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Facebook wants people to shop on its platform. The latest evidence comes from two product rollouts -- one for catalogs in WhatsApp, the other called Facebook Pay. It's part of a bigger industry realization that conversational messaging is the next big frontier for US platforms. But Facebook has some big hurdles to overcome in order to succeed.
Amazon has a few new features it's testing with brands that look a lot like some Facebook programs. They all seem like ways to promote more content posted to the e-commerce platform -- and it looks like Amazon is beginning to listen to some of the needs of its partners.
Nike made the announcement that it would no longer have a brand presence on Amazon. This move highlights the calculus businesses make about how they should interact with the e-commerce platform. As a result, a debate is ensuing about whether brands need Amazon or Amazon needs brands.
Shopify is largely considered the go-to solution for DTC e-commerce architecture. But some say the enterprise solutions are lacking. And other digitally native brands trying to scale their businesses have had to get creative to use the platform to their advantage.
GrubHub's most recent earnings sent its stock price spiraling. The poor results and meager Q4 outlook point to a crowded restaurant delivery space. The 15-year-old company used to be the leader in the space and new entrants with slightly different business models are giving GrubHub a run for its money. The question remains whether any of these businesses are sustainable.
As Amazon's grocery ambitions grow, it's turning to familiar tactics to get a leg up, particularly in the delivery space, by trying to make its services as cheap and convenient as possible compared to competitors. Amazon's grocery delivery offerings are currently split between two different types of services, and compared to its biggest competitor, Walmart, it offers delivery for fresh produce in fewer U.S. cities
What's it like to grow a standalone brand that relies on Amazon? It turns out it's pretty hard -- even as Amazon makes hand-waves to indicate that it wants to cultivate these businesses on the platform. The owner of a popular Amazon-dependent brand spoke candidly about the realities and fears of relying on the e-commerce giant.
A new report says that Google's Search results are littered with counterfeit results. The company, however, doesn't crack down on the problem. For Google, it's a philosophical problem as it considers itself to be an index of the free and open web. But as it continues to expand its commerce offerings, the problem could get more prickly.
Amazon's search ad marketshare is growing, and it means brands are more clearly seeing an opportunity to use the platform's offerings. Smaller brands particularly are re-strategizing their advertising programs to more prominently include Amazon. As a result, the search dynamics are shifting.
Amazon is making cheaper one-off items eligible for free one-day Prime shipping. It's clearly a way to entice more customers, but sellers and brands may feel the costs in the years to come.
A midwestern Spice company has a very political message, and spend a lot to share it on Facebook. For the last three years, this has proven to be a good digital strategy -- so much so that its political advertising spending has been rivaling Trump's.
As Snapchat's created more in-app commerce opportunities over the past year, it's also sought to encourage consumer brands to spend more on the platform by creating more shoppable ad formats, and improving its ad targeting options.
Retailers and brands have a lot to gripe about when it comes to Amazon. The e-commerce juggernaut has become in many ways a frenemy for brands.
Google just announced new features to its Google Shopping program. The platform is trying encroach on the e-commerce terrain that both Amazon and Facebook have dominated. It illustrates that the next big shopping advertising battle will focus on product discovery.
Amazon's ad business has been steadily growing for the last few years. Now, marketing services are jumping on, offering their services to retailers. As the e-commerce giant continues to challenge the duopoly, more retailers and marketers will be taking notice.
Retail media is rich with data that the right team of analysts and strategists can help you unpack to better understand how your investment at retail is driving bottom lines. One metric doesn’t fit all; in fact, a combination of KPIs might be necessary to fully grasp sales success.
Everyone loves to hate on Amazon. The e-commerce juggernaut ranks low on trustworthiness, DTC brands don't want to sell on it, and even Nike is no longer going to be working with Amazon Retail.
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