tailor apps and maps for Chinese users. Didi Chuxing is also a major potential customer once Apple’s self-driving car comes to fruition.
DATA: New Instagram Business Profiles now show you the most popular times and days that your followers are on Instagram, along with follower demographics, post impressions, and more. Earlier this year, Instagram confirmed that they were developing new business profiles to help brands and small businesses succeed on Instagram. Last week, we shared the first screenshots of the new.
MEDIA: Facebook has given publishers two options to monetize: The publisher can sell the ad units in the Instant Articles, and bundle the traffic with its own website, because of comScore’s ability to measure the visits on Facebook. Or publishers can allow Facebook to sell the inventory through its own ad network.
ECOMMERCE: An easy way to get started with the Internet of Things, based on the Amazon Dash button hardware, the AWS IoT button is a developer kit that can be programmed to control internet-connected devices and services. This programmable Wi-Fi button is designed to help developers learn how to use AWS IoT, AWS Lambda, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Simple Notification Service and other Amazon Web Services.
How Amazon's IoT Button Can Hail Your Tesla
Last Word: The New Shift Away from Major Retail
People are wondering if retail struggle is an indicator of economy. @Macys@Kohls@PacSun@Gap@Kmart all have had rough quarters/years. But the issue seems to lie in a shift in mindset. In years past when one retail giant thrived, another failed (@Walmart v @Target ) etc. And those struggles showed up in the10Ks and quarterly reports. In the words of the wire "game done changed" Let's take a look:
My major purchase this year have all come from DNVBs (Digitally Native Vertical Brands) to quote @dunn or @amazon. Pants from @Bonobos, Mattress from @TuftandNeedle, thermostats by @ecobee and so on. My spend hasn't decreased but has shifted dramatically from publicly traded retailers to small private companies that are mostly #DNVB. The shift is captured not by a decrease in sales at public retailers but also by the proliferation and success of #DNVB as well as @amazon. Consumer expectation has moved from "go-to" to "come-to." This not just for brands but has also given rise to service companies such as @Postmates and @doordash.
So to say that due to falling sales at the giants that retail is dying; to me is a misnomer. We need to look deeper to understand it's where the game is being played that has changed. @BenedictEvans said in 2014 "mobile is eating the world" We are now beginning to see that everyone going mobile fundamentally shifted experience expectations at a rate that outpaces even smartphone adoption. It's the fastest shift in behavior since probably the advent of the drive through at restaurants. It's less about what people are buying but how & why. Smartphones are the remote control of life that now drive purchase behavior.
