Month: November 2017

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.27.2017

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Cyber Monday Edition! You’re probably still on conference calls, waiting for the final hours of sales to hit your constant flow of reports, hoping for the ultimate win of a glitch-free Cyber Monday (sorry, J.Crew!)…so while you are doing that, take a look at a recap of news from the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headlines.

[Special Section!] Holiday Shopping

  • Cyber Monday runs up $840M so far in US sales online. TechCrunch
  • Black Friday online sales surge to new records with mobile pushing fastest. Fortune
  • This Black Friday, some mall visitors came out for more than bargains. Washington Post
  • Thanksgiving ecommerce sales hit a record $2.87B, up 18.3% year-on-year. Techcrunch
  • At $1B a day or more, online shopping in the US has already set a new record this month. CNBC
  • Macy’s CEO sees strong start to holidays, helped by coat sales. Bloomberg
  • Inside the Wal Mart vs. Amazon battle over Black Friday. The Wall Street Journal
  • Nike, Macy’s suffer technical snafus on Black Friday. The Wall Street Journal
  • Soaring web sales continue to dominate holiday retail. CNBC
  • Millennials and the cosmetics boom. New York Times
  • Five digital stats that sum up Cyber Monday and Black Friday. AdWeek
  • Cyber Monday sales up 16% so far, even though best deals were already gone. AdAge

Brands and Retailers

  • Amazon wants you to buy an Echo next to that Whole Foods turkey. Bloomberg
  • Retailers offering delayed shipping options to avoid peak charges. The Wall Street Journal
  • Retailers experiment with a new philosophy: smaller is better. New York Times
  • Victoria Beckham scales up with $40M private equity investment. Fashionista
  • Crew to close more stores amid sinking sales. Fashionista
  • Everlane is opening its first brick and mortar stores, after years of swearing it wouldn’t. Washington Post
  • WeWork reportedly expanding into retail. Retail Dive
  • Inside the revolution at Etsy. New York Times
  • The future of retail in the age of Amazon. Fast Company
  • High-end stores that don’t actually sell anything are the future of retail. Quartz
  • Urban Outfitters surprises with strong Q3 earnings. Chain Store Age
  • Abercrombie same-store sales blow past estimates. Business Insider

Marketing and Social Media

  • Advertisers leaving YouTube due to ad placements. Seeking Alpha
  • Inside year three of REI’s #OptOutside campaign. AdWeek
  • How Sephora is quietly supporting female entrepreneurs. Glossy
  • Facebook debuts web-based VR experiences within standard newsfeed. Marketing Land
  • From collaborations to new stores to Paris Fashion Week, here’s how Lacoste is trying to stay relevant. Fashionista
  • Snapchat debuts two new advertising products. TechCrunch

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Augmented reality will transform city life. Venture Beat
  • Meet the Everlane of skin care. The Cut
  • Robot makers raise funding in fight against Amazon. Bloomberg
  • Baidu unveils home robots and smart speakers. Venture Beat
  • Four futuristic features every retail store will have by 2025. Time

International

  • Amazon recruits Indian merchants on hunt for lower priced merchandise. New York Times
  • Amazon gears up to begin selling in Australia. Reuters
  • French shoppers to spend more online this holiday than last year.  Reuters
  • Demand for gold in China lifts profit at world’s largest jeweler.  Bloomberg
  • Amazon is selling its cloud services business in China to local firm.  Fortune

 

 

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.20.2017

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Happy Black Friday Week! And Happy Thanksgiving. Hope everyone has a very successful two weeks ahead.

Here is a recap of industry from the last week. Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brands and Retailers

  • American Eagle opened a store of the future complete with free laundry and an iPad in every dressing room. Business Insider
  • Forever 21 reports payment card security breach. Reuters
  • Reformation launches very cute, very planet-friendly baby clothes. Fashionista
  • Farfetch’s revenue up 74% to last year. Fashionista 
  • Google Express lets you shop at Costco without a membership. Fast Company
  • Abercrombie & Fitch revenue up in Q3; rebranding is catching on with consumers. Fashionista
  • Gain in U.S. retail sales last month signals steady demand. Bloomberg
  • Black Friday will be the biggest mobile shopping day ever in the U.S., claims forecast. TechCrunch
  • Amazon and Whole Foods unveil new price cuts for Prime members. The Verge
  • For the first time, Calvin Klein to sell new underwear exclusively on Amazon this holiday. L2
  • Wal-Mart joins retailers planning to try out Tesla truck. Bloomberg
  • As athleisure cools, denim heats up. The Business of Fashion
  • Uber agrees to buy tens of thousands of Volvo cars for its autonomous fleet. Fast Company
  • Why this Christmas is make-or-break for Macy’s. Fortune
  • Lululemon enters footwear market with branded sneaker line. SmartBrief

Marketing and Social Media

  • Dollar Shave Club CMO thinks online estate sales are the next big thing. Ad Age
  • The real reason the incredibly boring Ikea ads are so engaging. Forbes
  • Snapchat admits it made the wrong decision on its spectacles. Tech Radar
  • YouTube partners with Ticketmaster to promote tickets for live shows below artists’ videos. Venture Beat
    Seventeen Magazine launches ‘Here,’ a community by and for LGBTQ teens.  Fashionista
  • Jay-Z’s debut album turned into an Urban Outfitters capsule collection. Mashable
  • Pinterest adds custom QR-like codes for businesses, more shoppable pins. MarketingLand
  • Instagram now lets you post Stories from the mobile web. The Verge
  • Updated Adidas shopping app is personalized to what you like. PSFK
  • Facebook’s dynamic creative can generate up to 6,250 versions of an ad. MarketingLand

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Williams-Sonoma acquires augmented reality 3D imaging startup. Total Retail
  • AirBnB acquires ad tech startup AdBasis. TechCrunch
  • The Real Real: High-end disruptor or gateway drug to luxury? Robin Report
  • Goop for men? This new site targets the $3.8B wellness industry. Fast Company
  • MAC installs augmented reality mirrors to boost conversion s and collect data. Glossy
  • Buzzfeed bets on the future of television. Fast Company
  • StitchFix up just 1% on first day of trading, after reducing size of IPO. TechCrunch
  • Outdoor sportswear finally gets the direct to consumer treatment. Fast Company
  • Apple pushes HomePod release to early 2018. TechCrunch

International

  • Ikea counts cost of Brexit as furniture import prices soar. Bloomberg
  • China faces waste hangover after Singles Day buying binge. The Business of Fashion
  • Postmates launches in first international city: Mexico City. TechCrunch
  • Alibaba bets $2.9B that it can take on Wal-Mart in China. Bloomberg
  • Amazon brings Echo and Alexa to Canada. TechCrunch
  • Retailing in the Middle East: How to recapture profitable growth. McKinsey
  • Tencent’s profit surges 69% thanks to its thriving games business. TechCrunch
  • Forrester predicts 80% of companies will fail to comply with HDPR in 2018. Martech
  • Alibaba and Alipay: A mobile future. Seeking Alpha

 

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.13.2017

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Happy Monday! This week I have a special section of headlines about Alibaba’s Double 11/Singles Day event from the weekend.  Next week is Black Friday here in the US, which means we have one more Monday before Cyber Monday.  Cheers to a successful holiday!

As always, sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Alibaba’s Singles Day Event

  • Alibaba’s Singles Day racks up $8.6B in first hour. Bloomberg
  • Alibaba’s Singles Day sales smash record with $25B haul. Fortune
  • Alibaba lets AI, robots and drones do heavy lifting for Singles Day. South China Morning Post
  • Alibaba’s Singles Day sales hit record. New York Times
  • Alibaba tests 60 futuristic pop-up stores across China for Singles Day. Digiday
  • Lessons from Alibaba’s $25B shopping event. AdAge
  • Singles Day 2017 highlights Alibaba’s intent to become a global leader. Forbes
  • Alibaba and JD.com squabble over Singles Day sales calculations. Women’s Wear Daily
  • Singles Day faces fatigue in China. The Wall Street Journal
  • JD.com generated $19B in sales at its rival event. Fortune
  • Black Friday, Prime Day and Singles Day: When do people spend the most? Fortune

Brands and Retailers

  • CVS will offer next day delivery of prescriptions. New York Times
  • Amazon Cash, the service that lets you use cash to shop Amazon online, arrives at 7-Eleven. TechCrunch
  • Burberry shares are plunging as investors flee new CEO’s expensive plans. Fortune
  • Online retailers are desperate to stem a surging tide of returns. Bloomberg
  • Amazon developing a free, ad-supported version of Prime. AdAge
  • Nordstrom is launching 24/7 curbside pickup for the holidays. Fashionista
  • Victoria Beckham to collaborate with Reebok in 2018. Fashionista

Marketing and Social Media

  • How Vimeo is preparing for the future of video storytelling. Fast Company
  • Snapchat’s programmatic ads fetch $3-$8 CPMs. Digiday
  • Tencent could play a role redesigning Snapchat following $2B investment. Techcrunch
  • Instagram might let you follow hashtags. Fast Company
  • How Kith built its brand in niche streetwear. New York Times
  • Facebook relaunches Events app as Facebook Local, adds bars and food. Techcrunch
  • Spotify expands merch to beauty products, sells out tickets for Who We Be. Techcrunch
  • Women-only social club The Wing launches a bi-annual print magazine. AdWeek
  • At Tiffany, the Fifth Avenue face-lift starts at home. New York Times
  • Crew cast seven ‘real people’ in its 2017 holiday gift guide. Fashionista
  • Amazon expands its influencer program to include Twitter and Instagram, in addition to YouTube. Techcrunch

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Music.ly, a Chinese app big in the U.S. sells for $1B. New York Times
  • Tinder wants to spice up your love life with AI and location services. Android Authority
  • Stitch Fix gets a close look from consumer VC firm ahead of IPO. Techcrunch
  • Heyday raises $3M for personalized skincare and facials. Techcrunch
  • Apple has acquired imaging sensor startup InVisage Technologies. Techcrunch
  • Voice-enabled smart speakers to reach 55% of U.S. households by 2022. Techcrunch

International

  • Costco to expand internationally; will launch in France. Bloomberg
  • Birchbox opens first UK standalone store. Vogue
  • Amazon says Australia launch imminent. Business of Fashion
  • PayPal launches domestic payments in India. Business Line

 

Weekly Industry Brief: 11.6.2017

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Happy Monday! Here is a recap of industry news over the last week.  Sources can be found in the hyperlinked text after the headline.

Brands and Retailers

  • Old Navy launches kids’ ‘Super Boxes’ subscription service. WWD
  • Amazon discounts other sellers’ products as retail competition stiffens. CNBC
  • Ann Taylor launches subscription rental program. Glossy
  • Burberry’s Christopher Bailey to leave before 2019. Bloomberg
  • Century 21 launches boutique minded shop-in-shop. The New York Times
  • Target store staff can now create online orders for customers when local merchandise is unavailable. TechCrunch
  • Ralph Lauren’s retreat from discounting helps bolster profit. Bloomberg
  • Starbucks sells Tazo tea brand to Unilever. The Wall Street Journal
  • Amazon to end fresh grocery delivery service in some areas. Reuters
  • Glossier, Stitch Fix among the most disruptive companies. Retail Dive
  • Macy’s opens ‘digital playground’ at Herald Square. Retail Dive
  • Clique Media Group becomes bona fide fashion brand. Fast Company
  • Uniqlo founder thinks US needs fewer malls and more of his stores. The Wall Street Journal
  • Sears, Kmart to close more stores in 2018. USA Today

Marketing and Social Media

  • Kylie cosmetics will host pop-up shops at Topshops this holiday season. Fashionista
  • Inside the influencer prom that was the Revolve Awards. Fashionista
  • Conde Nast to shutter print edition of Teen Vogue. Fashionista
  • Ben & Jerry’s created a Facebook AR filter. AdWeek
  • Instagram is expanding shoppable photos to thousands of merchants. The Verge
  • The best rewards programs give you more than points. Racked
  • REI thinks you have better things to do than shop on Black Friday. Washington Post
  • Dolce & Gabbana is now in the pasta business. Bloomberg
  • Instagram Stories and WhatsApp Status hit 300M users, nearly 2X Snapchat. TechCrunch
  • Target offers free shipping on holiday orders. Business of Fashion

Startup and Emerging Tech

  • Microsoft thinks they can make holograms the future of retail. Wired
  • Square launches a point-of-sale payment system aimed at larger businesses. AdWeek
  • Amazon adds AR shopping feature to its iOS app. TechCrunch
  • Quip raises $10M for electric toothbrushes. TechCrunch
  • Here’s how much consumers will use voice technology in the near future. AdWeek
  • Snap acquires Metamarkets to step up its ad tech play. TechCrunch
  • Blue Apron shares trade down after disappointing earnings. TechCrunch

International

  • Alibaba profit rises on targeted use of consumer data. The Wall Street Journal
  • Google has a new plan for China – and it’s not about search. Bloomberg
  • Ikea to hire hundreds of local women for first India store. Economic Times
  • How Alibaba makes Singles’ Day appealing to luxury brands. Glossy
  • Canada’s Indigo Books plans first US store. The Star
  • Estee Lauder gains after Chinese expansions helps lift forecast. Bloomberg
  • Apple’s revenues are growing again in China. TechCrunch